Lesley Stahl Hails ‘Unflinching Integrity’ of ‘Hero’ WashPost Publisher

April 18th, 2017 11:40 AM

Liberal journalists love other liberal journalists. Veteran CBS reporter Lesley Stahl talked to the New York Times on Sunday and praised the “unflinching integrity” of the late Katharine Graham. Graham was the publisher of the Washington Post for more than two decades, including during the Wategate era. 

In the By the Book section, Stahl gushed, “Her unflinching integrity at The Washington Post throughout the Watergate scandal made her the bravest publisher in the country (maybe for all time).” 

She continued, cheering: 

But Mrs. Graham delved deeply into the workings of a newspaper, journalistic decision-making under pressure and the special challenges of a woman standing up to male power in the 1970s. 

Clearly, Stahl has the same perspective that the Post did during the early ‘70s. When asked who her favorite villain is, Stahl responded, “Richard Nixon.” 

Baby boomer journalists love to remember the good old days of going after Nixon. Time editor David Von Drehle in 2014 described Ben Bradlee, the editor of the Post during Watergate, this way: “Charisma is a word, like thunderstorm or orgasm.”