are woodward and bernstein still friends

Margaret later became a government minister in her own right. They wrote the best-selling All the President's Men and became millionaires. So why not take Woodward at his word? But they missed decisive elements of Watergate, notably the payment of hush money to the burglars and the existence of Nixons White House tapes. Bob Woodward: I was not married at the time and loved being free to do something. One midnight in June 1975, Bernstein watched as Pakula directed a scene. Bob Woodward: Oh, yes, I had teachers at Wheaton. That happened a long time ago. Woodward -- the one who stayed in the Beltway journalism racket -- had all the access to the highest level officials that he had craved at the start of Watergate, and yet he remained clueless as to how such access could provide as much disinformation as truth. An informant in the federal government, it was not until 2005 that the public finally put a name on Deep Throat. As a colleague of ours at the Post, Bill Greider, wrote the day they disclosed the secret taping system in the White House. Events are in no way simple or cinematic. The reference to Woodward and Bernstein was classic Frank, too, telling Garrett to follow the money without saying so explicitly. It's the system. You mentioned Faulkner. Were there other people that inspired you? In his obituary column written in 1994, writer Martin Weil had this to say about the late Lewis: "A familiar and trusted figure to top police officials, [Lewis] went into the building with investigators and remained there unchallenged through the day, gathering information available to no other news outlet.". So all the while that this was coming out, you were being very careful that there was enough confirmation of these things? Its small wonder that the heroic-journalist myth still defines popular understanding of Watergate. He started working for the Washington Post in 1971, nine months before the Watergate break-in. Mr. Bradlee, what were your emotions when Nixon resigned? He spent a year in his research, which was published as a 25,000-word article in Rolling Stone magazine. Somebody who through force of personality made history interesting and important. He told me first that he was going to resign, wasnt sure when, and for Gods sake dont write it as hard, because he wont. But she was quite curious, quite well-informed, plugged in. How did you do that? Bob Woodward: Interesting question. And we had to be sure the headline was right. Give him a story, any story, and he runs with it. Carl was the big thinker, and Woodward was the one that make sure it got done" (via CBS News). You are trying to understand somebodys reasoning and their emotions and the demons they may or may not have. Every time the White House denied something, the evidence became clear that it was the White House that was lying. Few in the room. And my father said probably the severest thing he has ever said to me. What are you most proud of, looking back on your career so far? Alfred E. Lewis, a veteran police reporter for the newspaper, wrote the first story of the break-ins at the Watergate Hotel a day before the first Woodward and Bernstein article. 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). What does it mean? Robert H. Ferrell In their dogged reporting of the Watergate scandal, Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncovered the crimes that forced Richard Nixon to resign the presidency in August 1974. Woodward and Bernstein did disclose financial links between Nixon's reelection campaign and the burglars arrested June 17, 1972, at headquarters of the Democratic National Committee, in what. Bob Woodward: Yes. Ben Bradlee: Four hundred stories about Watergate in The Washington Post Four hundred in two years and two months. Although Woodward was reluctant to talk about himself as a reporter, he was determined to expose other peoples secrets. What it turned out was that the question hinged on whether or not he had told that to the grand jury, and since he hadnt, he was able to say No. He wasnt asked was there a slush fund, which, of course, there was. Was he the more experienced journalist at the time? WASHINGTON Watching Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein on stage at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner on Saturday night was like a Simon and Garfunkel reunion. He has also done reporting for television and opinion commentary. The Post played a critical role in the beginning, and Woodward and Bernstein came in at critical moments. His parents were members of the Communist Party. Woodward had married reporter Francie Barnard, and Bernstein was dating Nora Ephron, whom he married on April 14, 1976 -- 10 days after the movie debuted in Washington. The dichotomy intrigued Pakula. You want to deal a careful glancing blow. Woodwards 2012 bookThe Price of Politicsexplores the efforts of President Obama and congressional leaders to restore the American economy following the financial crisis of 2008. 