Bella Shaw is an American

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and

news presenter A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

, known for her work on TV infomercials and prior work on

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

from 1984-1993 when her contract was not renewed.

Professional life

Shaw attended the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

, where she earned a degree in journalism"From the Farm Show…To CNN" - Bella Shaw
, in Élite Magazine; published November 27, 2012; retrieved March 18, 2016 while participating in the university's radio station,Anchorwoman stays current: Former CNN anchor Bella Shaw evolves with new media landscape
by Michele E. Buttelman; in ''

the Santa Clarita Valley Signal The Santa Clarita Valley Signal is a newspaper in Santa Clarita, California. It was founded in 1919 as a weekly, the '' Newhall Signal.'' From c. 1979 to 2016, the ''Signal'' was owned by Savannah, Georgia-based Morris Multimedia, who sold it to ...

''; published August 26, 2012; retrieved March 18, 2016 and began working at

WKY WKY (930 AM) is a commercial radio station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, owned by Cumulus Media. It is the oldest radio station in Oklahoma and among the oldest in the nation. WKY airs a sports format which is simulcast with its sister station ...

Radio in 1976. There, she was a news presenter until being laid off when the station switched to FM format; however, at that time, the WKY-TV station was located in the same building, and she began working there instead. After seven years at WKY-TV, during which she was only given shifts on weekends, Shaw has come a long distance
by Glen Phillips, in ''

the Oklahoman ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circulation) lists it as the 59th larges ...

''; published March 10, 1985; retrieved March 18, 2016 Shaw concluded that WKY offered her no chance for career advancement, and applied to the then-nascent

Cable News Network CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

, on the grounds that "

Ted Turner Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and philanthropist. He founded the Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, cable news ch ...

was hiring a lot of people from Oklahoma". Shaw's first day at CNN was July 12, 1984; although she had not been scheduled to appear on-camera that day, the regular news presenter was temporarily unavailable, and Shaw was chosen to report the news that

Walter Mondale Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928 – April 19, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesota ...

had selected

Geraldine Ferraro Geraldine Anne Ferraro (August 26, 1935 March 26, 2011) was an American politician, diplomat, and attorney. She served in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1985, and was the Democratic Party's vice presidential nominee ...

as his

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint Ticket (election), ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate ...

for the 1984 presidential election. In 1989, she became the co-host of CNN's ''

Showbiz Today ''Showbiz Tonight'' is a defunct American entertainment news program that aired from February 20, 2005, until February 6, 2014, on HLN. ''Showbiz Tonight'' was hosted by A. J. Hammer at CNN New York at the time of its cancellation. The show r ...

'', replacing

Bill Tush William "Bill" John Tush, III (born October 16, 1948) is an American news journalist and humorist. In high school, Tush showed an early interest in broadcast performance and started working in radio professionally while a Junior in High school. Tu ...

;Cnn Remakes Its `Showbiz`
''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

''; published October 11, 1989; retrieved March 18, 2016 however, in 1993, CNN chose not to renew her contract, replacing her on ''Showbiz Today'' with

Jim Moret James William Moret (born Ercolani; December 3, 1956) is the chief correspondent for the syndicated television news magazine ''Inside Edition'' hosted by Deborah Norville and Mary Calvi. Moret has covered entertainment news and traditional hard n ...

,CNN lets news anchor go
in ''

the Dispatch ''The Dispatch'' is an American conservative subscription-based and advertisement-free online magazine founded by Jonah Goldberg, Stephen F. Hayes, and Toby Stock. Several of ''The Dispatchs staff (including Hayes) are alumni of the defunc ...

''; published February 25, 1993; retrieved March 18, 2016 (via

Google News Archive Google News Archive is an extension of Google News providing free access to scanned archives of newspapers and links to other newspaper archives on the web, both free and paid. Some of the news archives date back to 18th century. There is a time ...

) which ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' attributed to Moret being perceived as "more serious" than Shaw.Shaw's out, Moret's in on CNN'S 'Showbiz'
in ''

''; published February 23, 1993; retrieved March 18, 2016 She subsequently joined Santa Clarita Valley local TV broadcasting with

Time Warner Cable Time Warner Cable, Inc. (TWC) was an American cable television company. Before it was acquired by Charter Communications on May 18, 2016, it was ranked the second largest cable company in the United States by revenue behind only Comcast, operat ...

. Today, Shaw anchors weekly for Torrance Citicable’s “COVID-19 Today”. This show airs daily Monday-Thursday locally.

Personal life

Shaw was born in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, where her father was serving in the United States army, and raised in

Fort Sill, Oklahoma Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark ...

. She has twice been married: first to doctor Jim Hays, and later to banker Mark Soroko who died suddenly in March 2010.

Filmography

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Bella University of Oklahoma alumni Living people American women journalists CNN people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women