In Steven Spielberg’s “The Post”,  the time is 1968.  Analyst Daniel Ellsberg has just returned from Viet Nam with a report declaring the war at a stalemate.  When the Pentagon buries his report, Ellsberg takes his story  to the press.   Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) wants to run the story. His joi de guerre  is not shared by the Post’s owner,  Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep).  Her husband’s suicide has recently left her at the helm, where many would-be helmsmen (lawyers, shareholders) are advising her to defer to the Nixon administration and not publish.  Director Steven Spielberg “Post” labors to milk drama out of the situation, but,  unlike other journalism dramas like “Spotlight” or “All the President’s Men”, there is no  investigation to speak of.   The cover-up is a given; the only question is whether or not to publish.   Viewers enjoyment may vary  to the extent that decision endorses their own convictions, because, for all its period detail, “The Post” is squarely addressed to the present” (New Yorker).