Ben Cunningham; Journalism Teacher, 1st Amendment Expert

Ben Cunningham, expert on 1st Amendment rights for news media and former chairman of the Cal State Long Beach Department of Journalism, has died at the age of 73.

Cunningham, who retired in 1991, died Tuesday at Kaiser Hospital in Bellflower after a short illness.

As an expert on media law, Cunningham testified in several highly publicized Los Angeles libel cases, including Carol Burnett’s suit against the National Enquirer. He was a former president of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and received the organization’s Freedom of Information Award in 1991. He also edited the Review of Southern California Journalism for four years.

Formerly a reporter for various Southern California news media, including The Times, Cunningham taught at Los Angeles City College and then joined the Long Beach faculty in 1968 to teach news and investigative reporting, constitutional law and journalism ethics. He advised the Long Beach campus newspaper the Daily Forty-Niner and chaired the Cal State Long Beach Academic Senate.

Born in Dayton, Ohio, Cunningham was wounded in combat during his Army service in the Korean War. He was educated at Long Beach City College and USC.

Cunningham is survived by his wife, Julia Ann; two sons, Michael and Kevin; a sister, Norma Estridge; and two grandsons.

A funeral Mass is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. May 11 at St. Anne’s Catholic Church in Seal Beach. The family has asked that any memorial donations be made to the Ben Cunningham Scholarship Fund at Cal State Long Beach, c/o Christina Salvador, CSULB University Relations and Development, 1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90840.