Case File 204 | Operation Mockingbird

In 1952, Wayne Philips was a reporter for the New York Times and was attending Columbia University’s Russian Institute. It was here that Philips was approached by a representative of the CIA. The man offered to ensure Philips a posting in Moscow if he were to agree to be helpful to the agency while there. Philips was wary of the offer and expressed his doubts on an American journalist cooperating with the clandestine intelligence agency. The representative attempted to put Philips’ doubts to rest by mentioning that the CIA had “a working relationship” with the Times’ then-publisher Arthur Hays Sulzberger and had ot...