Month: January 2018

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Opinion column

The Post, a movie produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and distributed by Fox. Starring Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk and Tracy Letts. Rated PG-13 for language. One hour, 55 minutes. Now playing at The AMC Legends Theaters.

by Murrel Bland

Katharine Graham did not have much experience managing a newspaper. After all, she had spent much of her life being a wife, a mother to four children and a Washington socialite. She was suddenly thrust into the top management role at The Washington Post in 1963 when her husband, Phil Graham, the publisher, committed suicide after a long battle with alcoholism and depression.

One of her major challenges as publisher came in 1971 when she had to make the decision on whether to publish “The Pentagon Papers.” This is the story that dramatically unfolds in the movie “The Post.” Daniel Ellsberg, an ex-marine and a military analyst for the Rand Corporation, had leaked top secret information about how all of the presidents from Harry Truman to Richard Nixon had misled the American people about how the Vietnam War could not have been won. It had been a matter of conscience for Ellsberg.

Meryl Streep does an excellent job portraying Katharine Graham. She didn’t make the decision lightly to publish the Pentagon Papers. After all, she risked the threat of going to jail if she was to be convicted of violating the federal Espionage Act. She understood, however, that it was more important that the American people knew that the nation’s top leaders used very bad judgment, and even deceit. And these top officials used the veil of classified documents to cover up their mistakes.

And, as fate would have it, this was a critical period when the newspaper was becoming a public corporation. This story on the Pentagon Papers might discourage potential investors.

One of the high points in the film came when the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, ruled that The Post and The New York Times had the right to publish the Pentagon Papers.

Tom Hanks portrays the gutsy editor of the The Post, Ben Bradlee. The film tells how personal relationships were, at times, tested. Both Graham and Bradlee had several friends who were in high government positions. That becomes very apparent when Graham discussed the Vietnam issue with her close friend, Robert McNamara, the former U.S. Secretary of Defense, who defended the United States’ position.

The film will also be of interest to newspaper historians who can recognize the “hot metal” days of the printing industry. The use of Linotypes to set text and Ludlows to compose headlines are noted. Computers changed all that.

The film The Post is another excellent production from Director Steven Spielberg who knows how to entertain an audience. But The Post is much more than high quality entertainment. It is a strong statement about the very important role of a free press in our democracy.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press.