A pair of seasoned White House correspondents with more than five decades of experience died within a day of each other last week.

Former CNN correspondent and ex-president of the White House Correspondents Association, Charles Bierbauer, passed away at his residence in Spruce Pine, North Carolina, on Friday. He was 83 years old.

Mark Knoller, a longtime White House correspondent for CBS News, died in Washington, DC, the network said Saturday. He was 73.

Both men’s tenures spanned several decades and presidents.

Bierbauer was CNN’s senior White House correspondent during the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He joined the network from ABC News in 1981. He was also formerly president of the White House Correspondents Association.

Bierbauer retired in 2001 and he became dean of the University of South Carolina’s journalism program the following year. He died at the home where he had been living out his retirement, University spokesman Jeff Stensland said.

No direct cause was given, but the family’s obituary said ‘his generous heart gave out after a good, long life.’

Word of Knoller’s death came the next day from CBS, where he worked for more than 30 years. He had diabetes and was known to be in poor health. 

Tributes have since poured in for the two men journalists.

Charles Bierbauer, a former CNN correspondent and a past president of the White House Correspondents Association, died at his home in Spruce Pine, North Carolina , Friday at age 83 

Mark Knoller, a longtime White House correspondent for CBS News, died in Washington, DC , the network said Saturday. He was 73 

‘Friends and colleagues remember Knoller as a legend,’ a portion of CBS’ statement read. ‘For decades, everyone in the White House press corps knew him as the unofficial presidential historian and statistician.’

CBS News President Tom Cibrowski described Knoller – who covered the administrations of George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump – as ‘the hardest-working and most prolific White House correspondent of a generation.’ 

‘Everyone in America knew his distinctive voice and his up-to-the-minute reporting across eight Presidential administrations.’ 

White House Correspondents Association President Weijia Jiang called Knoller ‘not just one of the most trusted voices covering the presidency – he was also the colleague you could always count on for help, perspective, or a bit of good humor.’

Associated Press Executive Editor Julie Pace, who worked alongside Knoller as the AP’s chief White House correspondent for several years said that ‘Mark represented the best of the White House press corps.’

‘He demanded the same level of accountability and transparency from every president he covered, regardless of party.’

She recalled how she ‘took advantage of his record keeping numerous times as a reporter,’ due to his practice of tracking sitting presidents’ movements, speeches, travel and more.

Nancy Benac, the AP’s former White House editor, recalled how ‘you could go to Mark with any question, and he had the answer.’

‘Friends and colleagues remember Knoller as a legend,’ a portion of CBS’ statement read. ‘For decades, everyone in the White House press corps knew him as the unofficial presidential historian and statistician’

Pesident Barack Obama (L) smiles as he takes a question from Knoller in 2009

She also remembered Knoller for his ‘amazing sense of humor’ and as ‘a wonderful person and a wonderful journalist.’

Ari Fleischer, who served as the George W. Bush’s press secretary from 2001 to 2003, called Knoller ‘one of the kindest, most courteous, modest people in the press corps.’

‘Mark was a gem of a man and the definition of what a good reporter should be,’ he said, adding that he ‘never betrayed any bias, any personal views.’

‘He was probably of the last generation of reporters who viewed their job as just telling the news with no inkling at all of their personal thoughts,’ Fleischer said.

Similar praise was offered for Bierbauer, who hosted the weekly current events show ‘Newsmaker Saturday’ for a decade and regularly traveled with presidents across the country and to dozens of foreign nations.

He was once detained in Moscow’s Red Square while filming an anti-Soviet demonstration in 1978 while working for ABC News.

‘Charles inspired me and helped me throughout my assignments at the Pentagon and the White House,’ CNN star Wolf Blitzer said in a statement. ‘He was a good friend, colleague, and mentor, and I will certainly miss him.’ 

Jay Bender, a former attorney for the South Carolina Press Association and retired professor who served under Bierbauer, remembered the reporter-turned-academic as a distinguished broadcaster and educator.

Bierbauer – seen here with producer Matthew Byrne on the steps of the Supreme Court in in December of 2000 – joined CNN in 1981. He left for a career in academia in 2021

‘Charles inspired me and helped me throughout my assignments at the Pentagon and the White House,’ CNN’s Wolf Blitzer said of Bierbauer (seen here as dean of the University of South Carolina’s journalism program). ‘He was a good friend, colleague, and mentor’

‘His contributions to the USC Journalism School as dean were significant,’ he said,  after Bierbauer led a multimillion-dollar fundraising and renovation effor.

Tom Reichert, who succeeded Bierbauer as dean, praised his predecessor’s ‘profound impact on the program.’

‘He is fondly remembered for many achievements, including fundraising and supporting students who went on to win Pulitzer Prizes. He will be deeply missed,’ Reichert said.

In a statement, a CNN spokesperson remembered Bierbauer as ‘a cherished member of the CNN family’ and ‘tireless reporter and wonderful colleague.’

‘Charles will be remembered for his outstanding journalism and his willingness to help others,’ the spokesperson said.