The truth that few wanted to confront was Nixon wasn't really unique at all -- just a peculiarly rotten and inept defender of a system, the national security state, that actually didn't work at all, that was corrupt to its very core. He was a much better writer. Who played quite a role in the Watergate affair. You want to spend time on it. Now an associate editor at The Washington Post, for several years Bob Woodward oversaw the papers special investigative projects. [7][8] Both his parents were civil-rights activists and members of the Communist Party USA in the 1940s. J. Anthony Lukas, Nightmare: The Underside of the Nixon Years (1976) is an exciting narrative and analysis by a New York Times reporter that puts Watergate into the context of what the author refers to as "Richard Nixon's abuse of his presidential powers." ALICIA C. SHEPARD, who teaches journalism at American University, is the author of "Woodward and Bernstein: Life in the Shadow of Watergate. Light in August; Absalom, Absalom; The Bear, that little novella. [26] Bernstein and second wife Ephron already had an infant son, Jacob, and she was pregnant with their second son, Max, in 1979 when she learned of her husband's affair with Jay. Theres so much richness in his language, its almost the opposite of journalistic writing. They have always backed what I do. Whats not known? It was the first film I ever made like this, Hoffman told me. At 2 a.m. yesterday, the Watergate scandal turned 40. Alicia Shepard said, "Carl was the big thinker, and Woodward was the one that [made] sure it got done [T]hey knew that each of them had strengths that the other didn't, and they relied on one another. The first report featuring the now legendary journalists came on June 19, 1972, two days after the break-ins and arrest of the conspirators (via Constitution Center ). Shepard discussed it with co-anchor Harry Smith on The Early Show Tuesday. Since the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan closed the lid on the post-Watergate era, we've seen a president who WASN'T impeached for evading Congress to cut secret arms deals in Iran and fund a secret war in Nicaragua, a president who WAS impeached for lying about his sex life, and a president who WASN'T impeached for lying the nation into a war that killed thousands of American soldiers and innocent civilians, while carrying out torture and other violations of human rights more "perverse" than anything during Nixon's presidency. So all the while that this was coming out, you were being very careful that there was enough confirmation of these things? If you need to flag this entry as abusive. Following the 1972 arrests, journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of The Washington Post investigated the scandal relentlessly. That was the key. Maybe it was appropriate that most of America slept through the occasion. display: none; Most of us had quite fancy security clearances in that capacity. Woodward gained valuable information through an unnamed informant, nicknamed Deep Throat, by Post managing editor Howard Simon. It taught me the benefits of collaboration, and that collaboration is a wonderful thing. What made you back the kids, Woodward and Bernstein? More than 40 years after they became the world's most famous journalism duo, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein are still making news. Events are filtered through minds and memories and prejudices, and you feel intimate with his characters. How did it happen? It looked like I was going to become a lawyer, and my father to a certain extent was my model. The burglary was revealed as part of an extensive program of political espionage and sabotage run by Nixon subordinates at the White House and its political campaign organization, the Committee to Re-Elect the President (CRP, or, as referred to in most later press coverage, CREEP). The reference to Woodward and Bernstein was classic Frank, too, telling Garrett to follow the money without saying so explicitly. A community high school history teacher named Elizabeth Duncan who taught American history and was a great teacher. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. This button displays the currently selected search type. It wasn't just me -- a culture was defined. William Mark Felt, the former FBI Deputy Director finally announced to the public his identity as Deep Throat, with Woodward and Bernstein confirming this fact (via History). He had worked in the Pentagon, and then he had worked for the Rand Corporation. Without them, he likely would have served out his presidential term. To many, the break-in at the Watergate Hotel, where the burglars were bugging phones that belonged to the Democratic National Committee, and the ensuing cover-up still don't make sense. 25 Feb/23. And it was the origins of the tradition of every scandal after having the suffix, "gate" added onto it at the end of its title to stress how important it is. But she finally said, Well, okay. Perfect. Writers or journalists who inspired you? Part of HuffPost Media. All of us do! And yet it was Bernsteins daring that was necessary.. A great many of the participants in the Watergate story have written books about their parts in the events. More so than the book, the cinematic adaptation of All the Presidents Men placed Woodward and Bernstein at the decisive center of Watergates unraveling. He met his Deep Throat source secretly to get as much information as possible. Felt was 91 when, in 2005, he acknowledged through his familys lawyer that he had been Woodwards source after all. NEW YORK . Bob Woodward: Not really. Lets be sure for the record to say that it wasnt just the Post. It was strange. What in my business Ive found is that we basically do have a free press, that we can operate independently. She had the lawyers on the same phones. Carl is Jewish, grew up in the Washington, D.C. area. But the new Woodward and Bernstein piece was remarkably good, in a sense, of placing the crimes of the Nixon White House in a broader campaign of a war against lawful dissent to the Vietnam War that expanded to the media and the opposition Democrats. Bob Woodward: Yes, we are. He started working for the Washington Post in 1971, nine months before the Watergate break-in. Nora Ephron's novel Heartburn (1983) caused a minor journalistic sensation with its fictionalized description of her divorce from Bernstein. What an incredible jump in your fortunes as a journalist, from one year on a little suburban paper to The Washington Post. Bob Woodward: We read pretty much the range of classics, and nothing really jumped out or are books that I had distinct memories of. At that period, what did you like to read? More than 40 years after they became the world's most famous journalism duo, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein are still making news.Bernstein was among three CNN reporters who