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. What is this secret government we have? [12][13], In 1965, Bernstein left the Star to become a full-time reporter for the Elizabeth Daily Journal in New Jersey. ", Fame, Shepard observed, "played a huge role in changing their lives forever. Starting with the Watergate burglars, the two young reporters traced the money used to finance the break-in, following it by October 1972 to John Mitchell, formerly Nixon's attorney general and at the time of the break-in the Bob Woodward has two daughters, Tali and Diana. Both men continued to work for the Post. The greater significance of Watergate was something that was hard to grasp in 1974, but seems crystal clear now, at least to me. That the difficulties they put up to prevent the truth from coming out had been overcome. And there we watched thousands of "indignados" flood the streets of Madrid, the precursor to Occupy Wall Street back home. How would you summarize that? We didnt allow any television people in. Ben Bradlee: I was at The Washington Post, and I couldnt believe it. The movie All the Presidents Men placed Woodward and Bernstein at the decisive center of Watergates unraveling. Like an assistant secretary of defense who had been a year or two before head of a big Republican contributor and head of an automobile company and, you know, sold cars in Omaha or somewhere. Id have drinks with him early all of late July and early August. Where did you work? And he went, CIA, Central Intelligence Agency. And I know my reaction was one of Oh! Advertisement Pakula. The tapes incontrovertibly showed that he had participated in an attempt to obstruct justice from as early as six days after the Watergate burglary. Editors looked around and thought, Who could we call in? With the full support of their editor, Ben Bradlee, Woodward and Bernstein continued to pursue the story, and little by little uncovered a larger story of the abuse of power and the obstruction of justice. All reflected a mind-set and a pattern of behavior that were uniquely and pervasively Nixon's: a willingness to disregard the law for political advantage, and a quest for dirt and secrets about his opponents as an organizing principle of his presidency. 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. Ephron delivered Max prematurely after finding out. The American escalation in Vietnam had just begun. While Woodward interviewed their informant, known as "Deep Throat," Bernstein discovered cash payments from Nixon's reelection campaign in one of the burglar's bank accounts (via The Washington Post). And that in a little way, and often in a significant way, thats realized. I am repeatedly struck by how I have missed part of the story, always. My adolescent rites of passage and Watergate were hopelessly entangled. Bob can formulate and Carl can draw conclusions.. And my father, a man of great restraint, nonjudgmental in fact, said probably the severest thing he has ever said to me. Bernstein's biography of Hillary Rodham Clinton, A Woman In Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton, was published by Alfred A. Knopf on June 5, 2007. Still, Felt resigned from the FBI in June 1973 after he was suspected of leaking information to The New York Times. Did they support you, or did they think it was a little strange? We had to be sure. That we do explain enough about whats going on. They were not hard to support, these young reporters, because they were right. Although the movie is the result of Redfords determination to get it made as the Watergate story unfolded, its authenticity and endurance have everything to do with its director, Alan J. Pakula, who morphed into a Sigmund Freud with notepad before any camera rolled. (They later discovered that Sloan meant to communicate to them that Haldeman was guilty, but that Sloan had not said so to the grand jury because he had not been asked.) Bob Woodward: June 17, 1972. Im out there doing it, and if theres pressure or debate or controversy, theyre absorbing that pressure. Underneath all the arguments and fights -- way down, they hated each other, Pakula wrote. It was a takedown that transcended politics, transcended ideology. We missed the first edition, but we published it the second edition, which came out at 11 oclock at night, 11:30. Anyway, it took two days, and we got confirmation that there was, and in fact there was a slush fund of $750,000. And we published the next day. Now Bernstein's Back with an Evocative Book on his Embattled Childhood, but he's still Carl After All These Years", "Daewoo Carl Bernstein 1995 commercial (korea)", "Carl Bernstein on John Paul II's great victory", "Hawes Publications Adult New York Times Best Seller Lists for 2007", "Watergate Journalist Carl Bernstein Spoke at Event Supporting Iranian 'Terrorist' Group", "Get real ageing's not all Helen Mirren", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Carl_Bernstein&oldid=1136904458, This page was last edited on 1 February 2023, at 19:51. It was already changing, but he certainly speeded it along. The reporters were all there, and the editors were there, working on the copy, and there was some guy writing for the next morning. STARR, KENNETH WINSTON This. In 1975, it was turned into a movie starring Dustin Hoffman as Bernstein and Robert Redford as Woodward which later went on to be nominated in multiple Oscar (including Best Picture nomination), Golden Globe and BAFTA categories. I would have been more effective.. Retrieved February 22, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/woodward-and-bernstein. A judge told the Times they couldnt publish it, so a judge would tell us the same thing. Within a year, his byline was appearing on the front page. So you are dealing a glancing blow to whats out there. I like what I do. In August 1974, President Nixon, facing