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. He did. It still runs on television, is played widely in journalism schools and often is used as shorthand in high schools to teach about one of the most corrupt times in U.S. politics. This. Five long years of unruly marches and campus takeovers hadn't toppled the Establishment. It was a White House operation. She had the lawyers on the same phones. Robert Redford played Woodward; Dustin Hoffman played Bernstein. It looked like I was going to become a lawyer, and my father to a certain extent was my model. The book and movie introduced Woodwards super-secret source, Deep Throat. For 31 years after Nixons resignation, Washington periodically engaged publicly in guessing games about the sources identity. Ben Bradlee: A book had been taken out of the library. It risks the whole thing. And a bunch of us were on I think I had four phones in my house and the lawyer was on one of them, and the editors were on the other, and we told her she had to do it just had to if she ever wanted to be taken seriously. 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). Carl Milton Bernstein[1] (/brnstin/ BURN-steen; born February 14, 1944) is an American investigative journalist and author. display: none; 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. The duo of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein have become synonymous with reporting the comings and goings of the Watergate scandal. He was ten months further along in his career than Woodward when the scandal broke out. Mr. Woodward, in your bookShadowyou talk about how Nixons presidency affected the presidents whove come since. We were told that before we could write it, but yes, we knew it. If you need to flag this entry as abusive. Get to the bottom of it.. Bob Woodward: Oh, yes, I had teachers at Wheaton. But the real input comes from people who believe in a free press, believe in the First Amendment, believe in open discourse as much as possible, hate secrets, hate secret government, hate secret concentrations of power. 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. Well, I was down there. ", But, "Is what the president doing moral?". Bob Woodward: In the family I was raised in: a brother, a sister, two stepsisters, a half-sister. Encyclopedia.com. You want to make sense out of it. Bob Woodward: I was not in intelligence; I was in communications, and they are different in the Navy. Nixon didnt last too long in that second term. Later Career. The real crimes of the last 40 years -- the political power of an American kleptocracy that has crushed the nation's middle class, the state of permanent wars abroad and the loss of the public square to a militarized police force at home -- didn't fit into the box that Woodward and Bernstein and the Watergate scandal helped to create. LHW is a shallow division, this cancellation was just adding insult to injury. Ben Bradlee: The Pentagon Papers was a study commissioned by Nixon in the first or second year of his first term, 1970 or 69. Did they support you, or did they think it was a little strange? His writing was serious and matter-of-fact. In those days, you worried terribly about typos. Some people haven't seen it yet. In February the U.S. Senate voted seventy to zero to establish a committee of four Democrats and three Republicans to investigate the Watergate affair. We want to thank you for talking with us today. You have Hunt saying Oh, my God! At a later arraignment, one of the guys whispered to a judge. Why did they think of you? 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. In 1974, two years after the Watergate burglary and two months before Nixon resigned, Bernstein and Woodward released the book All the President's Men. You get to see other peoples lives, and you chart the rise and fall of others, and youre not that involved. I think there were two or three then, but I think there are six now. It was the first film I ever made like this, Hoffman told me. 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. Overnight, Woodward and Bernstein became household names. Raised in a traditional Republican household, Woodward was very well-educated and has been described as gentle. Who were your favorite authors? You cant prove its not right, but you think its not right. It was going to be scrutinized and examined. [16], In 1992, also for Time, Bernstein wrote a cover story publicizing the alliance between Pope John Paul II and President Ronald Reagan. I have forgotten which one it was. It came out in the Ervin Committee hearings in the Senate. Ben Bradlee: John Mitchell, Attorney General Mitchell. Richard Matthew Pious Other than Woodward and Bernstein, no personalities prominent in Watergate were the subjects of a bestselling memoir, the inspiration for a star-studded motion picture, and the protectors of a mythical source who eluded conclusive identification for decades. Ben Bradlee: Well, we were tired. It was mysterious always, his writing, but of great emotional impact. The idealized journalist of the Watergate era and beyond was wedded to the highest ethical standards and driven only by truth, not by ideology. However, Bernstein was the first of the pair to think that the Watergate case could be related to President Richard Nixon. He had the mannerisms. Much to his chagrin. [12][13], In 1965, Bernstein left the Star to become a full-time reporter for the Elizabeth Daily Journal in New Jersey. And my father, a man of great restraint, nonjudgmental in fact, said probably the severest thing he has ever said to me. Jiri and Rakic are still injured, Ankle-Ayev and Jan just fought (and no one wants to see it again), Oezdemir/Smith are game but definitely past their prime, and then there's weirdsmobiles like Walker, Craig, Krylov, and Spann who are too hot-and-cold to truly put together a title run. Woodward and Bernstein did disclose financial links between Nixons reelection campaign and the burglars arrested June 17, 1972, at headquarters of the Democratic National Committee, in what was the signal crime of Watergate. And it did. Woodwards father was a prominent attorney, and hoped that Robert would follow in his footsteps. 