Caldwell, Earl
1939-present · Contribution: 1967-1994
Reporter; press-freedom figure
Became the first African American national correspondent for The New York Times, was the only reporter present when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis in 1968, and won a landmark reporter’s-privilege case, United States v. Caldwell, after refusing an FBI subpoena demanding his confidential Black Panther Party sources
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Quick facts
- Born
- c. 1939, Clearfield, Pennsylvania
- Active since
- 1967
- Category
- Press & Photography
- Best known for
- The New York Times' first Black national correspondent and defendant in a landmark reporter's-privilege case
Impact on the world
Caldwell's stand made him a foundational figure in American press-freedom law: his refusal to become an FBI informant or surrender his sources forced the courts, and the profession, to define a reporter's privilege.
Sources
- TIME
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