Legendary Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were guests on Sunday’s “Reliable Sources” on CNN. This week marks the 50th anniversary of the Watergate break-in and, of course, Woodward and Bernstein made names for themselves with their dogged reporting later chronicled in the greatest movie ever made about journalism. (“All the President’s Men” topped my list in 2019.)
Even the names — Woodward and Bernstein, in that order — are synonymous with great reporting. As “Reliable Source” host Brian Stelter so accurately described, many became journalists because they were inspired by “All the President’s Men” and the work of Woodward and Bernstein.
Bernstein credited the movie with showing how he and Woodward worked sources, including knocking on doors, looking for answers.
“Sources don’t materialize out of nowhere,” Bernstein said.
On Sunday, Woodward recalled a letter he and Bernstein received from then-Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham after their reporting, which read, “Don't start thinking too highly of yourselves. You did some of the stories fine. But I want to give you some advice. And the advice is beware the demon pomposity.”
Woodward and Bernstein had a new piece in The Washington Post over the weekend: “Woodward and Bernstein thought Nixon defined corruption. Then came Trump.” It’s a part of the new foreword to the anniversary edition of their book “All the President’s Men.”
In it, they compare Donald Trump to Richard Nixon, writing, “Unlike Nixon, Trump accomplished his subversion largely in public.”
They add, “Both Nixon and Trump created a conspiratorial world in which the U.S. Constitution, laws and fragile democratic traditions were to be manipulated or ignored, political opponents and the media were ‘enemies,’ and there were few or no restraints on the powers entrusted to presidents. Both Nixon and Trump had been outsiders, given to paranoia, relentless in their ambition, carrying chips on their shoulders. Trump from the outer boroughs of New York City, not Manhattan. Nixon from Yorba Linda, Calif., not San Francisco or Los Angeles. Even after achieving the most powerful office in the world, these two men harbored deep insecurities.”
On “Reliable Sources,” Bernstein said, “If you want a description of what brought Nixon and the Nixon presidency down, it is this hate and poison that was in his administration. And we now see (it) in our politics.”
On a lighter note …
I loved that Stelter asked Woodward and Bernstein what kind of relationship the two have today.
While Bernstein laughed, Woodward said the two talk “all the time” and sometimes argue, as they have for 50 years. But Woodward said “there is a bond.”
Post problems
Washington Post executive editor Sally Buzbee sent a note out to staff on Sunday saying staffers should treat each other with “respect and kindness” after there was some public squabbling on Twitter between staffers. The Daily Beast’s Corbin Bolies and Zachary Petrizzo have the details.
No names were mentioned in Buzbee’s memo, but it appeared this all stemmed from when Post reporter Dave Weigel retweeted a tweet (from a non-Post employee) that said, “Every girl is bi. You just have to figure out if it’s polar or sexual.”
Post reporter Felicia Sonmez tweeted a screenshot of Weigel’s retweet and wrote, “Fantastic to work at a news outlet where retweets like this are allowed!”
That set off a barrage of tweets from those commenting on it and Sonmez responding to some of those comments. Then the controversy really heated up when Post reporter Jose A. Del Real accused Sonmez of “repeated and targeted public harassment of a colleague” and suggested she was “rallying the internet to attack (Weigel) for a mistake.”
Sonmez and Del Real had a back and forth with Del Real writing, “Entirely separately, I hope you reconsider the cruelty you regularly unleash against colleagues.” Del Real, for a short time, deactivated his account. He then returned with a lengthy Twitter thread that started with him saying, “Last night I came under an unrelenting series of attacks intended to tarnish my professional and personal reputation. The cause? Some tweets I sent calling for compassion within our workplace. Those attacks continued this morning.”
After writing several more tweets about what had happened and his take on all this, he concluded with, “I’ll end where I began: Let’s be kinder to each other. I really believe empathy is a necessary tool in this effort to improve our workplaces and our culture. We can all be better. I certainly will continue trying to be.”
Then, Sunday evening, Sonmez tweeted that Del Real had blocked her. She tweeted, “So far I’ve received no apology from my colleague for baselessly accusing me of engaging in ‘bullying,’ ‘harassment’ and ‘cruelty’ — just for objecting to a sexist tweet. I did, however, receive an email from him accusing me of fostering a ‘toxic workplace.’ And now this!”
Sonmez continued tweeting about it Sunday night. Before that, Buzbee told staff in the memo obtained by The Daily Beast: “We expect the staff to treat each other with respect and kindness both in the newsroom and online. We are a collegial and creative newsroom doing an astonishing amount of important and groundbreaking journalism. One of the great strengths of our newsroom is our collaborative spirit. The Washington Post is committed to an inclusive and respectful environment free of harassment, discrimination or bias of any sort. When issues arise, please raise them with leadership or human resources and we will address them promptly and firmly.”
Without being at the Post and knowing all there is to know about this entire incident, the work culture there, and everyone involved, it’s impossible to say what Buzbee should or should not do. But I’m guessing this is going to take more than just a memo.
Check out The Daily Beast story for all the details.
Pulitzer Board announcement
Neil Brown, president of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, and Tommie Shelby — Caldwell Titcomb Professor of African and African American Studies and Professor of Philosophy at Harvard University — have been elected as co-chairs of the Pulitzer Prize Board.
The two succeed New Yorker contributing editor Katherine Boo, New York
Times opinion columnist Gail Collins and Associated Press vice president and editor-at-large for standards John Daniszewski.
Brown was the long-time executive editor at the Tampa Bay Times before becoming Poynter’s president in 2017. During his tenure as editor, the Times won six Pulitzer Prizes and launched the Pulitzer Prize-winning PolitiFact, which is now part of Poynter.
Brown said in a statement, “It is a great honor to serve as co-chair of the Pulitzer Prize Board, a distinguished and dedicated group of creative leaders who aim to uphold standards for excellence in journalism, arts and letters. Together we will carry on the work of ensuring the Pulitzer Prizes remain trusted and relevant.”
Shelby has been at Harvard since 2000 and has written several books, often focusing on racial justice, economic justice, and criminal justice and on the history of Black political thought. His writing also has appeared in numerous newspapers, magazines and journals.
“I’m deeply honored and enormously proud to serve as co-chair of the Pulitzer Prize Board,” Shelby said. “Recognizing and rewarding excellent work in journalism and arts and letters brings me tremendous pleasure, as does working with such an outstanding and conscientious group of Board members.”
Brown and Shelby joined the Pulitzer Board in 2015.
In other Pulitzer news, Ginger Thompson, chief of correspondents and deputy managing editor of ProPublica, was elected to the Pulitzer Prize Board last week. Here’s more information.
Media tidbits
- Latest from Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan: “Beware partisan ‘pink slime’ sites that pose as local news.”
- Being a parent can be a tough job — even for royalty. Check out this video of Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, and her son. As CNN’s Kasie Hunt tweeted, “We are all Kate.”
- The Big Lead’s Liam McKeone with “ESPN College Baseball Announcer Troy Eklund in Hot Water After Claiming Tennessee Player Tested Positive For PEDs.”
- Brent Musburger, one of the most famous sports broadcasters ever, has announced he is stepping down as the radio voice of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders. Musburger, 83, joined the Raiders in 2018 after a nearly five-decade career on a national stage, calling games and working in studios at CBS and then ESPN/ABC.
- Speaking of sports, ESPN/ABC lead NBA play-by-play announcer Mike Breen missed Sunday night’s Game 2 of the NBA Finals because of COVID-19. (He missed Game 1, too.) Too bad. Nothing against Mark Jones, who filled in, but Breen was really missed. He’s one of the best to ever call NBA games.
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