The book, “All The President’s Men” starts out as a story that is covered by two men, and it ends as a historic event covered by a team of two men. Those two men are Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.
A single event on June 17, 1972 is what starts it all, and a pardon delivered on September 8, 1974 brings it to an end. Five men caught breaking into the Democratic headquarters is the event that slowly leads to the discovery of shady business conducted within the White House during President Richard Nixon’s presidency. Espionage led to the arrest of the five men. Other men in the Committee to Reelect the President or CRP, resigned. Many of those that were resigned were indicted.
Eventually Nixon is subpoenaed for all the tapes of private presidential conversations that had been recorded. Impeachment of the President is brought up by the House Judiciary Committee, since they believed Nixon participated in the cover up. Nixon resigns before an impeachment can take place, and Vice President Gerald Ford is sworn in. President Ford’s pardon for Nixon and Nixon’s acceptance of the pardon concluded the Watergate scandal.
As made obvious by the book and movie, Woodward and Bernstein’s way of investigating back then is somewhat different from how things are done in the present day. They had to depend on public records and people for information, and they constantly visited the scene (the sources’ homes). All of their techniques were very basic. However their basic techniques still brought the truth to the light.
Researching could be considered to be the most vital technique they used. Public records, phone books and people were all used in their research to help them connect the dots. One part of the book mentions them spending the afternoon in the Library of Congress looking through slips. They had to literally go through actual slips of paper, instead of searching an online library database.
In an interview at Hofstra University, Woodward claimed they got their best information at night. He insisted that journalists should go to people’s houses at night. Since many of the people they interviewed worked for the government, their only real free time was at night. Frequently throughout the book, Bernstein and Woodard are mentioned stopping by sources’ houses. An interview with Hugh Sloan, treasurer of the CRP, is proof of their use of this technique. A bonus to interviewing people at night, according to Woodward, is that people appear to tell the truth more.
While they researched public records and went to the scene, both reporters employed their real secret weapon–people. Whether they called, visited, checked in phone books or used other people’s connections, Bernstein and Woodard were always seeking data on other people to give them a break. Woodard’s relationship with Deep Throat is proof of this. His relationship with Deep Throat led to many clues and breakthroughs.
Today, the strategies that both reporters exercised, would still be extremely valuable. Technology is great, and it certainly does make a difference in research. Even with technology though, I think it’s still necessary to remember that people are who really hold the information. You can only find so much on the web. Reporters today would do well to keep this in mind. Especially since anyone can put anything online.
They’re habit of visiting leads’ homes at night sounded weird to me. When I thought about it my view changed. At night people are getting ready for the next day, and they’re probably tired after the day’s events. That possibly helps loosen their tongues up a bit.
With technology they would have saved hours on research. As much as technology has its drawbacks, I do think they could’ve benefitted from it.
Our country has come a long way since the Watergate scandal. More laws and precautions have been taken. People have become way more incredulous. Yet I could see something like this scandal happening today. If someone wants to get away with something they’ll do what they must to keep their dirt hidden. Technology can help us, and as I mentioned before, it can also hurt us. People are great tools, but people can be liabilities. However with the right computer and skills anything is possible. A scandal of this nature is still possible.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/watergate-burglars-arrested
http://millercenter.org/president/nixon/essays/biography/6
http://longislandreport.org/multimedia/woodward-and-bernstein-stress-the-constants-of-journalism/13637
Click to access specialreport.pdf
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