Corruption, Deception, Watergate

688 Words2 Pages

Journalism proved to be a valuable tool in the fight to reveal the hidden secrets of Watergate. One newspaper in particular, “The Washington Post,” dug up important and necessary dirt on the those involved in Watergate. Two young journalists working for “The Washington Post,” Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, were assigned to the Watergate case (Kilian 28). The efforts of these two men provided a significant lead into the investigation of the scandal. The two spent much of their time working on the cases and were able to discover a money link between the burglars and the Nixon reelection committee (Kilian 28). They also interviewed members of Nixon’s reelection committee that wanted to talk.

Bob Woodward was able to obtain substantial information on the scandal through a secret source that worked in the Nixon administration. The man went by the name of “Deep Throat” (Kilian 30). The two exchanged information at night in an underground garage. Deep Throat warned that the White House was becoming upset about the stories in the Washington Post and that the reporter's telephones could be bugged (Kilian 30). The evidence that Deep Throat provided helped the journalists obtain the upper hand on the investigation.

The work of Bernstein and Woodward inspired many young and aspiring journalists. Thanks to their work, The Washington Post grew immensely popular and became a significant rival to the New York Times (Collette). The impact of the work made many believe that journalism could really make a difference in the world. Many Americans began to make careers out of journalism and the United States saw a rise in investigative reporting (Collette). As the trust in political officials began to decline, many Americans turned toward news...

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