Watch Washington Post’s Katherine Graham on her momentous decision to publish the Pentagon Papers
The decision that inspired Steven Spielberg’s critically acclaimed film, ‘The Post’.
In May 1997, Katherine Graham, the owner – and publisher – of The Washington Post sat down with journalist Chris Wallace to discuss her decision to publish the controversial and highly debated story of the Pentagon Papers. It was this decision that shook the foundations of the White House, and later inspired the 2018 film The Post.
With the film starring Meryl Streep as Graham attracting attention to the incident, there is an opportunity to hear what the publisher herself had to sat about it. The video above is of an interview from 1997, in which Graham recounted the tough decision she made to finally publish the story.
Despite the divided opinions of her staff and threats from the administration – “it was very risky” – Graham published the story after the editors convinced her. “I really was not what your heroic leader is,” she said. “I gulped and said ‘Oh, go ahead then’”.
