If you’re looking to be inspired about the importance and power of the press, you may want to see “The Post,” as a few VPC members recently did.

“What I loved about ‘The Post’ was the step back in time. I was very young when this story unfolded and it was history by the time I was aware of its implications,” said Cherie Blazer, VPC’s secretary. “I loved the backstory and the insight into all the players.”

Added longtime VPC member Sande Snead, “‘The Post’ gave me a great appreciation for the difficult and possibly disastrous decision by The Washington Post to move forward with printing news about the Pentagon Papers — classified documents that The New York Times leaked but were forced by the Nixon administration and judicial system to cease and desist.”

The movie also resonated with those attending because the movie was largely told through the perspective of Post Publisher Katharine Graham.

“She found herself in a role that carried huge responsibility that she never was prepared for or expected, trying to be a ‘lady’ in a brutal Old Boy Network,” Cherie said. “How she rose to the occasion and found her voice was an inspiration that was fascinating and beautifully executed by Meryl Streep.”

And for those who came up through a newsroom back in the day, it was a way to see how much processes had changed. “Seeing the desks with landline phones, lots of reporter notebooks and no computers brought back lots of memories from my newsroom days,” said Cynthia Price, first vice-president for membership and immediate past president of VPC. “I loved seeing the long sheets of copy paper, the pneumatic tube to transport pages from the newsroom to the composing room, and the metal type.”