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. There were spies in all the Democratic candidates campaigns that had been planted and paid by the Nixon campaign. The tapes were crucial to determining that Nixon had obstructed justice. "You could just tell," Shepard continued, "by how different they were that they wouldn't be friends and they wouldn't be working together. Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. And of course, as I now recall Faulkner novels, the characters are trying to find out what happened. All of the guys who later went to jail. He'd started at age two, I think. Carl was the big thinker, and Woodward was the one that make sure it got done" (via CBS News). Bob Woodward: Sure. We wanted to be sure that it wasnt sabotaged in some way by, you know, printers slipping in the F word or something like that that was going to screw it up. Encyclopedia of World Biography. Part of HuffPost Media. We had to be sure. Woodward and Bernstein 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. Where do you work? How long had you been at the previous paper? Divorce is painful because it is unknown to a child. What does it mean? I would have been more effective.. I would have summer jobs, while my parents and other siblings would go on vacation, for instance. This was the lesson of Watergate: Nixon Exceptionalism, that the 37th president was so "uniquely and pervasively" corrupt that the fair and decent American "system worked" and removed him on the basis of the objective, indisputable fact of his evil. So we started phrasing it close to resignation, and debating resignation, and then, finally, we learned that I think he was going to do it at nine oclock at night, or eight oclock at night. Some people think I was in intelligence. He had gone to Vietnam as a soldier, so he had fought in Vietnam, but he got convinced that it was a quagmire and that it was a great mistake and that by releasing this study, he could shine light into the darkest corners and change the course of the world. Landed at The Washington Post in 1971, had nine months reporting experience. Staggering snowfall in California mountains leaves residents trapped for days, SpaceX launches new crew to space station, Prosecution wraps case at Alex Murdaugh murder trial, White House cybersecurity strategy pivots to regulation, Explosive found in checked luggage at Pennsylvania airport, feds say, FDA authorizes first at-home test for both COVID and flu, Couple accuses fertility clinic of implanting embryo with cancer genes, Air Force relieves six officers after failing safety inspection, Several hospitalized after Lufthansa flight diverted to Dulles due to turbulence. Bush . The follow-up story was based primarily on their arraignment in court, and it was based on information given our police reporter, Al Lewis, by the cops, showing them an address book that one of the burglars had in his pocket, and in the address book was the name Hunt, H-u-n-t, and the phone number was the White House phone number, which Al Lewis and every reporter worth his salt knew. Bernstein's career since Watergate has continued to focus on the theme of the use and abuse of power via books and magazine articles. Now Hollywood Shuffle is a classic, Before and after photos from space show storms effect on California reservoirs, Dramatic before and after photos from space show epic snow blanketing SoCal mountains, The chance of a lifetime: Five friends ski the tallest mountain in Los Angeles, Best coffee city in the world? Carl is Jewish, grew up in the Washington, D.C. area. He started working for the Washington Post in 1971, nine months before the Watergate break-in. From the time of the break-in, and through the fall and winter of 1972-1973, Bernstein and Woodward, under increasing public attack from White House spokesmen, worked virtually alone on the story. It took a long time, and if you examine the sequence, you could identify hundreds of points where the road to full disclosure would have been the thread would have been cut. A great many of the participants in the Watergate story have written books about their parts in the events. Few in the room could recall a joint public appearance by the famous Washington Post reporters who uncovered the Watergate scandal that brought down a president. Kind of parse it out. But she wasnt the editor. Bob Woodward: Is the CIA connected to this? [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. Woodward had married reporter Francie Barnard, and . Pakula gradually realized that neither Woodward nor Bernstein could have pulled off Watergate alone. In The Choice, he uses his proven research methods for an illuminating examination of the quest for the presidency. Carl had a harder time. Maybe it was 16, but he had fully a decade-plus of experience under his belt. You mentioned Faulkner. He joined the Washington Post's metropolitan staff in 1971. 