Edmund Asa "Eddie" Barker Jr. (August 18, 1927[1] – July 23, 2012) was a television reporter in Dallas, Texas, perhaps best known for being the first newsman to report the death of John F. Kennedy, and his interview with Marina Oswald.[2]
Barker was born in San Antonio, Texas, and began his radio career in 1943.[2] He later went to Dallas' KRLD (now KDFW), where in 1963, he was covering the visit of President Kennedy to Dallas.[2] After the assassination, he was first to report the president's death on CBS, 5 minutes before the network feed, and Walter Cronkite's famous flash.[2][3]
Later, he secured the first interview with Marina Oswald, the wife of assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.[2]
Barker died in July 2012 in Dallas, of natural causes.[2]
