Ben Bradlee, l'ex direttore del Washington Post, è morto martedì nella sua casa di Washington, a 93 anni. Soffriva di Alzheimer. Il presidente Obama, che nel 2013 gli consegnò la medaglia della libertà, ha ricordato che il suo giornalismo è stato vitale per la democrazia americana.
Bradlee è ricordato, in particolare, per il sostegno che garantì ai due giovani cronisti Bob Woodward e Carl Bernstein, impegnati a indagare sullo scandalo "Watergate". Il caso, nel 1974, portò alle dimissioni di Nixon, la prima e unica volta di un presidente americano e fece guadagnare al giornale il premio Pulitzer. Memorabile rimane l'interpretazione che ne fece l'attore Jason Robards nel film "Tutti gli uomini del presidente".
Ma la decisione più importante presa da Bradlee, insieme all'editore di allora Katharine Graham, fu quella di pubblicare nel 1971 alcuni articoli basati sui cosiddetti "Pentagon papers", 7'000 pagine di documenti top-secret sulla guerra in Vietnam. L'amministrazione Nixon si rivolse, inutilmente, al tribunale per impedirne la divulgazione.
M.Ang./ATS
Dal TG12.30:
22.10.2014: Scompare Ben Bradlee, uno dei piu' carismatici giornalisti Usa
RSI Telegiornale 22.10.2014, 13:37
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