Pentagon Papers break, author later honored at Club in 1971

This Week In National Press Club History

June 13, 1971: The New York Times begins publication of the Pentagon Papers, a government study of United States involvement in Southeast Asia, touching off a constitutional battle over freedom of the press. Neil Sheehan receives the Drew Pearson Award for investigative journalism for breaking the Pentagon Papers story at a National Press Club luncheon on December 13, 1971. Forty years later, the National Archives officially declassifies the papers.

This Week in National Press Club History is brought to you by the History & Heritage Committee, which preserves and revitalizes the Club's history through displays, events, panel discussions, lectures and the oral history project.

For more information on History and Heritage Committee-sponsored events, or to join the committee, contact Bill Hickman at [email protected].