Wicker began working in professional journalism in 1949 , as editor of the small-town '' Sandhill Citizen '' in Aberdeen , North Carolina . By the early 1960s , he had joined '' The New York Times '' . At the '' Times '' , he became well known as a political reporter ; among other accomplishments , he wrote the paper 's November 23 , 1963 lead story of the assassination of President Kennedy , having ridden in a press bus in the Dallas motorcade that accompanied Kennedy . Wicker was a shrewd observer of the Washington , D.C. scene . In that capacity , his influential " In The Nation " column ran in the '' Times '' from 1966 through 1992 . In an exit-interview Q & A with fellow '' Times '' reporter R. W. Apple , he reflected on one primary lesson of his years in the capital . Apple asked whether Wicker had " any heroes " in political life .
assassination of President Kennedy
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
Tom Wicker