Sally Quinn Interview: Love, Journalism, & the Legacy of Ben Bradlee

Sally Quinn recalls first meeting her late husband Ben Bradlee during an interview at The Washington Post. She discusses how Ben cared about journalism and the country, how he wanted to get the facts out and tell the truth, and describes his outlook as always positive which he passed down to their son Quinn.

Best Selling Author Sally Quinn was born in Savannah, Georgia on January 7, 1941 and graduated from Smith College in 1963. She is a longtime Washington Post journalist, columnist, television commentator, Washington insider, one of the capital’s legendary social hostesses, and founder of the religious website On Faith from The Washington Post. Sally met her late husband Ben Bradlee when she was a reporter at the Washington Post and he was Executive Editor. They married on October 20, 1978 and had one child together, Quinn Bradlee who was born in 1982. She writes for various publications and is the author of The Party: A Guide to Adventurous Entertaining (1997), Regrets Only (1986), Happy Endings (1991), and We’re Going to Make You a Star (1975), a memoir based on her experience as the first female network anchor in the United States for The CBS Morning news from 1973 to 1974. On her mother’s side, she is a descendant of William Williams, a signer of The Declaration of Independence.

From the HBO / Kunhardt Film Foundation (KFF) Documentary “The Newspaperman: The Life and Times of Ben Bradlee,” about one of America's most influential and celebrated newspaper editors, who found himself at the center of many of the 20th Century's most seismic storms, including: World War II, John F. Kennedy, Watergate and the fall of Richard Nixon.

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Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:08: Starting at The Washington Post
02:43: Falling for Ben Bradlee
05:59: Leaving The Post and Ben Bradlee
08:59: Ben Bradlee’s charisma
13:38: Ben Bradlee’s battle with polio
20:17: Ben Bradlee’s time in the navy
27:42: The bond between Ben Bradlee and JFK
32:49: Ben Bradlee’s Relationship with Kay Graham
35:26: Ben Bradlee’s own unique style
40:02: Ben was a formidable editor
42:58: Ben Bradlee chose his words carefully
46:03: The Pentagon Papers
49:43: Ben Bradlee’s success as editor
52:16: Unraveling the Watergate web
55:16: Phone being tapped at the Post
56:56: Ben Bradlee and Nixon
01:02:17: Becoming the story
01:09:52: Ben Bradlee’s leaving the Post
01:13:35: Quinn Bradlee
01:36:47: Ben Bradlee’s lasting legacy

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