That is exactly what I was thinking of too. The writers of MIB knew exactly what they were doing when they wrote that scene, and it applies to far more than just newspapers.

Pay attention to your popcorn flicks and fun sci-fi shows, especially those such as Stargate SG1, which had a lot of high-ranking intelligence members provide consultancy for. Because the audience is typically considered "dumber", they can get away with far more esoteric and revealing shit than they can in more cerebral Oscar bait. Many people believe SG1 in particular soft-disclosed secrets concerning aliens, their technology, and travel into deep space.

They even wrote an episode lampooning the idea called "Wormhole X-Treme", which aired 3 days before 9/11.