In the first two years, he conducted extensive reporting about the Second Vatican Council, a major reform effort in the Catholic Church that resulted in significant changes in practices and doctrines.
The paper also published secret reports from the commission studying the church's position on birth control, which was a major scoop.
Hoyt was credited with attracting a number of talented columnists, such as John Leo, Garry Wills, Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg, and Martin Marty.
Hoyt influenced the way the Catholic Church was understood in the United States and how the media reported on it.
He opposed the Vietnam War, and worked on the presidential campaigns of both US senators Eugene McCarthy (D-MN) in 1968 and George McGovern (D-SD) in 1972.