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Woodward and Bernstein, Dynamic Duo, Together Again
on the "Today" show, and wending
Cher. Woodward and Bernstein were Garfunkel or Sonny returning to sitting side by side, openly discussing
source at long last. giving name to their anonymous
the identity of Deep Throat. Starting
certain old-fashioned charm to their courteous duet; W. Mark Felt was
on. strained, however, as the day wore
but Mr. Woodward made sure Carl
strains of the Deep Throat story was did not carry an ominous message
about the dominance of television. Bernstein also got a chance to speak. Mr. Woodward did begin to look a bit counterintuitive: Mr. Felt's identity
was revealed in print (and in Vanity he outed by "Dateline" or "Extra!" scoop and amplified it. Some 30 One of the more interesting, if minor, Bob Woodward's friend and source, Television merely picked up the
Mr. Felt and his relatives did not call
make their announcement, nor was
Barbara Walters or Jay Leno to Fair, a monthly magazine at that).
There was nostalgia and also a
It was like Simon sitting down with
And for once, theirs was a tale that
Watch
By ALESSANDRA STANLEY
The
TV
their way from "Good "Larry King Live," the
ers basked in the relief
and reflected glory of
Morning America" to
two Watergate report-
years later the news media haven't
were being celebrated at the same changed that much. It's the political climate that has dramatically al-
tered.
age of the whole Watergate reunion.
Times are facing possible jail time
ing a confidential government source Two journalists famous for protect-
Matt Cooper of Time magazine and government sources. Technically, at for refusing to identify confidential
least, the Nixon administration could
have tried to force the Washington moment that two other journalists, but then, unlike now, such a move Judith Miller of The New York sources can be handled properly and
ecutive editor, Benjamin C. Bradlee, against the fourth estate would have been political suicide.
anonymous stories — anonymous Post reporters to name Deep Throat you — before you throw reporters in confront the Nixon White House with be useful to society, and that when
told Jim Lehrer of PBS that the expe-
rience "offers proof of the fact that
mous, you'd better be careful."
first on an important story during a than those of other newspapers, but the newspaper was also lucky to be jail for keeping their sources anony- reports that were more aggressive time when the public's faith in the
And that was the most striking im-
The Washington Post's former ex-
The Washington Post was brave to
credibility was on the rise.
ment was eroding and journalists' highest level branches of govern- during his re-election campaign by
has rarely been lower, and the one family connections to get in — and
ier. Now, respect for the news media
CBS News was botched, because Dan around — the Texas National Guard
major investigative piece conducted
Rather's report that Mr. Bush used
official of the F.B.I., of course. Many
relied on fake documents.
supporters during Watergate are
sion, from Pat Buchanan, the former certain charm to cover that Deep Throat was the No. 2 of the same people who were Nixon courteous duet. Nostalgia and a
now important figures in or on televi-
course, the president's father, White House speechwriter who is a
George H. W. Bush, was chairman of Roger Ailes, the chairman of Fox News who was a media adviser to regular talk show commentator, to
Richard M. Nixon in 1968. (And, of
President Bush couldn't be luck-
Not everyone was thrilled to dis-
their
was reaching its peak.) the Republican National Committee
ward were on CNN but not on Fox. News paid less attention to the reve-
"When The Washington Post put in 1973 when the Watergate scandal
works. Mr. Bernstein and Mr. Wood-
works first, we decided to pass," the explained. Fox used a clip of the leg-
lation than other 24-hour news net- network's spokesman, Paul Schur, terview on NBC and also gave ample
voice to those who viewed Watergate as a "media putsch," Including a clip them on low-rated cable news net- endary duo from the "Today" in- of one of the Watergate burglars, "weak chin" he knew at once that he
Mr. Felt, and who indignantly com- the C.I.A., now almost as elderly as was not a man of honor.
growing shorter. In 2000, the Vatican
Bernard Barker, then working for
confirmed the' identity of Deep plained that when he saw Mr. Felt's something precious for all these and now The Washington Post has Throat.
revealed the Third Secret of Fatima,
stein told Matt Lauer of NBC. "It's a
very strange feeling."
years that you carry around, and for the first time it's not there to protect
hi your pocket anymore," Mr. Bern-
Not surprisingly, perhaps, Fox
"It's like having tried to protect
The list of famous mysteries keeps