On a chilly evening in March, a month and a half into the second Trump Administration, a crowd gathered at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The event was hosted by billionaire C.E.O. of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett. The occasion? A screening party for a new documentary honoring the career of the legendary publisher of the Washington Post, Katharine Graham. A star-studded guest list included the likes of Bill Gates, Bill Murray, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Democratic senator Amy Klobuchar, and Bob Woodward, the man behind the Watergate scandal stories that defined the paper’s golden age.
As guests mingled at the Terrace Theatre, reminiscing about the fabled era when Presidents feared journalists and the bipartisan elite dined on lobster bisque and gossip, the shadow of Donald Trump’s hostile takeover of the Kennedy Center loomed large. The cancellation of a performance by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C., and the eagerness to book “Cats” signaled the end of an era of bipartisanship. And as the lights dimmed, Katharine Graham’s son, Don, took the stage to share his mother’s story of standing up to a President who sought to destroy her newspaper.
In the midst of the festivities, whispers of recent events circulated among the guests. Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder who acquired the Post in 2013, had made controversial decisions leading up to the 2024 election. From refusing to endorse a Presidential candidate to announcing a major shift in the Opinions section, Bezos had stirred up a storm of uncertainty and dissent within the paper. The departure of key staff members, including Pulitzer Prize winners, only added to the sense of unease and unrest within the newsroom.
Despite the turmoil, the Post continued to break stories and win accolades. Pulitzer Prizes were awarded, and the paper’s journalists remained committed to their mission of delivering quality news. However, with Bezos at the helm and his questionable decisions shaping the paper’s direction, the future of the Washington Post seemed uncertain. As Don Graham addressed the crowd at the Kennedy Center, reflecting on the paper’s legacy and the challenges ahead, the question of who would lead the Post into its next chapter hung in the air, unanswered.
