Mark Shields
Encyclopedia
Mark Shields is an American political columnist and commentator.
Since 1988, Shields has provided weekly political analysis and commentary for PBS
’ award-winning PBS NewsHour. His current sparring partner is David Brooks
of The New York Times
. Previous counterparts were the late William Safire
, Paul Gigot
of the Wall Street Journal and David Gergen
. Shields is also a regular panelist on Inside Washington
, the weekly public affairs show that is seen on both PBS and ABC
. For 17 years, Shields was moderator and panelist on CNN’s Capital Gang
.
in an Irish Catholic
family. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame
in 1959. He served as an enlisted man in the United States Marine Corps before coming to Washington in 1965, where he became an aide to Wisconsin Senator William Proxmire
. In 1968, Shields went to work for Robert F. Kennedy
’s presidential campaign. He later held leadership positions in the presidential campaigns of Edmund Muskie
and Morris Udall, and was political director for Sargent Shriver
when he ran for vice president on the Democratic ticket in 1972. Over more than a decade, he helped manage state and local campaigns in some 38 states, including incumbent Boston, Massachusetts Mayor Kevin White
's successful re-election campaign in 1975.
In 1979, Shields became an editorial writer for The Washington Post
. He began writing a column the same year that is now distributed nationally by Creators Syndicate
. He’s covered the last 11 presidential campaigns and attended 17 national party conventions.
Shields has taught American politics and the press at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School
, Georgetown University
’s Graduate School of Public Policy, and he was a fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy Institute of Politics.
He’s the author of On the Campaign Trail, about the 1984 presidential campaign.
Since 1988, Shields has provided weekly political analysis and commentary for PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
’ award-winning PBS NewsHour. His current sparring partner is David Brooks
David Brooks (journalist)
David Brooks is a Canadian-born political and cultural commentator who considers himself a moderate and writes for the New York Times...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. Previous counterparts were the late William Safire
William Safire
William Lewis Safire was an American author, columnist, journalist and presidential speechwriter....
, Paul Gigot
Paul Gigot
Paul A. Gigot is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning conservative political commentator and the editor of the editorial pages for The Wall Street Journal...
of the Wall Street Journal and David Gergen
David Gergen
David Richmond Gergen is an American political consultant and former presidential advisor who served during the administrations of Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton. He is currently Director of the Center for Public Leadership and a professor of public service at Harvard Kennedy School. Gergen is...
. Shields is also a regular panelist on Inside Washington
Inside Washington
Inside Washington is a political roundtable show hosted by WJLA news anchor and chief political reporter Gordon Peterson. It is produced by Allbritton, owner of WJLA, and distributed to PBS stations nationwide by American Public Television...
, the weekly public affairs show that is seen on both PBS and ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. For 17 years, Shields was moderator and panelist on CNN’s Capital Gang
Capital Gang
Capital Gang was a weekly political talk show on CNN. It aired on Saturday evenings at 7 p.m. ET.The original panel was Pat Buchanan, Robert Novak, Al Hunt, and Mark Shields. Mona Charen and Margaret Warner joined the panel in 1992, when Buchanan left the show to run for president in 1992...
.
Early life and career
Shields was born and raised in Weymouth, MassachusettsWeymouth, Massachusetts
The Town of Weymouth is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, Weymouth had a total population of 53,743. Despite its city status, it is formally known as the Town of Weymouth...
in an Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Roman Catholic and Irish .Note: the term is not used to describe a variant of Catholicism. More particularly, it is not a separate creed or sect in the sense that "Anglo-Catholic", "Old Catholic", "Eastern Orthodox Catholic" might be...
family. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
in 1959. He served as an enlisted man in the United States Marine Corps before coming to Washington in 1965, where he became an aide to Wisconsin Senator William Proxmire
William Proxmire
Edward William Proxmire was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States Senator from Wisconsin from 1957 to 1989.-Personal life:...
. In 1968, Shields went to work for Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
’s presidential campaign. He later held leadership positions in the presidential campaigns of Edmund Muskie
Edmund Muskie
Edmund Sixtus "Ed" Muskie was an American politician from Rumford, Maine. He served as Governor of Maine from 1955 to 1959, as a member of the United States Senate from 1959 to 1980, and as Secretary of State under Jimmy Carter from 1980 to 1981...
and Morris Udall, and was political director for Sargent Shriver
Sargent Shriver
Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr., known as Sargent Shriver, R. Sargent Shriver, or, from childhood, Sarge, was an American statesman and activist. As the husband of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, he was part of the Kennedy family, serving in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations...
when he ran for vice president on the Democratic ticket in 1972. Over more than a decade, he helped manage state and local campaigns in some 38 states, including incumbent Boston, Massachusetts Mayor Kevin White
Kevin White
Kevin Hagan White is an American politician best known as the Mayor of Boston, a position he held from 1968 to 1984.-Early years:...
's successful re-election campaign in 1975.
In 1979, Shields became an editorial writer for The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
. He began writing a column the same year that is now distributed nationally by Creators Syndicate
Creators Syndicate
Creators Syndicate is an independent distributor of comic strips and syndicated columns for daily newspapers. It was founded in 1987 by Richard S. Newcombe, and is based in Los Angeles. Creators was one of the first syndicates to allow its clients to maintain creative control of their material...
. He’s covered the last 11 presidential campaigns and attended 17 national party conventions.
Shields has taught American politics and the press at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
The Wharton School is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wharton was the world’s first collegiate business school and the first business school in the United States...
, Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
’s Graduate School of Public Policy, and he was a fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy Institute of Politics.
He’s the author of On the Campaign Trail, about the 1984 presidential campaign.