Oregonian editorial page editor dies
Mar 12, 2012, 3:34 AM
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The editorial page editor of The Oregonian, a longtime staff member, has died of a heart attack, the newspaper reported.
Robert J. Caldwell, 63, who joined the paper as a copy editor in 1983, died Saturday.
The Oregonian (
http://bit.ly/xwh3qh) said Caldwell held his most recent position since November 1995, and his section brought the publication a Pulitzer Prize in 2006 for editorial writing.
The prize-winning editorial series, “Oregon’s Forgotten Hospital” by Doug Bates and Rick Attig, covered abuses inside the Oregon State Hospital, the state’s psychiatric hospital located in Salem.
Caldwell was an Oregon native, raised in La Grande. He was a standout high school athlete who excelled on his high school’s football, basketball and track teams.
He attended what is now Eastern Oregon University before transferring to the University of Oregon, where he majored in journalism. He graduated from that school in 1972.
Caldwell worked as a reporter, editor and publisher at several newspapers in the Northwest.
Before taking his post at the head of the editorial section, he worked as a regional, metro and public editor for The Oregonian.
Caldwell was active in the journalism community, having served as president of the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association, the Oregon Newspaper Foundation and the Western Oregon chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
He also served as editor-in-residence for two daily newspapers in Romania and was a consultant for other publications in the Balkans.
Caldwell is survived by his wife, Lora Cuykendall; three daughters, Beth, Kate and Ellie Caldwell; his mother, Barbara of La Grande; and four brothers, Mike and Kevin of Salem, Pete of La Grande and Pat of Fruitland, Idaho.
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Information from: The Oregonian,
http://www.oregonlive.com
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
