Tribute to Legendary Post Editor Ben Bradlee

WASHINGTON--Yesterday, the historic editor of The Washington Post, Mr. Benjamin Bradlee, died in his home of natural causes at the age of 93.  Bradlee was the editor of the Post for 26 years and led the paper during its most powerful era, from 1965 through the height of its influence, after it broke the game-changing stories on the Watergate break-ins and the Pentagon Papers.   Under his leadership the paper won 17 Pulitzer Prizes and established itself as one of the top newspapers in the nation.   After learning about his death, Rep. Lewis made these comments:

            "Ben Bradlee was one of the great editors of the 20th century.  He set the standard for the Fourth Estate as an effective check on the power of government and as the daily recorder of  the life of the nation.  To him, news was more than a business.  It was a responsibility, it was a calling, a public service that demanded substance above all for every reporter lucky enough to call it a profession, yet he believed stories had to be clothed in a brisk, engaging context.

            "When Ben Bradlee left the newsroom, a light went out in the news business.  It seemed he took with him the courage, the idealism, that intangible spark and a keen awareness of the power of the pen when he left.  There are only a few leaders who define the best in their business for decades to come, who become a legend and a high watermark for others who pass that way.  Ben Bradlee was that kind of leader, one of the greatest editors this nation has ever known.  We would do well to remember his legacy and to use the lessons of his life to inform and strengthen the business of journalism today."

                                                            ###