Stream now with KPBS+ / Premieres Tuesday, June 16 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV + Encore Wednesday, June 17 at 8 p.m. on KPBS 2
Produced and directed by four-time Emmy® winners George and Teddy Kunhardt, "Becoming Katharine Graham" tells the story of Graham’s accidental rise to power and how it changed history. Born in 1917, Katharine — known as “Kay” — was raised to believe that men would have careers and women would raise the family. But the course of her life would drastically change once her father, financier Eugene Meyer, bought The Washington Post in 1933, a struggling newspaper on the brink of collapse.
The paper’s performance improved under her father’s leadership and then under her husband Phil Graham, but Phil’s suicide in 1963 left Kay with a leaderless newspaper and four young children. Forced to decide whether to take over the family business herself or sell it, she surprised everyone by making the unprecedented decision to run it herself.
At its heart, "Becoming Katharine Graham" is an absorbing examination of the pivotal events of the 1970s that occurred under Kay’s leadership — the publication of the Pentagon Papers, the Watergate scandal, and a violent pressmen’s strike — as well as a look at the treatment she endured as one of the first female leaders in corporate America.
This sweeping account combines Kay’s own voice with archival newsreel and television footage, home movies and photographs. Among those lending their insights are longtime friend and investor Warren Buffett, son Don Graham, daughter Lally Weymouth, Gloria Steinem, David Remnick, Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, Richard Cohen, Lynn Povich, Susie Buffett, Sharon Osberg and others.
Filmmaker Quote: “Our film tells the story of Kay’s evolution from a shy ‘doormat wife’ to an independent-thinking businesswoman whose dedication to truth when challenged by the Nixon administration changed the course of history,” says Teddy Kunhardt. George Kunhardt adds, “Her example remains a reminder of what a free press can and should be.”
Watch On Your Schedule: "Becoming Katherine Graham" is available to stream with KPBS+ is a new free streaming video app designed for ease and enjoyment everywhere you watch including Roku, smart TVs and mobile devices. It’s locally curated for San Diego by the KPBS programming team. With a clean and intuitive design, discovering and enjoying KPBS and PBS content on-demand has never been easier.
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Credits: Kunhardt Film Foundation presents, A Life Stories production for PBS. The film is directed and produced by George Kunhardt and Teddy Kunhardt and is edited and produced by Jawad Metni. The director of photography is Bill Winters. Music by Saul MacWilliams and Osei Essed. The producers are Jill Cowan and Matthew O. Henderson. The co-producer is Emma Sasson. Executive producers are Peter Kunhardt, George Kunhardt and Teddy Kunhardt.