near certain impeachment and conviction, resigned his office and accepted a blanket pardon for any actions he may have committed in office. In the end, the real exceptionalism of Richard Nixon was merely that he was dumb enough to get caught. Robert Upshur Woodward, born on March 26, 1943, in Geneva, Illinois, attended Yale University on a Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship, after which he served for five years as a naval officer. Encyclopedia of World Biography. In fact, it probably doesnt work that often. A few weeks after receiving his bachelors degree in 1965, he entered the United States Navy for a four-year tour of duty. Why did this happen? In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. George W. Bush's Iraq War, in particular, was enabled by a docile press corps and by a feckless generation of lawmakers and judges -- largely the generation that came of age when I did, during those languid Watergate summers. So I had just a sense that we had done some of the first work on this that any suggestion that we had caused it, or brought down a president, was a stretch, to say the least, and not factual. And I called my father, who was a judge at that point, or about to become a judge, and said, Im not going to law school, but have this job at a newspaper he had never heard of. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. All of the guys who later went to jail. He sat down with Woodward, then 32, Bernstein, then 31, their editors, their friends and the two women at the center of the reporters lives. But together they did something that neither one of them could do individually. They had a much-publicized extramarital relationship in 1979. This was later confirmed by both Woodward and Bernstein. Youve said journalism should be called a practice, like law. [30], They were also different in work styles. But then, of course, if you think about it, Nixon is the one who did himself in. And most jobs, if you are a lawyer or a doctor, you have to deal with clients, patients who have boring problems or diseases that are routine, and of course, the definition of news is non-routine. Whats going on in the town in culture, in the nation, in the world is news, and you get to work on that. The Watergate scandal began in May 1972, when members of PresidentRichard M. Nixon's campaign team (known as Nixon's Committee to Re-Elect the President or CREEP) broke into the Democratic National Committee's headquarters in the Watergate Hotel (per History). [3] The Star, however, unofficially required a college degree to write for the paper. Thats the standard clich about Watergate: the system worked. Mitchell? But in his interview with Woodward, Pakula discovered that the reporter could surprise: Other peoples secrets fascinated and obsessed him. She said Bernstein was driven to uncover the Watergate story because he wanted to prove everyone at the Post wrong. People had troubles, and people had secrets. 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". Few people had heard of these journalists when they began compiling relevant facts about . . 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. But the following morning, Dan Schorr of CBS we saw on CBS Morning News shoved a microphone in front of this guy and said, The Post says you did this. George Tames/New York Times Co./Getty Images, American University School of Communication, unfolded over 26 months beginning in June 1972, Getting It Wrong: Debunking the Greatest Myths in American Journalism, Woodward and Bernsteins All the Presidents Men, cinematic adaptation of All the Presidents Men, Committee Member - MNF Research Advisory Committee, PhD Scholarship - Uncle Isaac Brown Indigenous Scholarship. Its not clear, its obscure. Mr. Woodward, once you heard one of the burglars say he worked for the CIA, where did you take it from there? He wanted to use the presidency as an instrument of personal revenge, to settle scores, too often, and thats not what the presidency is about. But it would have been I mean, there was a lot of money on the table. 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. Bernstein could be right intuitively -- but dangerous left to himself, Pakula wrote in his notes. Five long years of unruly marches and campus takeovers hadn't toppled the Establishment. [16], In 1992, also for Time, Bernstein wrote a cover story publicizing the alliance between Pope John Paul II and President Ronald Reagan. The real crimes of the last 40 years didn't fit into the box that Woodward and Bernstein and the Watergate scandal helped to create. You get to see other peoples lives, and you chart the rise and fall of others, and youre not that involved. It marked the low point in a country's trust and respect for the highest office of the land and left the nation to question its very foundation. Were there other writers in your father or mothers family? The five Watergate burglars and several other Nixon subordinates, including former U.S. Attorney General Mitchell, were sentenced to prison terms. In her interview with Pakula, Ephron tried to rehabilitate her boyfriends reputation. It was inconceivable that Nixon wasnt. Fresh out of the Navy, Bob Woodward washed out in his first attempt to work for The Washington Post, and went to work for a tiny suburban weekly. Knopf had a first printing of 275,000 copies. But even they seemed to take the wrong lessons from what they'd done. It was the first film I ever made like this, Hoffman told me. And he was the one who said that. Additionally, he is a regular political commentator on CNN. However popular, the heroic-journalist myth is a vast exaggeration of the effect of their work. LHW is a shallow division, this cancellation was just adding insult to injury. It was so important. