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The Media's Role in Watergate
In the American Democracy it is vital for our right to freedom of press to be put into full
throttle. Without the press, the society would be clueless and blind of Washington's dealings and
business. The press informs the public, for better or worse, about what really goes on in
Washington. But during the Watergate Scandal, the press coverage of the scandal demonstrated
some of the best and the worst aspects of the way the American press covers the presidency.
Richard Nixon despised the press. From the days when he was Vice President and
Governor, he had no trust for the press. Even when he used the press for his advantage to expose,
what he believed to be, Communist influences in America, he feared the press. Though Nixon had
won the endorsement of many newspapers during the 1960 Presidential Campaign, Nixon still
thought ill of the press and believed them to be unfair to him. Nixon became even more bitter in
1962 after he lost the election to be governor of California. Nixon bitterly claimed that they
wouldn't have Richard Nixon to kick around anymore. He had retired from politics but that
was short lived as he became president in 1968, but even then, Nixon remained careful of the
press, fearful that they would leak and expose secrets. He was so scared that he had tapped
prominent Washington reporters and official's telephones that he feared would leak information.
Within days after the Watergate break in, there were reason to believe that the burglars had
connections with the White House highest powers. Despite the sensational revelations, many of the
press lost interest in the story very quickly. Most the press accepted the claim of the White House
Press Secretary that the incident was third-rate burglary. Though the Washington Post covered
the story, the Post was not thrilled with the story at first. They assigned two relatively
inexperienced reporters to cover the story, thinking not too much of it. Many journalists could
not accept that such political corruption could happen in Washington, therefore giving the story
low priority. Some believed that if the press covered the story, it would make Nixon's accusations
true, that the press was truly after him. So most of the press waited for more proof to come in
before they ran the story, but what is strange is that only the Post made a serious effort to find
more proof. Maybe it was one of the failures of the American Press: a lack of investigative zeal
which seems to infect much of the news media. One result of this lack is a kind of excessive
caution which leads the press to avoid controversial stories. Another is a failure of imagination, or
lack of covering different kinds of stories, as opposed to the same type of story time after time.
However, the Post was an exception. The reporters investigated for months, exposing the
sad truth behind their President. But the Republican Party was not concerned and re-nominated
Nixon for President which he would be destined to win against an unmatched opponent, Senator
George McGovern. While the popularity of the President was very high, the reporters continued
the dirty investigation and found a connection between the White House's highest ranked officials
and illegal slush funds. The Post is credited for their single handed journalistic effort and keeping
the affair alive.
Though The Post had demonstrated the power of the press, it revealed the disgrace that
most of the press had made of themselves. The majority of the media's priorities had not been
straight. They had forgotten that it is their duty to inform the public of Washington dealings and
not hold back anything simply because it could be devastating to the ranked official's reputations.
Journalism in American is imperative to have, but must be used correctly. The Watergate Scandal
left behind a backlash of distrust towards the press and the presidency. Washington had lost it's
innocence. No longer would people put their full trust in what the government did behind the
public's eyes. After Watergate, the press vowed to be more wary in the future. That legacy of
Suspicion would hang over the presidents that followed Nixon
Bibliography
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Word Count: 703
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