Barack Obama
“For Benjamin Bradlee, journalism was more than a profession – it was a public good vital to our democracy.
A true newspaperman, he transformed the Washington Post into one of the country’s finest newspapers, and with him at the helm, a growing army of reporters published the Pentagon Papers, exposed Watergate, and told stories that needed to be told – stories that helped us understand our world and one another a little bit better.
The standard he set – a standard for honest, objective, meticulous reporting – encouraged so many others to enter the profession. And that standard is why, last year, I was proud to honor Ben with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Today, we offer our thoughts and prayers to Ben’s family, and all who were fortunate to share in what truly was a good life.”
Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein
Washington Post reporters who broke the Watergate story
“Ben was a true friend and genius leader in journalism. He forever altered our business. His one unbending principle was the quest for the truth and the necessity of that pursuit. He had the courage of an army. Ben had an intuitive understanding of the history of our profession, its formative impact on him and all of us. But he was utterly liberated from that. He was an original who charted his own course. We loved him deeply, and he will never be forgotten or replaced in our lives.”
Martin Baron
Washington Post editor
“Ben Bradlee has made an indelible mark on history and on our profession. His spirit has been an inspiration to generations of journalists, demonstrating what our profession can achieve when it is led with courage and an unwavering commitment to truth. As we mourn his passing, we remain guided by the high standards he set in building one of the world’s greatest newsrooms.”
Donald Graham
Chief executive officer of Graham Holdings. The Graham family were WaPo proprietors for 80 years before who selling the paper to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in 2013 for $250m
“The story of the modern Washington Post starts the day Kay Graham made Ben Bradlee the editor of the paper. He was the best. He pushed as hard as an editor can push to print the story of the Pentagon Papers; he led the team that broke the Watergate story. And he did much more. His drive to make the paper better still breathes in every corner of today’s Post newsroom.”
Tina Brown
Former Vanity Fair and New Yorker editor, founder of Daily Beast and Tina Brown Media
Mourning the death of the great and glorious #BenBradlee ...my dear friend and a mighty journalist
— Tina Brown (@TinaBrownLM) October 22, 2014
Jill Abramson
Former New York Times executive editor
“Ben had total joie de journalism. It oozed from every pore. No one had more fun chasing a big story and no editor made the chase more fun.”
Lionel Barber
Financial Times editor
Thank you Ben Bradlee for all you taught me and a generation of young British journalists/Stern fellows. We will miss you sorely #1985
— Lionel Barber (@lionelbarber) October 22, 2014
