Press freedom is an important phenomenon in ensuring non-biased reporting and news. This paper analyzes The Post, a film where Washington Post was in dilemma of publishing leaked documents on the United States’ failures in Vietnam. Although the government knew that the war in Vietnam was taking a wrong path, it continued deceiving the general public. Ben Bagdikian was the Washington Post editor, and he was responsible for tracking Ellsberg, who had the leaked documents (Hannah & Singer, 2017). Although Bagdikian managed to get additional reports on the story, Katherine Graham, the editor in chief, was in dilemma whether to publish the paper. She had assumed this position after her husband committed suicide, leaving her as the owner of the firm.
After consultation with other editors in the firm, Graham understood that she was not in favor of the government of the time, and any attempts to publish a negative report on it would result in a legal battle. However, other editors advised that if she won the case against the government, Washington Post would have a better reputation from its audience (Hannah & Singer, 2017). She, therefore, agreed to post the report, which attracted a legal battle between the government and the firm. Washington Post based its defense on the First Amendment, which bars the government from exercising prohibitory laws on the establishment of religion, freedom of press, and freedom of speech. The Supreme Court rule favored the paper, with six judges vindicating the firm from the charges against it.
Katherine Graham faced a great challenge in deciding on whether the paper prints the story or not. First, she was facing gender prejudice since she was being discriminated against by other men who thought she was not fit to lead men. She was also facing a great challenge from discrimination by the government where her firm has been barred from covering president Nixon’s daughter’s wedding. According to the film, several factors may make a media house refrain from publishing news. They include interference from the government and the interests of various individuals in the press. Graham’s decision to print the story made her and the paper a hero and increased the reputation of the company. However, it came at the cost of total discrimination by the government, where Nixon banned it from covering the Whitehouse news (Hannah & Singer, 2017). However, if she had not printed the story, she would have lost the favors from the government and the people. She was already in conflict with the government, and therefore failure to print the news would not have made it a pro-government paper.
The Post film reflects the modern media where individuals working inside or outside the firm dictate what is to be covered in some news. An example of biased reporting is when some media houses in the United States support a political party’s ideals that favor them. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the people and government to ensure that the press is not interfered with. Freedom of the press should be protected since it prevents biased and false news, which can mislead the people. The media is the people’s watchdog and ensures the rights of the vulnerable groups are protected from exploitation by influential individuals and groups, including the government.
Reference
Hannah, L., & Singer, J. (2017). The Post [Film]. New York: 20th Century Fox.