1944- ; 1943-
Newspaper Journalists

From Newspaper Reporters to Media Stars.

Between the 1972 Watergate break-in and the 1974 resignation of President Richard M. Nixon, two reporters for the Washington Post, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, were acclaimed for their investigative journalism. As a result of their exposure of the Watergate affair, they became subjects of media attention themselves, and their success spurred a revival of investigative reporting in the United States. As Ben Bradlee, their editor, observed in 1975, "They're part of American folklore now. Everybody knows their names." Their book All the President's Men (1974) was a best-seller and became the basis for a well-known film two years later in which they were portrayed, respectively, by Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman.

Different Backgrounds.

Bob Woodward grew up the son of a lawyer in conservative Wheaton, Illinois, and attended Yale University on a Naval ROTC scholarship. The...