Previous counterparts were the late William Safire, Paul Gigot of The Wall Street Journal, and David Gergen.

Shields was also a regular panelist on Inside Washington, a weekly public affairs show that was seen on both PBS and ABC until it ceased production in December 2013.

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 of the United States on the Democratic ticket in 1972.

During Shields's last regular appearance on December 18, Woodruff added that he would remain an occasional contributor to the NewsHour during important political news and events.

[2] Shields married Anne Hudson, who is a lawyer and former civil service official at the United States Department of the Interior, in 1966.

[13] He was on the board of directors of SOME (So Others Might Eat) and he established the William and Mary Shields Scholarship Program in honor of his parents at the University of Notre Dame for students who are the first members of their families to go to college.