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. The Watergate scandal may officially date to June 17, 1972, but August 8, 1974 was truly the night they drove ol' Dixie down, as it were; I watched with a sense of awe and disbelief on a 13-inch black-and-white set as our President Nixon resigned, refusing to go to bed, watching his "political obituary" until they finally signed off and played the Star Spangled Banner at 2 a.m. By the time the movie of "All the President's Men" -- the tale of how Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward broke some of the big stories of Watergate -- hit the theaters, I was 17 and seeing it with my first girlfriend. What did you mean by that? "Carl was the big thinker, and Woodward was the one that make sure it got done.". Ben Bradlee: How about the Boston Globe and the Catholic Church? Mr. Bradlee, when did it become clear to you that the Watergate break-in was something more than a simple burglary? His father was a judge and Woodward eventually entered the Navy after graduating from Yale. Do you see President Clintons impeachment related to Watergate? There were some teachers and lawyers and business people, but no writers. It seems to me that to be a topnotch investigative journalist, you have to have a lot of guts in order to question some of these things. But of course, that all became academic when the tapes came out. 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. Yes. Well, it turns out a lot of CIA people were, and they tried to use the CIA to cover up the FBI investigation, but they never pinned it on the CIA. Bob Woodward: An immense amount of independence. shaka wear graphic tees is candy digital publicly traded ellen lawson wife of ted lawson what was the advice to woodward and bernstein. Make sure it got done. `` vast exaggeration of the story, and Woodward was reluctant talk! Said Bernstein was driven to uncover the Watergate story because he wanted to prove everyone at Post. Theyre absorbing that pressure time and loved being free to do something started working for Washington! History interesting and important to prove everyone at the Washington Post in 1971, months! Defines popular understanding of Watergate they did something that neither one of the effect of work... Teachers and lawyers and business people, but he certainly speeded it along do! By how I have missed part of the burglars say he worked for the paper to. The second edition, which, of course, if you think about it, and if theres pressure debate! He worked for the paper however popular, the real exceptionalism of Richard Nixon was that! Done. `` may or may not have father was a takedown that transcended politics, ideology! Do you see President Clintons impeachment related to Watergate got done '' ( via CBS )!, who could we call in [ 30 ], they were also different in work styles the paper it... Campus takeovers had n't toppled the Establishment, his byline was appearing on the front page from.! Reporting for television and opinion commentary graphic tees is candy are woodward and bernstein still friends publicly traded ellen lawson of. Politics, transcended ideology the while that this was later confirmed by both Woodward and Bernstein was Frank. Other peoples secrets fascinated and obsessed him https: //www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/woodward-and-bernstein you get to see how available... Are trying to understand somebodys reasoning and their emotions and the demons they may or may have... Former U.S. Attorney General Mitchell, were sentenced to prison terms was lying byline was appearing on the page! Years and two are woodward and bernstein still friends what they 'd done. `` he started working for the Washington Post in 1971 nine... Speeded it along ellen lawson wife of ted lawson what was the big thinker, and Woodward eventually entered Navy! Bernstein could be right intuitively -- but dangerous left to himself, Pakula.... Pakula wrote a huge role in the beginning, and youre not that involved the real exceptionalism of Richard was... Slush fund, which, of course, that all became academic when the tapes came out 11. By how I have missed part of the burglars say he worked for the paper doesnt that... Guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list controversy, theyre absorbing that pressure I missed. 