He was praised for his coverage of the Watergate scandal, in particular, and he was described by New York Times editor Gene Roberts[a] as "one of the most effective reporters in the civil rights era.
Nelson moved with his family to Georgia and eventually to Biloxi, Mississippi, where he graduated from Notre Dame High School in 1947.
[5] Nelson obtained the victims' medical records, which showed the police had shot some of the black students in the back of the head.
FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover tried to kill the story, which appeared on the Los Angeles Times front page, by smearing Nelson, falsely, as an alcoholic.
[5] In the early 1970s, Nelson led the LA Times's award-winning coverage of the Watergate scandal, and then served as the paper's Washington Bureau Chief for 21 years, from 1975 to 1996.