Does news still serve the people?

Ollie 2022-04-22 07:01:23

The "Pentagon Papers" incident is a great event and a landmark event in the history of American journalism. It is related to Nixon's subsequent visit to China, the end of the Vietnam War, and the loss of credibility of the Nixon government.

But the most far-reaching and inspiring thing is that it has made a big step forward for the "freedom of the press" in the United States, and it has made a big step forward in the construction of the "rule of law" in the United States. Since then, the American press has entered a new era. era.

"News serves the people, not those in power"!

Now, still?

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Extended Reading

The Post quotes

  • Robert McNamara: If you publish, you'll get the very worst of him, the Colsons and the Ehrlichmans and he'll crush you.

    Kay Graham: I know, he's just awful, but I...

    Robert McNamara: [Interrupting and getting extremely angry] He's a... Nixon's a son of a bitch! He hates you, he hates Ben, he's wanted to ruin the paper for years and you will not get a second chance, Kay. The Richard Nixon I know will muster the full power of the presidency and if there's a way to destroy your paper, by God, he'll find it.

  • Roger Clark: What if we wait? What if we hold off on printing today. Instead we call the Attorney General and we tell them that we intend to print on Sunday. That way we give them and us time to figure out the legality of all of it, while the Court in New York decides the Times case.

    Ben Bradlee: Are you suggesting we alert the Attorney General to the fact that we have these documents, that we're going to print, in a few days?

    Roger Clark: Well, yes, that is the idea.

    Ben Bagdikian: Yeah, well, outside of landing the Hindenburg in a lightning storm, that's about the shittiest idea I've ever heard.

    Fritz Beebe: Oh boy!