Henry Kissinger amusingly comments, “They covered my social life more intensely than I thought the national interest required.” After being named executive editor, he revitalized the paper, bringing it to national prominence and raising its profile in Washington thanks to such innovations as the introduction of its Style section. He also had an affair with her sister Mary, who was murdered under mysterious circumstances in 1964.Īs one might expect, The Newspaperman spends much time on Bradlee’s lengthy tenure at the Post. The documentary includes home-movie footage and audio recordings of the foursome sailing and golfing, and it reveals that JFK relentlessly pursued Tony romantically, even assaulting her at a party. The relationship continued even after JFK became president, raising considerable eyebrows because of the potential conflict of interest. One of the most interesting sections concerns the close friendship Bradlee and his second wife, Antoinette (Tony) Pinchot, had with then-Senator John F. “ Bradlee always knew he was the luckiest son-of-a-bitch in the world,” comments Jim Lehrer, one of many notable figures providing commentary.īarack Obama: 'If I Watch Fox News, I Wouldn’t Vote for Me' It includes such elements as Bradlee having suffered from polio as a child graduating from Harvard by the skin of his teeth marrying and later divorcing Jean Staltonstall, whom he describes as “the first and only girl I had slept with” serving in the Navy during World War II, which he largely spent in the South Pacific and fulfilling his longtime dream of becoming a foreign correspondent, working for Newsweek. The doc delivers an extensive biographical portrait, using Bradlee’s own gravelly voice to narrate via excerpts from the audiobook version of his autobiography A Good Life. “Our business is not to be loved, but to go after the truth,” he says.

The Newspaperman begins by implying parallels between the Post‘s reporting on the Watergate scandal and President Donald Trump decrying the mainstream media as “fake news.” In a clip from an interview with Mike Wallace, Bradlee says that the press has to “hunker down” in the face of attacks from those who don’t like its reporting. The film, which recently garnered a PGA Award nomination, is set to make its debut Monday on HBO. Chronicling its subject’s life and career in fascinating detail, The Newspaperman: The Life and Times of Ben Bradlee will prove catnip to journalism and political buffs, not to mention anyone who cares about the free press and its role in our democracy.

John Maggio’s documentary about legendary newspaper editor Ben Bradlee could not be more relevant at a time when such legacy media as The New York Times and The Washington Post are leading the journalistic pack with their reporting on the current presidential administration.

A Good Life by Ben Bradlee