Chapter 26 Summary and Analysis

Meager awakens Kay at 4:45 a.m. on October 1, 1975, with news of the pressmen's "Pearl Harbor." They have sabotaged all the presses and assaulted foreman Jim Hover. Kay is surprised at having to force her way physically through the picket lines. The pressroom is flooded, and smoke hangs in the air. Dugan duped management into believing the pressmen would complete the run, and instead, they destroy the paper's means of fending for itself. Nearly all of the craft unions have taken to the streets. Bradlee leads tours of the clearly premeditated desolation for the reporters to keep the Writers' Guild from joining the action. Flores tries to rally them, but they vote overwhelmingly not to honor the picket line. Both sides appeal to the public for support.

The October 1 issues already printed are distributed, and the Post declines to speculate when publication...