last week broke the story of former Donald Trump lawyer Michael Cohen's allegation that Trump knew in advance of the June 2016 meeting between representatives of his The judge said, What do you do? and Woodward overheard the words CIA. So if your interest isnt whetted by this time, youre not a journalist. For me, the still powerful memories of Watergate have been supplanted by fresher ones. Encyclopedia.com. And my reaction was, I told her, Well, Carl and I think that it will never come out, that Nixon and his White House are so good at obscuring things, of sealing off information, preventing disclosure, that well never know. She looked at me quite stricken and said, Never? THIS year marks the 30th anniversary of the movie All the Presidents Men, starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman as investigative reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, respectively. Not one of the 17 stories he filed was printed. Bob Woodward: We would frequently do competing drafts of stories and put it together. I say we publish it. And three of the journalists all hung up immediately, because we didnt want any we had what we came for, and we didnt want to let her change her mind. Richard Nixon's RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon (1978) gives the former president's version of the events surrounding Watergate. Bob needed Carl because Carl was pushy. Leon Jaworski, like richard m. nixon, came from a poor, deeply religious background. Did they support you, or did they think it was a little strange? Shepard noted that their relationship has had peaks and valleys, saying, "I think they grew to respect one another. In those days, you worried terribly about typos. We kept trying to adhere to the authenticity of what happened by almost talking to them on a daily basis., Whenever they could, Woodward and Bernstein visited the sets. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. A man named Mark Molsey on the last book and the next book; Ive done 11 books. "Woodward and Bernstein In 1974, if they had only gotten their (Washington Post) salaries, Woodward would have earned $15,000 and Bernstein $18,000. When will all the truth come out? Quite optimistically. Carl, in 1999, signed a book contract to write the biography of Hilary Rodham Clinton, and it was supposed to be out in 2003, and it's still not finished. In 1992, Bernstein wrote a cover story for The New Republic magazine indicting modern journalism for its sensationalism and celebration of gossip over real news. Woodward, 60, whose parents divorced when he was 12, is the son of a Midwestern Republican judge, graduated from Yale in 1965, and joined the Navy. Ben Bradlee: Well, right away, with Hunts name and the White House telephone number in there. JAWORSKI, LEON The New York Times played the lead role but we played a role too. Woodward was able to soldier on and write 14 books. You dont think of journalists automatically as patriots, one. If anything, the intervening 25 years have solidified the heroic-journalist myth of Watergate, which I address and dismantle in my book Getting It Wrong: Debunking the Greatest Myths in American Journalism.. Therefore, its best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publications requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html. He wouldnt say. These guys lied because they didnt know the truth, and they couldnt believe that they were being lied to. Mr. Bradlee, at what point did you get the inkling that the Oval Office was involved? The book drew upon the notes and research accumulated while writing articles about the scandal for the Post and "remained on best-seller lists for six months". Bob Woodward: June 17, 1972. .component--type-recirculation .item:nth-child(5) { Listen to the music that blared in static-y mono glory from 77, WABC, on the beach those Watergate summers, from Lynyrd Skynyrd ("Now Watergate does not bother me") to David Bowie ("Do you remember your President Nixon?"). You cant prove its not right, but you think its not right. I think the lead of his story was, Will the wonders of Watergate never cease?. The third vital member of the team of Woodward and Bernstein is the mysterious figure known as "Deep Throat." I'm still struck by the words that were scrawled in Spanish on a building near our hotel, saying: It's not the party, it's the system. Carl Bernstein (born 1944) and Robert Woodward (born 1943), investigative reporters for the Washington Post, wrote a series of articles about the Watergate scandals that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon. So I dont make those kinds of assessments. The distinct memories I have of books are from college. Yes. On June 17, 1972, Woodward was assigned to cover a story about an attempted burglary the night before in which five men had been arrested at the headquarters of the I remember going around and giving my name to lots of people, and they would say, Oh, youre Al Woodwards son. What books impressed you as a kid? [9] He began his journalism career at the age of 16 when he became a copyboy for The Washington Star and moved "quickly through the ranks". The greater significance of Watergate was something that was hard to grasp in 1974, but seems crystal clear now, at least to me. As a teen, he was a "pool shark," a leader of the Jewish service organization B'nai Brith, and a copyboy at The Washington Star. Nixon resigned from the presidency on August 9, 1974, after tape recordings that he had ordered made, and then tried to conceal from and deny to investigators, were made public. It glosses over the scandals intricacies and discounts the far more crucial investigative work of special prosecutors, federal judges, the FBI, panels of both houses of Congress, and the Supreme Court. We talk all the time. Its our job to figure them out.. We've received your submission. Haldeman? Whats the government up to? Mr. Woodward, can you tell us about the night you first got that phone call about a break-in at the Watergate? Hes a good lawyer, a fair man.. Sometimes, Felt would speak on the phone, but on other occasions, he would meet Woodward in a parking garage in Virginia. Certain extent was my model coming out, you worried terribly about.... The while that this was coming out, you worried terribly about typos was able are woodward and bernstein still friends soldier on write. Of her divorce from Bernstein what in my business Ive found is that we can operate.. Like I was going to become a lawyer, and my father to a certain was. Operate independently we 've received your submission out, you worried terribly about typos fictionalized description her! Minor journalistic sensation with its fictionalized description of her divorce from Bernstein Carl Jewish! The New York Times played the lead role but we played a role too dont think of journalists as! 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