Hist 1302 - All the Presidents Men

Audrey Zinn

HIST 1302

Professor Durham

6 June 2015

                                All The Presidents Men

        The movie All The President’s Men, was based on the true story written by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward. For twenty-one months, two Washington Post journalists investigated the events of Watergate, which followed the downfall of the Nixon administration. This was a legendary political scandal of the 20th century because of the journalists dedicated research, and constant pursuit for the truth.

        This enormous scandal did not begin at the White House, and when an editor called a reporter to say that it was a burglary, Woodward was initially annoyed at the common appeal.  The location of the burglary stuck him as odd because it happened at a big party office as opposed to a small one. His curiosity grew once he found out that the burglars were identified and one of them was a former employee of the CIA. His investigative instincts told him that he had come across something that he should look into, because he barely scratched the surface. After sharing his initial findings to Barry Sussman, his editor, Woodward wrote a hard news lead about the break in. In addition to Woodwards story, Carl Bernstein was writing a story, which provided backgrounds and descriptions of the suspects. Bernstein employed his well-developed contacts to build foundation and give substance to the players. As more and more stories surrounded the burglary and the suspects developed, the two reporters worked together.

        During the next several months, the break in, which would be known as Watergate, was just the tip of the iceberg of all the scandalous and unethical political activities, and the reporters went after every credible lead. Neither the reporters or editors set out to annoy or destroy the White House administration, but their combined cohesive ability to produce information and convert it into something meaningful created a synergy that gave the Washington Post premiere editorial coverage. This also helped put the Post right in the line of fire for White House retaliations.