Posted on 12/30/2017 12:20:43 PM PST by Kaslin
Some media observers say overseas reporters cover U.S. politics better than stateside scribes.
It’s a case-by-case situation, of course. It’s not far from the truth, though. We saw a great example of it recently courtesy of the BBC.
The Post, out in select theaters now and going wide January 12, stars Meryl Streep as Katherine Graham, The Washington Post publisher circa 1971. Graham approved the publication of The Pentagon Papers under great duress, a watershed moment in journalism. Tom Hanks co-stars as editor Ben Bradlee, and Oscar winner Steven Spielberg is behind the camera.
Talk about heavy hitters.
The story itself is both true and significant to U.S. history. That’s catnip to Oscar voters. It doesn’t hurt to have the legendary trio of Hanks, Streep and Spielberg fueling the film. Together, they account for nine Academy Awards.
Stateside reporters are fawning over The Post as if it’s the most important drama of the hour, if not the minute. Why?
In Trump’s America, good journalism matters … more than ever. Or so we’re told. What’s left unsaid? How the era of fake news and monumental MSM gaffes shattered our already shaky trust in news outlets. That’s a subject few, if any, U.S. based reporters will throw at the trio.
What a shame.
Yet one reporter did his homework and asked an equally tough query.
Meet Husam Sam Asi, a BBC TV host and founder of ukscreen.com. Asi recently interviewed The Post stars on a range of subjects captured in the following 10-minute clip.
Asi, a member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) since 2010, wasn’t satisfied with throwing the screen legends softballs. He hunkered down and challenged them with more substantial queries.
For example, he reminded Streep and Spielberg that President Barack Obama flexed his might against journalists via the Espionage Act. Here’s how Jake Tapper put it:
“The Obama administration has used the Espionage Act to go after whistleblowers who leaked to journalists … more than all previous administrations combined.”
That doesn’t take into account Obama’s war against Fox News or how he spied on Fox News’ James Rosen.
How did Streep and Spielberg, hardcore Democrats who supported Obama during his two presidential terms, react? Let’s just say each has a potent political career awaiting them given their fancy footwork.
Here’s Asi’s corker:
“If you look at the numbers, there were more prosecutions under the Espionage Act during the Obama administration than any other administration. Yet no one in Hollywood was urged to say something about it, or do something about it…”
What do Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks think of Edward Snowden?
What about Streep?
The video doesn’t directly connect the question and answer, although given Streep’s response it’s apparent she’s attempting to answer it without actually doing so.
“I think it’s good that that is exposed now. I think we have to hold not only people that we have adversarial political views from to task but I think we also have to hold our friends and our compatriots, people who follow a line of policy that we agree with, we have to hold them to the same standard. I think that’s absolutely valid and important. And that’s sort of what the film is about.”
Asi asked a tough, but fair, question to these A-list stars. He deserves plenty of credit for that … even if the stars couldn’t fairly fire off a response.
Meryl Streep destroyed her career last year, & Tom Hanks is doing the same this year. For some reason, people love him. I read that the movie is doing ok in its limited release but I hope it BOMBS.
Yep, no more "Bachelor Party" for me.
The leftist media are still living off their phony glory of the 1970’s
Its really become a joke
I watched that ‘Hanks’ movie, ‘SullY’ yesterday on cable, what a nothingburger waste of time.
‘He flew a plane into the river. The End’
I think it’s probably only playing in liberal cities right now. Hopefully it will flop everywhere else.
I have no intention to see it, no matter who plays in it.
It was the Times, not the Post, that first got the papers from Daniel Ellsberg. A Post reporter, not Bradlee, got sloppy seconds from Ellsberg.
Neither paper was ever threatened with criminal prosecution. The government brought a civil action against the Times for an injunction that was winding its way through the courts when the Post started to publish, so they knew there would be no criminal prosecution and there was not.
Nixon didn't care about the publication because it was all about lies told by the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. The study was complete before Nixon took office. Kissinger talked Nixon into taking action so as not to set a national security precedent that would affect future administrations.
But you probably won't hear any of this if you see the movie because it's not about the truth; it's about Hollywood/leftist truth and their pathological hatred of Nixon that still exists after decades.
Of course he did. It was in the news or did you miss it? *rme*
Not to mention Obama wanted to put his own "News Monitors" into newsrooms. Even Obama suck-ups like the NYT and WP balked at that.
That looks like the guy who played Col Klinker from Hogan’s Heroes. Werner Kemperer?
Not to mention Obama wanted to put his own “News Monitors” into newsrooms. Even Obama suck-ups like the NYT and WP balked at that.
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Boy that didn’t get the publicity it should have, that leftist totalitarian fascist sob was the biggest threat to democracy since 1776.
That is George C. Scott in his role as Patton. Very well done movie.
That doesn’t look like George C Scott?
I wonder if there are any Doors songs on the soundtrack.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Stephen_Morrison
Morrison was commander of the U.S. naval forces in the Gulf of Tonkin during the Gulf of Tonkin Incident of August 1964, which sparked an escalation of American involvement in the Vietnam War.
—
In 1963, Morrison took command of the Essex-class aircraft carrier USS Bon Homme Richard, flagship of a 3rd Fleet Carrier Division in the Pacific, and based at Naval Air Station Alameda, California. Morrison was in command of the Carrier Division during the controversial Gulf of Tonkin Incident in August 1964, which resulted effectively in the true beginning of the Vietnam War by President Lyndon Johnson.[6]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dObTXYa-_n4
Stop the above clip at 3 seconds and compare the two images.
You can’t imagine the bravery that will be on display at this year’s oscars. Nearly everybody will have some cutting comments about DJT.
So much bravery.
This film is dead to me.
I wonder what happened to Buckhead, the guy who exposed Rather?
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