A new Steven Spielberg film titled _The Post,_ called an "Ode to Journalism" by _The New Yorker_, takes us back to the the 1971 battle between the Press and the U.S. government over the leaked Pentagon Papers that outline America's involvement in the Viet Nam conflict. In anticipation of the film, news editors who saw the real drama as it unfolded met recently at Northeastern University to discuss that time in history, how they advised on Spielberg's take, and the legal implications for today's journalists in the ongoing struggle between the media and President Trump. (Photo: Matt Storin)
**Leonard Downie Jr.** was Executive Editor of \_The Washington Post\_ from 1991 to 2008. He worked in the Post newsroom for 44 years as Executive Editor, Managing Editor, National Editor, London correspondent, Assistant Managing Editor for Metropolitan News, Deputy Metropolitan Editor, and as an award-winning investigative and local reporter. Downie became Executive Editor upon the retirement of Ben Bradlee.
**Matt Storin** was Editor of the \_Boston Globe\_ from 1992-2001. He was succeeded by Martin Baron. Storin began his journalism career at his hometown newspaper, the Daily News of Springfield, Mass. Storin initially covered Congress and the White House for the Globe, and later served in a number of positions, including City editor. He served as Asian bureau chief from 1974–75, where his reportage included covering the last stages of the war in Vietnam and Cambodia. Storin left the Globe in 1985, following a dispute with then-Editor Michael Janeway.
Woody Hartzog teaches privacy and data protection issues as well as Torts to the first year law classes. His recent work focuses on the complex problems that arise when personal information is collected by powerful new technologies, stored, and disclosed online. Professor Hartzog’s work has been published in numerous scholarly publications such as the \_Yale Law Journal, Columbia Law Review, California Law Review,\_ and \_Michigan Law Review\_ and popular national publications such as T\_he Guardian, Wired, BBC, CNN, Bloomberg, New Scientist, Slate, The Atlantic,\_ and \_The Nation\_. He has testified twice before Congress on data protection issues. His book, Privacy’s Blueprint: The Battle to Control the Design of New Technologies, is under contract with Harvard University Press.
Jonathan Kaufman is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, editor, and author. He has held senior positions at Bloomberg News, The Wall Street Journal and The Boston Globe. As Bloomberg’s Executive Editor for Company News, based in New York, Kaufman oversaw more than 300 reporters and editors worldwide covering business, health, science, education, and international news. Under his leadership, Kaufman’s team at Bloomberg won numerous awards including a 2015 Pulitzer Prize, several George Polk Awards, the Overseas Press Club Award, a Gerald Loeb Award, the Osborn Elliott Prize of the Asia Society, and the Education Writers Association Grand Prize.