Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein Hero Essay

Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, regarded as two of the most influential journalists of all time, both deserve the title of being a hero. A hero, as defined by The New World Dictionary, is “any man admired for his courage, nobility, or exploits”, and both of these men fit this definition quite well especially when one looks back on their work in the Watergate Scandal. Woodward and Bernstein should be viewed as heroes since they helped uncover one of the biggest political scandals in American history, but this alone is not the true reason why these two men are heroes. These men are heroes because they pursued and stood by their story, they put their lives on the line to help uncover the scandal, and they had a huge impact on American culture.

First of all, Woodward and Bernstein should be credited as heroes since they pursued and stood by their story. Woodward and Bernstein were given the assignment to write a story on the Watergate Scandal on June 18, 1972; the day after the burglars were arrested. The story intrigued the two journalists, and even though many other newspapers began to ignore the issue, Woodward and Bernstein continued to investigate. The duo’s investigation relied heavily on the information given to them by Mark Felt (a.k.a. “Deep Throat”, a pseudonym used to protect his identity), a high ranking official of the F.B.I., who told them which sources were telling the truth, and which leads to pursue. Woodward and Bernstein continued to dig deep in their investigation, and would not allow simple answers to go. Their perseverance in their investigation would pay off eventually, and they ultimately discovered that Nixon's aides had run "a massive campaign of political spying and sabotage" on behalf of Nixon's reelection effort, and that Attorney General John Mitchell controlled a secret fund that paid for a campaign to gather information on the Democrats. Woodward and Bernstein had their article printed on October 10, 1972, and it was met with much criticism from the white house. The White House denounced their story, and called it misleading and biased. Despite the backfire from the White House, Woodward and Bernstein stood by their story, and continued to write damaging story after damaging story directed toward the White House. Months later, the scandal would blow wide open. It is because Woodward and Bernstein pursued and stuck by their story that the information on the Watergate Scandal got out to the public. Woodward and Bernstein’s pursuit of gaining information for their story and sticking by it reveals that both of these men would not stand to let any kind of injustice go unrevealed.

Secondly, these men were heroes because they put their lives on the line to help uncover the scandal. As stated in the previous paragraph, when Woodward and Bernstein had their article published in the Washington Post, it drew a lot of criticism from many powerful political figures. The government did not want the press to give the public the story, and since Woodward and Bernstein had learned too much about the scandal, it meant that the government would be coming after them. It was revealed to them by “Deep Throat” that their lives were in great danger, and that they were probably being bugged by the government. Despite the risk and the danger that the duo faced, they continued to write negative articles focused on the Watergate Scandal and the government (as stated in the paragraph above). These men not only had the courage to print out a story that exposed the abuse of power and corruption in the government, but they also had the courage to put their lives on the line in order that the truth may get out to the public.

Bernstein (middle left) and Woodward (middle) discussing
the Watergate Scandal with Katharine Graham (left),
Managing Editor Howard Simons (middle right), and Editor
Ben Bradlee of the Washington Post (right)-pictures
courtesy of www.washingtonpost.com

Finally, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were heroes because of the tremendous impact they had on American culture. The duo’s impact can be seen greatly in two major aspects of American culture: journalism, and politics. Woodward and Bernstein’s story on the Watergate Scandal attracted many young and aspiring journalists, helped put the Washington Post on the map, and also caused politicians to fear of even thinking to lie to the press. However, the part of Journalism that they had the greatest impact on was investigative journalism. Their story, which went far more in-depth than most stories in the newspapers, caused for a great increase in more thorough and investigative journalism. Woodward and Bernstein’s impact was also felt significantly in American politics. They popularized the Watergate Scandal, got people to understand what had happened, and showed them that there was corruption in the system. When the story got out to the public, it caused for a great decline in the president’s approval, at a time when the image of the president had a lot of power. By Nixon resigning, the presidency declined in power, the image of the president was hurt, and Congress and the Supreme Court assumed more power. Woodward and Bernstein’s impact was not only felt in their specific occupational field, it was felt in American politics, and also in the public’s understanding of what was happening in American politics.

Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein are heroes because they pursued and stood by their story, put their lives on the line to help uncover the scandal, and because they had a significant impact on American culture. At a time in American history, when our government was caught up in corruption and abuse of power, these two men courageously stood up for truth, and showed the country the injustice that was taking place in their government. Though they had to put their reputations, jobs, and lives in jeopardy, they published their story because the public needed to know about it; they stood up for what they knew was right.