Media and Democracy

LaKisha Sanders

Government 2301

December 7, 2012

Media and Democracy

In the movie All the President’s Men, Carl Bernstein played by Dustin Hoffman is an investigative journalist along with Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) at the Washington Post.  Together investigate the break-in of the Democratic National Convention’s Committee headquarters and its chairman at the Watergate hotel office complex in 1972.  Five men broke into the Watergate hotel with aspirations of bugging the rooms of the Committee that was quickly foiled when they got caught.  

Subsequently they were arrested and at their arrangement Bob Woodward found that they were C.I.A and ex-C.I.A operatives.  The burglars were from Miami, FL., which was weird because Florida was known as a retirement town. Woodard found it particularly interesting when he noticed that there was an attorney whom he recognized and wondered how he’d gotten there.  Who called this attorney, since the burglars had not been given a phone call?  Woodard soon realized there was something to be discovered he just didn’t know what.

In the film both Bernstein and Woodward have a host of informants who help them along their way in getting the information needed to break the story of the Watergate scandal.  The main informant was Deep Throat (Hal Holbrook) who gave Woodard the information he need to ultimately break the Watergate Scandal.  It is never really clear who Deep Throat is however, he would be known today as a “whistle blower.”  It is obvious during the film that a lot of threating and corrosion was happening.  All of the people who worked for the government were in fear of their lives if they spoke with the press.  These threats put people in fear of exercising their Constitutional right of free speech.    

Hugh Sloan Jr. (Stephen Collins) the Treasure of the Committee to Re-elect President, Richard M. Nixon.  Hugh was told by his bosses to disburse the money not knowing on what the money was being used for.   His wife asked him to resign because of the scandal impact on their lives with a baby on the way.  Hugh Sloan was a big part of Bernstein and Woodard investigation and gave them the information that they needed to nail the story.  The next morning after the story was printed; Sloan denied ever giving Bernstein and Woodard any information.  

The Washington Post was being looked at as being non republicans who didn’t like the president.  It seemed the story would be killed, but Deep Throat provided Woodard with the information needed to get their story back on the right track.  He also warned them their lives were in danger and that they had been bugged.      

Donald Sergretti (Robert Walden) was a lawyer who was hired by a friend at the Committee to Re-elect the President Nixon.  Sergretti was the head coordinator of Nixon’s sabotage campaign the democrats.  Him and this friend use to do these same kinds of tricks when they were in college.  Donald Sergretti was in fear of being disbarred and losing his freedom even through he didn’t do anything illegal.    

Ben Bradlee (Jason Robards) was the Vice President of the Washington Post and executive editor. In the beginning Ben Bradlee didn’t think that this story should be pursued.  It took him sometime to warm up to.  This was because there was no one who would go on record with any of the tips that was given to Bernstein and Woodard. The Watergate Scandal could have ruin Bradlee career and the Washington Post with just one mishap.  

What officially makes the break in at the Watergate hotel a scandal is the secret fund that the republicans used to pay off people for the disruption of the Democratic Party.  The fund was controlled ultimately by five men.  John Mitchell, United States Attorney General, Committee deputy director Jeb Magruder and finance director Maurice Stans they in-turn gave the money to Gordon Liddy. Harry Haldeman the political aide who served as the White House Chief of Staff to President Nixon.  This cover up eventually called for the resignation of President Nixon.