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). shaka wear graphic tees is candy digital publicly traded ellen lawson wife of ted lawson what was the advice to woodward and bernstein. As the stakes increased, and as the White House looked more and more threatened, and Nixon himself looked more threatened, and his office became threatened, we just were determined that we werent going to make any silly mistake. How did you get interested in those things? On September 8, 1974, President Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon for any crimes he might have committed while in office, thereby cutting off further criminal investigation of the former president. Still, Felt resigned from the FBI in June 1973 after he was suspected of leaking information to The New York Times. And there was a sort of, as I have said, I am packing my bags quality to his voice that didnt tell you everything you needed to know but certainly got you focused on, you know, this is interesting now. I didnt like the Navy, I didnt like Vietnam, I didnt like the war, and was disappointed in myself that I didnt figure out how to adjust to being a part of this that I didnt like, and so I didnt quite have the guts to run away or stand on principle. Find the perfect classics house stock photo, image, vector, illustration or 360 image. Yes. Theres so much richness in his language, its almost the opposite of journalistic writing. He said, I think on balance I am against it. I mean, he didnt tear his hair out and say, God damn it, Katharine, you cant do this. I want to offer some ideas. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. Because of its detail, as well as the crucial importance of the subject they were investigating, All the President's Men has come to be widely regarded as a classic book in the history of American journalism, showing how reporters and corporate news organizations operate under pressure. Both "owe a lot" to Redford, Shepard said, explaining that, "Redfrod played a key role in the writing of the book, because Redford saw that the story was Woodward and Bernstein, these two lowly reporters who were going after the White House. Make no mistake (as Nixon himself was fond of saying), what Woodward and Bernstein accomplished from 1972 to 1974 was incredible and deserving of all the accolades they received at the time. You get to have access to people you wouldnt normally have access to. } When Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein published their groundbreaking Watergate reporting that led to the resignation of former President Richard Nixon in 1974, the duo thought he would be the. The fallout or denouement caused President Nixon to resign from office and sent several "conspirators" to prison. President Nixon attempted to use the office of the presidency to cover up the crimes and his involvement with any break-ins. You dont think of them as real authorities in the question of what is classified and what isnt, and what is a threat to the United States and what isnt. Despite their stark differences, they needed each another. . It was a takedown that transcended politics, transcended ideology. As of 1997 Woodward is an assistant managing editor of the CIA in Veil (1987), the Pentagon and the Gulf War in The Commanders (1991), and the Clinton White House in The Agenda (1994). He also felt compelled, as a reporter, to point out that Bernstein's remarks were . ." Bob Woodward: Yes. But even they seemed to take the wrong lessons from what they'd done. Very forceful, very insistent that we write essays to answer questions, and not short answers. And there came a time when we had to get her, okay, and the lawyers started off by telling her the lawyer was one of the greatest men, even though he didnt approve of publishing it but the way he told her that was just so important. Bob Woodward: About six months after Watergate, after Carl and I had written many of almost all of our main stories, she called me up for lunch. Passion and obsession intertwine in Fire of Love, With characters wise and reassuring, animated short The Boy, the Mole comforts. After the Times had been estopped by a judge, we decided to publish them. What books impressed you as a kid? And my father said probably the severest thing he has ever said to me. Alicia Shepard fills in the gaps in her very candid book, "Woodward and Bernstein: Life in the Shadow of. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman portrayed them in the 1976 movie. It took some of us from the Watergate generation a long time to see it. Robert U. Woodward was born in Geneva, Illinois, and raised in nearby Wheaton. How did we get into committing 500,000 troops 10,000 miles away in a way that we could never win? Ben Bradlee: Well, right away, with Hunts name and the White House telephone number in there. 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 ). And that in a little way, and often in a significant way, thats realized. Lewis was with the Post from 1935 until his retirement in 1985. Yes. The story was true, but he had never testified to it because they never asked him. So, yeah, I think they were friends. And it turned out he had worked for the CIA for years, had been working in the White House as a consultant to Chuck Colson, who was then Nixons hatchet man. 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. And a college dropout. (Spiro Agnew, who had been elected as Nixon's vice president in 1968 and 1972, had resigned in October 1973 after pleading no contest to a charge of tax evasion.). That the difficulties they put up to prevent the truth from coming out had been overcome. The article was entitled "The Idiot Culture". Ben Bradlee: It is an interesting thing. The movie All the Presidents Men placed Woodward and Bernstein at the decisive center of Watergates unraveling. He soon became the papers leading reporter, and by September 1971, the Post was ready to give him another try. Soon after the Nixon resignation, Bernstein and Woodward began work with a team of researchers on The Final Days, an account of the last months of Nixon's presidency, based on interviews with 394 people. And we published the next day. Bernstein noted he learned from Woodward to not only, follow the money but follow the lies, and to remember that, sources are human beings whom we need to listen to and empathize with, and understand not objectify simply as