[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 99 (Tuesday, July 17, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S7798]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            KATHARINE GRAHAM

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham, 
who passed away today, was a towering figure in the world of 
journalism.
  Her courageous stance during the publication of the Pentagon Papers 
in 1971 and during the Watergate saga, and her steadfast support for 
her editors and reporters during those trying times, left an 
unalterable mark upon American journalism and earned her a place in 
history. With Mrs. Graham at the helm, the Post became one of the 
leading newspapers in the United States and a veritable American 
institution.
  During her three decades at the helm of the Post she became one of 
the most influential and admired women in the business world. She was 
the first woman to head a Fortune 500 company and the first woman to 
serve as a director of the Associated Press.
  Mrs. Graham was an accomplished scribe in her own right. She began 
her career as a newspaper reporter in San Francisco. After her many 
successful years in the business end of journalism, she returned to 
writing and in 1997, at the age of 80, earned a Pulitzer Prize for her 
autobiography, ``Personal History.''
  Despite the Post's success under her leadership, Mrs. Graham remained 
modest about her own role. In words that could serve as a guide to 
future publishers, or even to United States Senators, she said:

       You inherit something and you do what you can. And so the 
     person who succeeds you inherits something different, and you 
     add to it or you subtract from it . . . . But you never 
     totally control it.

  Katharine Graham certainly added ``something'' to the world of 
American journalism--a mark of professionalism and integrity that time 
cannot erase.
  Personally, I shall recall her as gracious, elegant, and extremely 
dignified. She had a bearing one did not forget. She will serve as an 
example of journalism at its best for many, many years to come.
  Erma and I extend our condolences to Mrs. Graham's family and her 
host of friends.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Bayh). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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