“All the President’s Men” and Investigative Journalism themes

The 1976 film All the President’s Men follows Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman), two journalists tasked with the controversial mission of uncovering the secrets behind President Nixon and the Watergate scandal. These two journalists risked both their reputations and their lives to uncover this story, and they did so by following a code of conduct still being used by reporters today. Every fact must be checked, every source must be confirmed, and every lead, no matter how small, must be followed in order to find the full story.

The ‘Paul William’s Way’ is an eleven-step process for journalists to follow when covering a story, and it’s a process you yourself can follow if you feel called into this field:

1. Conception
2. Feasibility Study
3. Go/No-Go Decision
4. Base Building
5. Planning
6. Original Research
7. Re-evaluation
8. Filling in the Gaps
9. Final Evaluation
10. Writing and Rewriting
11. Publication or Airing of the Story and Follow-up Stories

The story beats follow this style of reporting very closely, focusing mainly on steps four through nine. With no easy access to information, Woodward and Bernstein need to locate ‘Primary Sources’ and ‘Secondary Sources,’ people who were either directly involved in the case or were close enough to confirm or deny information that has been gathered. This can be seen in interviews or phone calls throughout the film; one of the journalists follow a lead, learn some new information, then try to cross-reference that information with another source and see if the information lines up.

Data analysis for investigation consisted of collecting documentation to help their case. Whether it’s collecting lists of people working for the financial office for election campaigns, searching records for library books checked out by government officials related to the case, or even just when Woodward and Bernstein are compiling information and comparing notes. This data collection alone wouldn’t have gotten the journalists far without help from their whistleblowing friend ‘Deep Throat’ (Hal Holbrook), an undisclosed person related to the case who wanted to share top secret information, but could only do so discreetly.

The ethics of investigation these journalists used may be deemed as unethical; using every shred of human decency offered to them as a foothold to push their sources for more information. However, they did so with the best of intentions for the good of the American public- a passion not too many of Woodward and Bernstein’s bosses shared. An investigation of the Executive branch is not a task many journalists are prepared to take on; not only did this story drag the Washington Post’s name through the mud, but they also risked defaming the US government if their story was incorrect.

This movie portrayed one of the greatest landmarks in journalism history, as it proved that any one (or in this case, two) person has the power to uncover corruption, even at the highest levels of power.

Woodward and Bernstein had countless doors slammed right in their face when all they wanted was an interview. They scrapped together shreds of information collected over the course of months, getting very little support from the higher ups and constantly threatened with termination. While today, journalists have the privilege of internet databases and emails all accessible from a computer, these journalists were forced to go door-to-door with a list of addresses, pining for interviews.

In this Washington Post Watergate article written forty years after the Watergate scandal, you can read how Woodward and Bernstein’s sources both aided and hurt their story all-throughout their investigation.

What I personally learned about the relationship between an editor and a reporter is that no only do they need to be on the same page for whatever story their working on together, but they also need to constantly push one another to get the best story possible. If two people are working on a story, then both of them need to give 100% to avoid hurting either one of their names with whatever they publish. Much like any relationship, a lot of it is founded on trust and communication; if there’s any personal issues that may harm the end product, it’s on both the editor and the reporter to resolve that problem quickly.

Something that stood out to me in this story was the sheer commitment seen by both Woodward and Bernstein; even after having dozens of doors slammed into their face, it didn’t dissuade them from continuing their story. When they finally did get an interview, it was only by the skin of their teeth- keeping the source busy with small talk and coffee just to avoid getting kicked out the door. There are two very important lessons to be taken from these scenes: ‘if no one wants to interview you, there’s likely something everyone’s hiding’ and ‘human decency can be the best (or only) tool at your disposal.’ Both of these lessons could be taken to extremes, so it’s important to keep in mind the efficacy of your actions, especially when those actions may cause harm to people who trusted you.

Aside form Woodward and Bernstein, other standout roles include Ben Bradlee (Jason Robards), the Bookkeeper (Jane Alexander), and the Deep Throat (Hal Holbrook). Bradlee seemed to only double the work for Woodward and Bernstein, but he was the one who made sure their leads were solid, and that the information they gave was both relevant and worthy of the front page spot. The Bookkeeper seemed to be the last huge break the reporters needed after weeks of dead-end leads, so seeing Bernstein finally catch a break and get an interview with someone from the financial team felt like a breath of fresh air. Lastly, you can’t avoid mentioning Deep Throat when discussing the Watergate scandal- his contribution was so mysterious and informative that his alias has become as famous as the Watergate scandal itself.

If I could ask the reporting duo one thing about their investigation into Watergate, it would be this: What kept you going? It seemed like the weight of the world was on their shoulders, risking the defamation of either themselves or the honor of the United States government, yet they continued anyway.

On my honor, I watched “All the President’s Men” in its entirety.

Length: 1050 words