Harrison Salisbury

On December 25 1966, Harrison Salisbury, assistant managing editor of the New York Times, filed a report from Hanoi chronicling the damage to civilian areas in North Vietnam by the U.S. bombing campaign. Salisbury stated that Nam Dinh, a city about 50 miles southeast of Hanoi, was bombed repeatedly by U.S. planes starting on June 28, 1965. Salisbury's press report caused a stir in Washington where Pentagon officials expressed irritation and contended that he was exaggerating the damage to civilian areas.
On December 26, the U.S. Defense Department conceded that American pilots bombed North Vietnamese civilians accidentally during missions against military targets. The spokesman restated administration policy that air raids were confined to military targets but added, "It is sometimes impossible to avoid all damage to civilian areas."
I thought it was really great to learn how influential reporters were in the 1960s. Their words were taken so seriously by American people that the government would have to cover themselves up after articles were published.