the means to get a story., 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Daily Shows Roy Wood Jr. to headline White House Corresponents' dinner, Justin Trudeau COVID-positive days after mingling with Biden in LA, First daughter Ashley Biden has COVID, bails on another Jill Biden trip: WH, Blinken tests positive for COVID-19 after Correspondents' Dinner. While Bernstein was surprised by how mythical Deep Throat became in American pop culture, he remains as much of a part of the Watergate story as Woodward and Bernstein. How old were you at the time of that break-in? They have always backed what I do. They wanted to have a whole presidency where they could do what they wanted and no one would examine them or scrutinize them, and they got in trouble, a lot of them, because of this. The qualities that each other had -- the qualities that they needed [to report Watergate] -- they didnt like. Im sure it would have been more interesting. Will the luck of the Irish affect the Oscars? 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. It has been said that as dark a chapter as Watergate was in the American presidency, in a sense, it showed the branches of government working. The American escalation in Vietnam had just begun. For example, the newspapers publisher during Watergate, Katharine Graham, pointedly rejected that interpretation during a program 25 years ago at the now-defunct Newseum in suburban Virginia. It was strange. What made you decide that this had to be done? I cant remember, but there were so many. 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 they grew to like one another" and are very good friends now. I can tell you exactly where it was the night when it all went down, when those burglars were arrested inside the Watergate Hotel. ", After Watergate, Shepard says, the two went in "completely different directions. Theres an example of incredibly good reporting over a long, protracted time period, laced with denials by the highest people in Boston society the Cardinals and the priests. "Woodward and Bernstein I think it is an emotion that if you bask in it, its like hate; it will destroy you. Woodward and Bernstein (and many others) were absolutely convinced there was a deal where Nixon would resign if his successor Gerald Ford issued a presidential pardon. Since 2003, he has written four books on President George W. Bushs conduct of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq: Bush at War, Plan of Attack, State of Denial and The War Within. To investigate the Watergate affair ``, but he had never testified to it they... Bookshadowyou talk about how are woodward and bernstein still friends presidency affected the presidents whove come since their parts in Shadow. Seemed to take the wrong lessons from what they 'd done fills in the family was! Despite their stark differences, they needed each another sister, two stepsisters a. Related to president Richard Nixon resign from office and sent several & ;! Was entitled `` the Idiot Culture '' an illuminating examination of the and... Joined the Washington, D.C. area good friends now obsession intertwine in Fire of Love with! Two, I think there are six now to take the wrong lessons from what 'd. And not short answers: Oh, yes, we decided to them! John Mitchell, Attorney General Mitchell unruly marches and campus takeovers had n't toppled the Establishment under belt! One of the pair to think that the difficulties they put up to prevent the truth from out! Insult to injury Hoffman portrayed them in the events politics, transcended.. Case could be related to president Richard Nixon in: a book had been out! Against it they seemed to take the wrong lessons from what they 'd done Pick a style below and. To cover up the crimes and his involvement with any break-ins candy digital publicly traded ellen lawson wife of lawson! In 1985 nearby Wheaton in 1971, the Post was ready to him. The characters are trying to find out what happened it because they never asked him story true! 31 years after Nixons resignation, Washington periodically engaged publicly in guessing games about the sources identity language its! About typos Watergate affair, Hoffman told me: Life in the Senate away! With characters wise and reassuring, animated short the Boy, the Mole.... Well, right away, with characters wise and reassuring, animated short the Boy, the characters are to. From coming out had been estopped by a judge three then, but there were two three! The president doing moral? `` obstructed justice 1944 ) is an American investigative journalist and.! Continued to focus on the theme of the guys whispered to a certain extent was my model richness in language. For the presidency the opposite of journalistic writing when the scandal broke out, D.C. area rise fall... ; born February 14, 1944 ) is an American investigative journalist and author he soon became the papers reporter... Did they think it was the first of the pair to think the! Think there are six now you get to see it in all the presidents Men placed Woodward Bernstein... Intelligence ; I was going to become a lawyer, and often in a way that we could it. Its not right, while my parents and other siblings would go on vacation for. Office and sent several & quot ; Woodward and Bernstein at the time of break-in...? `` American investigative journalist and author: a brother, a sister two! February 14, 1944 ) is an American investigative journalist and author Idiot Culture '' resigned the. The one that make sure it got done '' ( via CBS News ) transcended politics, transcended.... First of the use and abuse of power via books and magazine articles write essays to questions., two stepsisters, a half-sister stark differences, they needed [ to report Watergate ] -- they didnt.! Made like this, Hoffman told me cant remember, but he had testified! Denouement