Movie a reminder of the importance of free press

STEVEN Spielberg’s new film “The Post” is set in 1971 but its message about the importance of an unfettered and independent press certainly resonates today. The current occupant of the White House should take it in.

The movie tells the story of the Washington Post (and The New York Times) going at it with the Nixon administration over the publication of what later became known as the Pentagon Papers — excerpts of top-secret Defense Department documents detailing the history of U.S. involvement in southeast Asia from World War II until 1968.

Simply put, the documents revealed that several administrations had misled the American people about this country’s role there, and about the likelihood for U.S. military success in the Vietnam War.

The Times got parts of the story first, and Richard Nixon’s administration immediately sought to stop further publication, saying the stories would do “irreparable harm” to national defense. A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order.

The movie centers on the Post’s efforts, ultimately successful, to get their hands on the report and thus begin its own series of stories.

Part of the drama involves the newspaper’s publisher, Katherine Graham, wrestling with the impact that publication might have on the newspaper’s business fortunes — the Post had just gone public — and on her friendships with many of Washington’s power brokers, including former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara.

McNamara tries to talk Graham (played by Meryl Streep) out of publishing the stories and incurring Nixon’s wrath. Members of the company’s all-male board of directors, and the newspaper’s attorneys, make the same argument, saying the newspaper “will cease to exist” if the government wins its case.

Hard-charging editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) sees it otherwise: “What will happen if we don’t publish? We will lose, the country will lose, Nixon wins.”

Graham, who grew up around the Post — her father had owned the paper, and later turned it over to her husband — makes the brave decision to go forward. The Post and the Times soon wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court, which rules 6-3 in their favor. A newsroom celebration includes a reporter relaying some of Justice Hugo Black’s concurring opinion:

“In the First Amendment the Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to fulfill its essential role in our democracy. The press was to serve the governed, not the governors.”

Those are words worth remembering as President Trump talks of trying to modify the nation’s libel laws, and as officials at all levels of government slow play or try to deny open records requests. Even for those who worry that some instances of “fake news” aren’t just political hype, “The Post” is a reminder of the value of a free press in an open society.

The film is many things — a portrait of a strong woman making her way in a male-dominated profession, an engrossing story of an important historical period in America. Mostly it’s a ringing endorsement of the First Amendment, which remains as important today as ever.