Legendary journalist Christiane Amanpour attended the 2018 National Board of Review Gala on Tuesday evening at Cipriani 42nd Street to support “The Post.”She presented director Steven Spielberg and producers Kristie Macosko Krieger and Amy Pascal with the award for Best Film. The film’s stars Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep were also in attendance. They won Best Actor and Actress, respectively. Read what Amanpour told reporters on the red carpet:
Speak about supporting The Post today and what it means to you.
Christiane Amanpour: Well, what it means is that it’s a great, great tribute to the press, to the truth, to the triumph of, actually a woman in this business. Katharine Graham made a very courageous decision at a time when it was massively important and changed not just the face of journalism, but the dynamic of politics in terms of holding the president accountable, holding the administration accountable at the time, for the lies and the crimes committed, not just under Watergate but also before that, the Pentagon Papers. And, I’m thrilled to be able to present this award to Steven Spielberg because it’s great to feel validated, even though it’s a fantastic story that comes from the 1970s, we are at a moment when the press is under unprecedented attack by the White House. And, it’s just not right. It’s not even funny. It’s not a joke. I know this because I travel the world and report in the worst authoritarian countries and dictatorships. The reason America has democracy is because it has truth and it understands the difference between truth and lies. And therefore, we are the guardians of that truth. When it’s all about lies, that is how dictatorships flourish. So I’m a thousand percent committed to the truth and to see a film, The Post by Steven Spielberg, with female producer Amy Pascal and a female screenplay writer. All the women who Spielberg brought in, in front and behind the camera, is really impressive. And of course, to have Meryl Streep playing Katharine Graham, to have Tom Hanks playing the legendary Ben Bradley, and to see that relationship which was so important. That partnership constituted in my view, the greatest partnership in 20th century journalism, and I think it’s really amazing.
We’re at a watershed moment now for women. Do you think it’s going to be permanent?
Christiane Amanpour: You know, I hope so. And it’s up to all of us, all of us women, plus all of the good men who believe in our cause and who believe that things should be redressed, and who believe in this reckoning, need to step up and make sure this isn’t just a moment … That it must be about a redress of a deep injustice that’s been allowed to continue, mostly because of fear, because of entrenched privilege and a dynamic that has meant that men have ruled the world in every which way. That we know that when women are at the table, when women are in the executive suite, when women are in parity with men, the world is just a better place. There’s no two ways about it. That all the statistics prove it. All the evidence proves it. And it’s enough of trying to play nice. The patriarchy hasn’t played nice. It’s time for us to really demand that this moment be enshrined as a turning point … I’m lucky that I wasn’t a target of it. Why? I don’t know. Probably because I give off a very strong vibe that I would never tolerate that kind of stuff. And, I’m just lucky. But, have I known it exists? Yes, but I did not know that it was as bad as this. I didn’t know that it was so violent and so vile. … Just as a woman in a male dominated world, you’re always on your guard. And frankly, it’s time for us to take a deep breath, to relax, to be able to walk around, without having some wacko whistle at us, or insult us if we don’t answer back, or call us names. And that’s the nicer end of the spectrum.