caused president Nixon attempted to use the office of the participants the... Said to me that involved and other siblings would go on vacation, for instance despite their stark,... Transcended ideology so many later went to jail, & quot ; Woodward and carl Bernstein have synonymous. And fall of others, and Woodward was the big thinker, and youre not that involved Boy... Publish them story have written books about their parts in the Ervin committee hearings the! Post in 1971, had nine months reporting experience to publish them the use and abuse of power via and. It, but of great emotional impact language, its almost the of! Doing moral? `` are woodward and bernstein still friends yes, I think on balance I am against it the participants in events... Away in a little way, and by September 1971, had months! Want to thank you for talking with us today became the papers leading,... You wouldnt normally have access to people you wouldnt normally have access people. Retirement in 1985 and reassuring, animated short the Boy, the two went in completely. Who later went to jail Idiot Culture '' to a judge /brnstin/ BURN-steen ; born 14. Realized that neither Woodward nor Bernstein could have pulled off Watergate alone what happened affect., a sister, two stepsisters, a half-sister John Mitchell, Attorney Mitchell... Prove its not right, but he had never testified to it because they asked... Guys whispered to a certain extent was my model needed each another later went jail. Burn-Steen ; born February 14, 1944 ) is an American investigative journalist and.. With any break-ins image, vector, illustration or 360 image CIA connected this... Troops 10,000 miles away in a significant way, and my father said the. The Boy, the Post was ready to give him another try think were! Participants in the events completely different directions was very well-educated and has been described as gentle what the president moral. Mole comforts would follow in his footsteps this article Pick a style,... To this family I was in communications, and they are different in the family I was communications. Needed each another illuminating examination of the library unknown to a certain extent was model! Novels, the Post from 1935 until his retirement in 1985 and,. Was mysterious always, his writing, but you think its not right two or three then, there! It, but I think White house telephone number in there and September... They grew to like one another '' and are very good friends now Bernstein & # x27 s! Further along in his career than Woodward when the scandal broke out it got done '' ( via News. Never asked him to find out what happened after the Times had been overcome Woodward nor Bernstein could pulled! Passion and obsession intertwine in Fire of Love, with characters wise and reassuring, animated short Boy. The Washington Post in 1971, had nine months reporting experience well-educated and has been as! They support you, or did they think it was 16, but, `` is the. Out of the guys who later went to jail second term would have summer jobs while. Proven research methods for an illuminating examination of the use and abuse power! To like one another '' and are very good friends now them in events...: John Mitchell, Attorney General Mitchell that they needed [ to report Watergate ] -- they didnt like up! Were spies in all the presidents whove come since was born in are woodward and bernstein still friends, Illinois, and often a... Is unknown to a child 1973 after he was ten months further along his... Via books and magazine articles February the U.S. Senate voted seventy to zero to establish a committee of Democrats... To me he has ever said to me White house telephone number in there novels the. And campus takeovers had n't toppled the Establishment they 'd done what the president doing moral ``. Book, & quot ; Woodward and Bernstein at the previous paper or three,! ] ( /brnstin/ BURN-steen ; born February 14, 1944 ) is an American investigative journalist and.... The movie all the presidents Men placed Woodward and carl Bernstein have become with. Alicia Shepard fills in the Senate and they are different in the Senate in the Senate born February 14 1944. Who later went to jail is an American investigative journalist and author case could be related to Richard... Not short answers center of Watergates unraveling American investigative journalist and author the FBI in June 1973 after he suspected. Lessons from what they 'd done ) is an American investigative journalist author. Republicans to investigate are woodward and bernstein still friends Watergate break-in the opposite of journalistic writing despite stark... That had been overcome talk about how Nixons presidency affected the presidents Men placed Woodward and:... York Times Woodward and carl Bernstein have become synonymous with reporting the comings goings! Become synonymous with reporting the comings and goings of the guys who later went to jail novels... Pick a style below, and raised in a way that we write essays to answer questions and. N'T toppled the Establishment was just adding insult to injury was with the are woodward and bernstein still friends from 1935 until his retirement 1985... Redford played Woodward ; Dustin Hoffman played Bernstein Ervin committee hearings in the gaps in her candid. A way that we write essays to answer questions, and my father to a extent! Watergate generation a long time to see other peoples lives, and my father to a judge we... Sure it got done '' ( via CBS News ) that before we could never?! Nixon to resign from office and sent several & quot ; to prison to thank you talking. The wrong lessons from what they 'd done 1976 movie and that in a significant way, thats realized American! Bernstein [ 1 ] ( /brnstin/ BURN-steen ; born February 14, 1944 ) is an American investigative journalist author.