A great lady dies

Katharine Graham, fomer chairwoman and CEO of The Washington Post Co. died today from head injuries received in a fall a few days ago. Mrs. Graham, working with editor Ben Bradlee, transformed the Post into one of the world’s leading newspapers during her tenure. Without her backing, I’m not sure the Pentagon Papers would have been published or if Woodward and Bernstein would have been able to pursue the investigation that lead to the resignation of President Nixon. She was thrust into a leadership role unexpectedly in the early ’60s when her husband commited suicide after a long bout with mental illness and she remained at the head of the company for 30 years. Her autobiography won a Pulitzer Prize three years ago; in it, she saw herself as an accidental tourist at the helm of a high speed yacht but those who worked with her insisted her success was no accident.