The Reporters Committee for
Freedom of the Press was created in 1970 at a time when the nation's news media
faced a wave of government subpoenas asking reporters to name confidential
sources.
One case particularly galvanized American journalists. New York
Times reporter Earl Caldwell was ordered to reveal to a federal
grand jury his sources in the Black Panther organization, threatening
his independence as a newsgatherer.
Caldwell's dilemma prompted a meeting at Georgetown University to discuss the
need to provide legal assistance to journalists when their First Amendment
rights come under fire. Among those present, or involved soon afterwards, were
J. Anthony Lukas, Murray Fromson, Fred Graham, Jack Nelson, Ben Bradlee, Eileen
Shanahan, Mike Wallace, Robert Maynard and Tom Wicker.
They formed a committee that operated part-time and on a shoestring (its
first "office" was a desk in the press room at the U.S. Supreme Court). With
support from foundations and news organizations, the founders built a staff and
began recruiting attorneys to donate their services.
Almost immediately, the Committee waded into a number of free speech battles,
intervening in court cases and fighting to keep Richard Nixon from retaining
sole custody of his presidential papers.
In the last three decades the Committee has played a role in virtually every
significant press freedom case that has come before the Supreme Court -- from
Nebraska Press Association v. Stuart to Hustler Magazine v. Falwell -- as well
as in hundreds of cases in federal and state courts.
The Committee has also emerged as a major national -- and international --
resource in free speech issues, disseminating information in a variety of forms,
including a quarterly legal review, a bi-weekly newsletter, a 24-hour hotline,
and various handbooks on media law issues.
Academicians, state and federal agencies, and Congress regularly call on the
Committee for advice and expertise, and it has become the leading advocate for
reporters' interest in cyberspace.
Important as these activities are, the Committee's primary mission remains
serving working journalists -- 2,000 of them every year. And since its founding,
no reporter has ever paid for the Committee's help in defending First Amendment
rights. This is the incarnation of the founders' vision and the Committee's
proudest achievement.
For more information about The Reporters Committee, write to
rcfp@rcfp.org or The Reporters Committee for
Freedom of the Press, 1101 Wilson Blvd., Suite 1100, Arlington, VA 22209.
