Quotes from The Washington Post’s history
Aug 6, 2013, 1:31 AM
(AP) – _ Eugene Meyer, who bought the newspaper in 1933. “The newspaper’s duty is to its readers and to the public at large, and not to the private interests of its owners.”
_ Late Post president Katharine Meyer Graham, who took over the company on Sept. 20, 1963, after the suicide of her husband, Philip, who was then the president and CEO. “What I essentially did was to put one foot in front of the other, shut my eyes and step off the ledge. The surprise was that I landed on my feet.”
_ Then-Attorney General John Mitchell, reacting to Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein’s call for comment on reporting that the Committee to Re-elect the President had a secret fund controlled by Mitchell and four others that paid for gathering intelligence on the Democratic Party. “All that crap, you’re putting it in the paper? It’s all been denied. Katie Graham’s gonna get her tit caught in a big fat wringer if that’s published. Good Christ! That’s the most sickening thing I ever heard.” _ Sept. 28, 1972.
_ Former top editor Benjamin C. Bradlee. “It is my experience that most claims of national security are part of a campaign to avoid telling the truth. Remember that Nixon’s first comment about Watergate claimed that he was going to be unable to answer questions about Watergate because Watergate involved `matters of national security.’ That was baloney and Nixon knew it, but the charge convinced some people otherwise. Too bad.” _ June 2, 2005.
_ Donald Graham, chairman and CEO of The Washington Post Co. “I, along with Katharine Weymouth and our board of directors, decided to sell only after years of familiar newspaper-industry challenges made us wonder if there might be another owner who would be better for the Post (after a transaction that would be in the best interest of our shareholders). Jeff Bezos’ proven technology and business genius, his long-term approach and his personal decency make him a uniquely good new owner for the Post.” _ Aug. 5, 2013.
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