Daisy Mae M.

Rosos COMM 106

October 21, 2021

Democracy Dies in Darkness

Looking back on my journey in this course, a lot of realizations were made as we read
the different cases that encompass the freedom of speech and the press. The inherent right of
being able to express yourself and your opinion has never been much important to me.
Furthermore, the appreciation of the freedom that I have magnified knowing that my rights
are protected under these constitutions guaranteeing my privilege to express and to speak. As
we engage with our society, these rights are apparent as opinions and information coming
from the normal people to the press continues to feed our day to day functions. However,
there are also downsides to the good things aforementioned such as misinformation and
disinformation. Others also take advantage of their powers and suppress the people of their
rights through censorship. Most importantly, the fact that freedom of speech is not absolute
exists. Thus, a vigilant, true, and courageous press--which is the main source of the people in
practicing their right to information--is a primary need in the society. And the movie The Post
lived up to the expectations of the press through the Washington Post as well as the New
York Times.
A real life case turned into a movie unfolds a tumult between the press and the
government. To emphasize, Katharine "Kay" Graham--the publisher of The Post and the first
woman to be a publisher of an American newspaper--came to face with one of the biggest
decision that she is about to make that could impact the welfare of their newspaper company
as well as the lives of the men at war, the government's reputation, and the right of the public
to know. With the push of Ben Bradlee, the Editor in Chief of the Post, Kay bravely insists on
the publishing of these newspapers amid the consequences that she may face in the court. In a
6-3 decision, the court then dissolved the restraining order and allowed the Times and the
Post to continue with publication with Justice Black saying "the press is to serve the
governed, not the governor".
There are three points that I would like to discuss that I was able to realize after
watching the movie. First, I want to reiterate the argument of Justice Black on his
concurrence that "only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in the
government". Being the watchdogs, it is essential for the press to be protected from
government restraints in order to confidently monitor the conduct of the government, which
the public has the right to know, without worrying about being censored or suppressed.
Following the restraint on Times, The Post was skeptical in publishing these articles. If The
Post was not able to publish these articles, keeping in mind that the Times was already
restrained and the only hope now is The Post, a lot would be compromised and one of which
is the people’s right to know. They would not know the secrets of the government--which is
undemocratic by the way--as to how they handled the Vietnam War in which lives were lost
and a lot were at stake. Eyes won't be opened up until now if these articles were restrained
and people would still believe in the facade the government puts up. Thus, the guarantee of
the First Amendment that no law shall abridge the freedom of speech and the press is very
vital in protecting the press from such restraints.
Second, at the end of the day, these newspaper companies are businesses. It is not new
to me to see Kay constantly reminded that if they publish these articles they might lose
investors in the process because a newspaper company cannot continue to publish without
Daisy Mae M. Rosos COMM 106
October 21, 2021

money to pay for the workers and materials needed in printing. But Kay being firm with her
decision and aware of the consequences proceeded to do so. I cannot blame the other
members of the board, most especially Fritz, in stopping Kay at some point since they are
also just concerned with the newspaper’s economy or maybe their selfish intentions but who
knows. One thing is for sure, they will lose money and they know that. I also noticed as to
how eager Ben Bradlee to publish these articles and I know that it is not just about his
purpose as a journalist that keeps him going but also I think he wants to be competent just
like Times and of course this would be a big scoop meaning this would result to a bigger
publicity which will eventually turn to bigger opportunities. However, with the big move they
made in publishing these articles, they inspired other newspaper companies as well thus
gaining the attention.
Last but not least, is that the words of Justice Black “the press is to serve the governed
not the governor” was very striking for me not just because of the issue at hand but of course
it also applies to our protagonist Kay Graham and the crisis and stereotypes she faces as
being the first woman to be a publisher of an American newspaper. We can see that she is
being restricted in her actions by the members of the board--which is composed of all
men--and that instead of serving the governed, in this case were the readers of The Post, she
is being governed by the ideologies of patriarchy. Even if she is the current owner of The
Post, the members of the board don’t respect her in that level just because she is a woman and
just because it was very unusual to have a woman lead during that timeline. The way they
also present their opinion to Kyy is like her point of view on that matter is not even valid.
Which is why you can notice that Kay always asks others for opinions before coming up with
a firm decision. And finally, when Kay had the courage to finally stand up for herself and be
selfless, it was a very powerful move for her. One scene where Ben Bradlee and his wife
were talking, her wife said that Kay’s decision was very brave of her and ought to the fact
that she has something to lose yet she stood firm on what she believed and that is the epitome
of a courageous press in a figure of a woman.
Sadly, after the long fights of suppression and censorship throughout history, we still
get to experience such in the present times. Most especially under the dictatorship of the
current administration. One great example is the shutdown of the biggest broadcast
company--ABS CBN-- here in the Philippines which is a clear manifestation that even though
our rights are being protected by the constitution, as long as the government exploits their
powers and influences others to condone such things, then freedom of speech can be trampled
easily. And when courageous press like The Post acts, the government then turns into a
predator searching for a prey to attack with restraints or sue cases such as the libel case
against the Nobel Peace Prize Award winner Maria Ressa, another iconic woman just like
Kay herself. As she exposed the conduct of the government, they sued her with cyber libel to
punish her. With her founded digital media company, the Rappler and its fearless reporting,
the government cannot take their eyes off this company, thus from time to time we can see a
Rappler journalist being harassed by the state. Nevertheless, it is very commendable that
amid the bombardments they continue to provide us with in depth and a bias for the truth
news coverage. As future journos, these inspire us further to serve the people bearing in mind
that we hold the biggest responsibility in keeping the people informed and shaping their day
to day decisions may it be in the political aspects or just in the normal day of their lives.