Michael Shanahan dead; veteran Washington reporter was 71

Michael Shanahan, a veteran Washington political reporter for The Associated Press and Newhouse Newspapers who used that experience to teach new generations of students at George Washington University about the business he loved, died Saturday.

Frank Sesno, director of George Washington's School of Media and Public Affairs, said Shanahan had a severe stroke earlier in the week.

Shanahan, 71, was assistant director for student affairs at the media school. He also had taught journalism courses.

"There is nothing like being in a classroom and teaching and making some broader point . . . and suddenly a memory from my own experience as a journalist will pop into my head. I will tell a yarn, a story, an anecdote from my long experience as a reporter and that cements the broader theoretical point that I was making in the classroom," he said in a video posted on his school website.

"I can tell I've connected with the students when they say: 'Aha! Now I understand what you mean.' "

For more than a quarter-century, Shanahan worked as a reporter, covering politics, from campaigns to federal agencies to Congress to the White House.

Shanahan joined the AP in 1965 after his graduation from Penn State. But he interrupted his journalism career for a stint in the military, including a tour as intelligence officer with service in the Vietnam War. He was awarded the Bronze Star. He returned to journalism in 1969.