The Post (3½ Stars)

This is a true story about the efforts made by the Washington Post to publish details from the so-called Pentagon Papers, a report on the American involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967. These papers contained information never revealed to the American public that showed why the American control of Vietnam was so important. It also contained claims by the government adviser, Bob McNamara, that the war in Vietnam was unwinnable, but it had to be continued for the sake of American prestige.

The main characters in the film are Meryl Streep as Katharine Graham, the publisher of the Washington Post, and Tom Hanks as Ben Bradlee, the chief editor. I'm surprised that Meryl Streep received an Oscar nomination for her role while Tom Hanks didn't. Maybe I'm confusing the actors with the characters that they play. Ben Bradlee was a shrewd, dynamic businessman. Katharine Graham was a naive woman who had inherited the newspaper from her husband and had to rely on the opinions of her advisers. She wasn't a strong woman, but if mistakes were made she was the one that everyone would blame.

We see Katharine Graham throwing dinner parties for her rich friends, while Ben Bradlee is the one doing the work. It's difficult for me to have sympathy with her.

Her biggest business worry is that the uncovering of the Pentagon Papers was at the same time that the Washington Post became a public company on the New York Stock Exchange. There was danger that the investors would pull out and the newspaper would be bankrupted. That was a real problem for her. She loved the newspaper, and she wanted it to survive at all costs, because it was the legacy of her father and her husband.

I found the portrayal of a newspaper company fascinating because my father worked for a newspaper, the Walsall Observer, for almost 20 years. He wasn't a newspaper professional as such. His qualification was as a carpenter, but he also had skills as a plumber and electrician, so he was well-suited as an all round handyman. If anything was broken Jack Hood would fix it. Since it was a small company, much smaller than the Washington Post, he rubbed shoulders with the bosses. After my father's death in 1983 the Walsall Observer's owner visited me and praised my father greatly, for his work and for his personality.

The film takes place in 1971, the good old days when printing was an analogue business. Typesetting was just what the word says. Metal letters were set on blocks and slotted together for printing. Isn't it so much easier today, now that we can type text on a computer?

The 1971 Pentagon Papers scandal is over-shadowed by the bigger Watergate scandal that began a year later. They both have a common issue: is the press free to print whatever it wants? My answer is Yes. It's a big subject, but I have a very simple answer. It's summed up in the words of Justice Black:

"The Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to fulfil its essential role in our democracy. The press was to serve the governed, not the governors".

That applies to any other country just as much as to the USA. The freedom of the press is essential in a democracy. The rulers of a country must never be beyond criticism. It's possible that a newspaper might make mistakes. It's possible that a newspaper might be politically biased and write one-sided stories. It doesn't mean that newspapers like this should be banned. They can be balanced out by the reports of other newspapers.

So what happens if someone – a whistleblower – gives state secrets to a newspaper? That's a crime, so should the newspaper be forbidden to tell the story? I say No. If it's a crime, the whistleblower should be prosecuted and punished to the full extent of the law. That person has broken a contract and should be treated appropriately. However, the newspaper should be allowed to do whatever it wants with the information it has received. Newspapers aren't bound by legal contracts, and they can print whatever they like.

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