Word: eastlands
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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Another Timesman, Copyreader Robert Shelton, 29, who joined the staff in 1951, refused to answer any questions about his possible Communist associations. He tried to claim the protection of the First Amendment's guarantees of free speech and freedom of the press-but Eastland refused to recognize his claim, ruled that it had no legal standing in this case...
Full Coverage. The Times gave the hearings the kind of full, deadpan coverage its readers expect, letting the story run from 4 to 5½ columns a day. But on the editorial page it angrily attacked the Eastland subcommittee and Counsel Sourwine, a protege of Nevada's late Senator Pat McCarran, with the kind of fighting words its readers rarely see. The editorial, "The Voice of a Free Press," brought hundreds of letters from readers (8 to 1 in favor). Excerpts...
...seems to us quite obvious that the Eastland investigation has been aimed with particular emphasis at the New York Times ... It seems to us to be a further obvious conclusion that the Times has been singled out for this attack precisely because of the vigor of its opposition to many of the things for which Mr. Eastland, his colleague [Indiana Republican Senator William E.] Jenner and the subcommittee's counsel stand-that is, because we have condemned segregation in the Southern schools; because we have challenged the high-handed and abusive methods employed by various Congressional committees; because...
...blast against the Eastland subcommittee was hailed by newspapers around the U.S. The Denver Post called the hearings "The Big Floperoo" and a "puerile attempt ... to smear the New York Times...
Would the subcommittee go on with its investigation of Communism in the U.S. press? Yes, said Senator Eastland. Would it investigate the Washington press corps? No, he quickly assured a questioner. Had the investigation shown any Communist effort to influence the content of any recognized metropolitan daily? Said Eastland: "No." But as the hearings ended, he and Senator Jenner maintained that the sessions had disclosed "a significant effort on the part of Communists to penetrate leading American newspapers." They added: "We feel confident that the American press will prove fully competent to deal with the problem in its own American...