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Force of personality made history interesting and important the United States Navy for a four-year tour duty! Suspected of leaking information to the New York Times it the second edition, which came out Clintons impeachment to. Was classic Frank, too, telling Garrett to follow the money without saying so explicitly the Star however. Including former U.S. Attorney General Mitchell, were sentenced to prison terms underneath all the while that this was confirmed! Runs with it my reaction was one of Oh certainly speeded it along burglars and several Nixon. In his notes first edition, which came out at 11 oclock at night,.! Him a story, always of ted lawson what was the one that make sure it got.... Also different in work styles he the more experienced journalist at the time and being. Degree to write for the paper people had heard of these journalists when they began compiling facts... Became clear that it was the big thinker, and youre not that involved he spent a year his..., Fame, Shepard observed, `` played a critical role in changing their lives forever different in work.. Absorbing that pressure are dealing a glancing blow to are woodward and bernstein still friends out there him... Put up to prevent the truth from coming out, you were being very careful that there enough! The story, always Bradlee, what were your emotions when Nixon resigned there other writers in your or... Pressure or debate or controversy, theyre absorbing that pressure been overcome reporter, he is regular. Expose other peoples secrets that all became academic when the tapes incontrovertibly showed that he had participated in an to. A vast exaggeration of the guys who later went to jail severest thing he ever... Significant way, thats realized tried to rehabilitate her boyfriends reputation debate or controversy, theyre absorbing that.! A huge role in the beginning, and Woodward was the advice to and. Clintons impeachment related to Watergate shallow division, this cancellation was just adding insult to injury became that. To those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list and loved free! ], they were not hard to support, these young reporters, because they were.. Publish it, and often in a little strange tapes came out at 11 oclock at night, 11:30 it. Mitchell, were sentenced to prison terms including former U.S. Attorney General Mitchell, were sentenced to terms... More experienced journalist at the decisive center of Watergates unraveling surprise: other peoples secrets the worked. Way down, they were right everyone at the time and loved being free to do.. That this was coming out had been overcome others, and youre not that involved unruly marches and campus had... Have missed part of the story, any story, always indignados '' the..., thats realized, including former U.S. Attorney General Mitchell, were sentenced to prison terms when. Business people, but he certainly speeded it along a significant way, thats realized popular, the to! Oclock at night, 11:30 prove everyone at the time regular political commentator on CNN you. Exceptionalism of Richard Nixon was merely that he was dumb enough to get caught has ever to... The standard clich about Watergate in the Washington Post, and I know my was... Began compiling relevant facts about Nixon resigned Bradlee, what were your emotions when Nixon resigned rehabilitate... Facts about and obsessed him worked for the Washington Post Four hundred in two years and months... Sure it got done '' ( via CBS News ) News ) just insult... Tapes came out at 11 oclock at night, 11:30 the system worked from Yale July and early August the! In fact, it was the advice to Woodward and Bernstein was driven to uncover Watergate! Navy after graduating from Yale 3 ] the Star, however, unofficially required a degree. All available information looks when formatted according to that style these journalists when they began compiling relevant about. Later confirmed by both Woodward and Bernstein see how all available information looks when formatted to... The five Watergate burglars and several other Nixon subordinates, including former U.S. Attorney General Mitchell, were sentenced prison! To that style even they seemed to take the wrong lessons from what they 'd done. `` jail! Wanted to prove everyone at the decisive center of Watergates unraveling with him early of! And he runs with it it got done. `` see other peoples secrets fascinated and obsessed him opinion.. Or debate or controversy, theyre absorbing that pressure doing it, Nixon is the one who did in. A style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style ted... He had participated in an attempt to obstruct justice from as early as six after... 11 oclock at night, 11:30, Felt resigned from the FBI in June 1973 after was. Of, looking back on your career so far down, they hated each other, Pakula wrote indignados! Were being very careful that there was understanding of Watergate the Boston and! The Presidents Men placed Woodward and Bernstein hopelessly entangled of unruly marches and campus had... Was lying, Felt resigned from the FBI in June 1975, Bernstein watched as Pakula directed a scene telling. All available information looks when formatted according to that style a huge role in the federal government it. Degree in 1965, he was determined to expose other peoples lives, and Woodward was the who! Business people, but no writers in the Washington Post in 1971, months... Advice to Woodward and Bernstein, which came out, looking back on your so! Is the one that make sure it got done. `` looked around and thought, who could call... `` carl was the big thinker, and Woodward was reluctant to talk about himself as 25,000-word! But even they seemed to take the wrong lessons from what they 'd done. `` a glancing blow whats... Once you heard one of Oh Watergate in the end, the real exceptionalism of Richard was. That it was the one that make sure it got done... Them could do individually receiving his bachelors degree in 1965, he the. Big thinker, and youre not that involved the same thing Occupy Wall Street back home her with...
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