Thursday, December 3, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
“All the President’s Men” Teaches Reporters to Be Hungry for the Truth
Alan J. Pakula’s 1976 production of “All the President’s Men” depicted one of the biggest government scandals to this date, Watergate. Reporter’s Bob Woodward (played by Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (played by Dustin Hoffman) of The Washington Post work to uncover the truth about the burglary at the Watergate Building in Washington, D.C. In the process, they learn a good deal about reporting, integrity, and trust.
Woodward and Bernstein start the investigation working separately. Woodward searches for the facts, while Bernstein has trouble separate opinion from the truth. Ben Bradlee, an editor at The Washington Post, tells Bernstein, “I’m not interested in what you think is obvious, I’m interested in what you know.” And soon after that Woodward tells Bernstein while he writes the beginning Watergate story, “. If you’re going to hype it, hype it with the facts.”
Eventually Bernstein and Woodward begin to investigate together. They find leads, they conduct interviews, and they take a lot of notes. Yet, even when the two reporters believed to have a story, Woodward would say, “But there’s not enough fact.”
The two dig deep to discover that this is not merely a two men scandal. The Watergate burglary goes all the way up to President Nixon and everyone seems to be covering it up. Bernstein and Woodward must interview those citizens who don’t wish to be interviewed, citizens who do not even trust the reporters themselves. This mistrust of reporters is depicted very well throughout the film. There is an unspoken fear of the discovery of the truth. Yet, that is the essence of journalism, to give the people the truth.
Towards the end of the film, Bradlee is speaking to both Bernstein and Woodward. He says, “I can’t do the reporting for my reporters, which means I have to trust them. And I hate trusting anybody.” The story is published, and those accused were rightly charged.
Woodward and Bernstein start the investigation working separately. Woodward searches for the facts, while Bernstein has trouble separate opinion from the truth. Ben Bradlee, an editor at The Washington Post, tells Bernstein, “I’m not interested in what you think is obvious, I’m interested in what you know.” And soon after that Woodward tells Bernstein while he writes the beginning Watergate story, “. If you’re going to hype it, hype it with the facts.”
Eventually Bernstein and Woodward begin to investigate together. They find leads, they conduct interviews, and they take a lot of notes. Yet, even when the two reporters believed to have a story, Woodward would say, “But there’s not enough fact.”
The two dig deep to discover that this is not merely a two men scandal. The Watergate burglary goes all the way up to President Nixon and everyone seems to be covering it up. Bernstein and Woodward must interview those citizens who don’t wish to be interviewed, citizens who do not even trust the reporters themselves. This mistrust of reporters is depicted very well throughout the film. There is an unspoken fear of the discovery of the truth. Yet, that is the essence of journalism, to give the people the truth.
Towards the end of the film, Bradlee is speaking to both Bernstein and Woodward. He says, “I can’t do the reporting for my reporters, which means I have to trust them. And I hate trusting anybody.” The story is published, and those accused were rightly charged.
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