Watergate Scandal

When the Watergate Scandal occurred in 1972-1974 it opened a new era for journalism, especially investigative journalism.

What seemed like a simple break in at Watergate Hotel by five men was not. This was story that was pursed by two journalists, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. The five men found, had wiretaps on them. It was found out later they were former CIA and FBI agents.

Both these journalists also went on to manage to find out that these men were paid by the President Nixon’s Committee to Reelect the President. Through the media this group got their name as The Dirty Squad. Proof was got that they were employed by Nixon. It was later on found that Nixon was using the Dirty Squad to tap his political opponents. The Watergate Hotel was the Headquarters for Democratic Party. The Dirty Squad had managed to bug over 70 people including cabinet members and White House assistants. Nixon was clearly misusing his power.

Another controversy which arose was of the tapes, which Nixon claimed would be threat of national security if revealed. However the Supreme Court forced Nixon to hand it over. The tapes revealed that Nixon knew of the Watergate “break-in” and that it was a matter of “national security” that the FBI should not investigate further.

In August 1974, Nixon was forced to step down.

This incident is milestone for investigative journalism. For Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein it took them two years to uncover all of this. At first inspite of knocking all the right doors, they were not able to get the right answers. Bob then decided to contact an old friend, an informant high up in the White House. This informant came to called Deep Throat. Deep Throat at first refused to give out much information, but acted as a guide. It was later as their trust developed that he gave out information. Bob and he used to have secret meetings, using covert methods.

Bob Woodward was the only one who meet Deep Throat. From time of the scandal to a few years ago, he refused to reveal his source, his informant, till the day Deep Throat died. At the time of the scandal, it was dangerous time for the journalist and for the informant. Since there was enough evidence collect against Nixon there was no need for Bob Woodward to reveal his source and no one forced him to. Protection of source is highly vital in any investigative journalism.

For Deep Throat as a whistleblower, he found that something was going wrong in the system and that he needed to break it out in the open. He decided to only act as a guide. He needed to make sure, that he as an informant did not alert his department on a leak. Deep Throat’s involvement in Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein investigating was needed. Without his guidance and information there would have been no investigation.

Investigative journalism is very significant in today’s democracy as it was at the Watergate Scandal. It is about uncovering the truth, when someone tries to sweep it under the rug. It is about fulfilling, one of journalism functions, and that is to act as a watchdog. The official word of the Government may not always be truth.

At every occurrence of major political scandal, investigative journalism swings into action, to uncover the truth. However investigative journalism is always there and it takes time. Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein had to spend to years on this story. Washington Post from a small newspaper by 1974 became a very big and successful.