Censorship, June 1971
In June of 1971, something happened that surprised a war reporter who had thought she had seen everything: the Pentagon Papers were published in my paper, The NY Times, and The Washington Post. The first reason for the surprise: the papers themselves. As far as I (and most people) could see, the Pentagon Papers revealed that many U.S. presidents had felt the need to intervene in Nam (starting at Truman and ending in Nixon) even against advisers' wishes . . . and, frankly, common sense.
The other part that was shocking-especially to a journalist-was that the U.S. attempted to sue the newspapers and try to cover up their deeds! I couldn't believe it when I opened up my copy of the Times. For a moment I just forgot about the mosquitoes and heat, the death and bloodshed, just so I could simmer in First Amendment indignation. I swear, the artery in my neck didn't stop pulsating until after the case closed in favor of the Times-that's how mad I was. And for those reasons, I saved the cartoon and the lengthy Times article (which I have dubbed the "Victory Speech").
The other part that was shocking-especially to a journalist-was that the U.S. attempted to sue the newspapers and try to cover up their deeds! I couldn't believe it when I opened up my copy of the Times. For a moment I just forgot about the mosquitoes and heat, the death and bloodshed, just so I could simmer in First Amendment indignation. I swear, the artery in my neck didn't stop pulsating until after the case closed in favor of the Times-that's how mad I was. And for those reasons, I saved the cartoon and the lengthy Times article (which I have dubbed the "Victory Speech").