Cowed and Neutered: CBS News and the Washington Post

[UpInArms]

1. Background

Fifty years ago, the New York Times began publishing excerpts and analyses of the “History of the United States Decision-Making Process on Vietnam Policy,” better known as the Pentagon Papers. To mark the anniversary of the ensuing clash between President Richard Nixon’s administration and free press, the Center for Women’s History dives into the story behind the award-winning film, The Post, of how Washington Post publisher, Katharine Graham, decided to risk everything and expose government policy in Vietnam.

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The Nixon administration’s response to the Pentagon Papers was multi-faceted. It took an openly antagonistic stance towards the press in general and the Washington Post and Katharine Graham in particular. The administration also engaged in a covert smear campaign against Daniel Ellsberg, conducted by the same Special Investigations Unit that would break into the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters in the Watergate buildings almost one year later. The Post ran its first story about the “third-rate burglary,” on June 18, 1972, and for the next two years, the Watergate investigation consumed the paper. President Nixon’s retaliation was swift and brutal—as former Attorney General John Mitchell infamously ranted, “Katie Graham’s gonna get her tit caught in a big fat wringer.” Embattled, Graham wrote to a friend, “The idea of living with that gang in the White House whacking at you… is depressing beyond words.” Yet, she continued to fight for press freedom.

https://www.nyhistory.org/blogs/lets-go-lets-publish-katharine-graham-and-the-pentagon-papers