Fifty years ago, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward of The Washington Post became journalistic legends, reporting on, arguably, the most consequential political story of our time.
It started with the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate building in Washington, D.C. It ended inside the White House.
They wrote hundreds of stories over several years and followed the money. Ultimately, more than 40 government officials were indicted or jailed, President Richard Nixon resigned, and Woodward and Bernstein became icons, inspiring generations of reporters. Their Pulitzer Prize-winning work, which has been described by some as the greatest reporting of all time, led to a best-selling book and the movie “All the President’s Men” — considered the gold standard of movies about journalism.
And the legendary careers of Woodward and Bernstein have gone far beyond the Watergate scandal. They’ve written best-selling books on other topics, appeared on TV as contributors and they continue to make an impact on journalism.
On Saturday night, Woodward and Bernstein were honored with the Poynter Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism at Poynter’s annual fundraising gala, the Bowtie Ball, in Tampa.
Bernstein received his medal at the ball in Tampa, while Woodward was given the award by Poynter president Neil Brown at Woodward’s home last week in Washington, D.C. Woodward and Brown taped a conversation about Watergate and journalism for a video that ran during the Bowtie Ball, while Brown and Bernstein had a live conversation about Bernstein’s life and career before an audience of more than 500 in Tampa.
Bernstein shared some of his memories about the Watergate story and his career in journalism, as well as his very specific thoughts about former President Donald Trump.
Bernstein told the audience, “Making the conduct of the press is easy. Nixon tried to make the conduct of Woodward, Bernstein, (Post editor) Ben Bradlee, The Washington Post, (Post owner) Katharine Graham — he tried to make that the issue of Watergate rather than the conduct of the president and the people around him.”
Nixon thought the press was the enemy. Sound familiar?
“Donald Trump, same thing,” Bernstein said. “The messenger is under fire. We just have to keep on doing what we do. The more we can explain what we do, and the fewer mistakes that we make, the more determined we are to pursue this idea of investigative work that we do. … If we do that, (we will be doing our job).”
Bernstein mentioned how he and Woodward wrote a new introduction for the 50th anniversary edition of the book “All the President’s Men” and how they never thought they would see another criminal president. They wrote, “And then came Donald Trump.”
Bernstein went on to say, “One of the two great political parties in our history, the party of Lincoln, has been overtaken, become hostage to authoritarian, undemocratic values that are antithetical to every principle on which this country was founded. … We’ve never had one of the two major political parties that has become seized and overwhelmed by these kinds of forces. And that is really part of the big story.”
The conversation also was about today’s media and reporting, and the idea of objectivity and neutrality. Bernstein, quoting a line from his memoir, said, “The truth is not neutral.”
“I think we’re saddled by the word ‘objectivity,’” Bernstein said. “Being a reporter is the most subjective objective partly because we decide what is news. That’s one of the essential things that we do. A lynching is not neutral. … We have a responsibility to be fair, to be judicious, not judicial.”
Bernstein also talked about his relationship with Woodward, calling it a “loving relationship” that has had its “ups and downs” over the years. Clearly, however, judging by the comments of both, the two remain close.
“We still collaborate,” Bernstein said, “and still talk a couple of times a week. We’re kind of joined at the hip.”
Joined at the hip through history, and into history as two of the greatest reporters who have ever lived.
Blasting Trump
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, didn’t hold back blasting former President Donald Trump during his Sunday appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Hogan said the midterms “… should have been a huge red wave. It should have been one of the biggest red waves we have ever had.”
But it was not, and Hogan said Trump is part of the reason why, as Trump and other candidates continued to talk about the 2020 election. Hogan said, “I think it's basically the third election in a row that Donald Trump has cost us the race. And it's like three strikes, you're out.”
Hogan added, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result. And Donald Trump kept saying, we're going to be winning so much, we will get tired of winning. I'm tired of losing. I mean, that's all he's done.”
Hogan said it was Trump’s fault that the Republicans are not going to control the Senate, but on his Truth Social, Trump blamed someone else for Arizona Republican Blake Masters losing his Senate bid to Mark Kelly and helping the Democrats keep control of the Senate.
Trump wrote, “It’s Mitch McConnell’s fault. Spending money to defeat great Republican candidates instead of backing Blake Masters and others was a big mistake. Giving 4 Trillion Dollars to the Radical Left for the Green New Deal, not Infrastructure, was an even bigger mistake. He blew the Midterms, and everyone despises him and his otherwise lovely wife, Coco Chow!”
Speaking of Trump
