The Newspaperman: The Life and Times of Ben Bradlee

(2017)

Synopsis

This documentary tells the fascinating story of one of America’s most influential and celebrated newspaper editors, utilizing rare home movies and photos, archival material spanning over 70 years, recent interview footage with family and colleagues, and voice-overs of passages from Ben Bradlee’s 1995 autobiography A Good Life: Newspapering and Other Adventures. Though Bradlee says he once thought the idea of a newspaperman writing his memoirs “cheeky,” he wrote one anyway, knowing full well that his career, and the public figures and events he crossed paths with, were both interesting and exceptional. He was also aware of the role that luck had in his life’s journey. “I had been dealt an awfully good hand,” he admits, and the events chronicled in this film bear him out.

Cast

Benjamin C. Bradlee, Drama