Katherine Graham Case Summary

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1. What were the critical strategic decisions made at the Washington Post during Katharine Graham’s tenure as President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board?

The most critical decision was the one to pursue journalistic integrity as a strategy for achieving a sustainable newspaper. It does not logically follow that if one were to release a news publication, particularly a publication in Washington, D.C., that it should necessarily choose to follow a policy of antagonism toward the White House. As this policy would restrict its access – presumably one of the natural advantages of a D.C. paper. – and undermine its national appeal. There may be some argument that the sensationalism of the antagonist policy and leftist, anti-war policies will naturally appeal to the type of person who would purchase a subscription (traditionally more educated and more liberal). However, there was undoubtedly a price the newspaper, and Graham herself, was required to pay in order to reach this audience. From
She, at times, was forced into territory that was unfamiliar and for which she needed to develop new skills – for example, the speech-giving that was required of her position and the business decisions that needed to be made at the Post. However, she never seemed to be playing any parts or brining any characters onto the stage, just being authentic Kay throughout her life. This may be because she was so good at playing the parts and the acting came so naturally that she never appeared to be inauthentic; or perhaps because she was not conscious of this action and therefore didn’t write about it. Nevertheless, it does seem interesting that she was trying to be the same person throughout her life, but that different circumstances demanded different components of her

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