Hopefully everyone in their right mind pursue truth, but good journalists make the exploration of truth their job. William Goldberg’s film, “All the President’s Men” (1976), stars Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford, and paints the journey of uncovering the Watergate scandal.
Carl Bernstein (Hoffman) and Bob Woodward (Redford) were both Washington Post journalists in the 1970s. Both had much to do with the original reporting and investigating of the Watergate scandal.
Goldberg’s film shares the true story of the process the journalist underwent to uncover truth and report it to the public. The two reporters practice the fundamentals of the journalistic code drawn out by authors Kovach and Rosenthal in their book The Elements of Journalism.
The lessons in The Elements of Journalism seem to transcend time. They were just as applicable in the 70s, and before, as they are in present time. Though, perhaps they have been use more or less in different eras of journalism.
Bernstein and Woodward are driving by revealing truth to society, the first obligation of journalism. Through mockery, doubt, and danger, the two reports persevere for the common good of the people.
Verification, they realized, coincides with reporting truth. Bernstein and Woodward understand that they cannot use what they want because they find it agreeable; the two journalists endeavor to see if what they find is agreeable with truth.
Bernstein and Woodward struggled to find people to go on the record or to find reliable sources to use; but they agreed that if they were going to uncover the truth and report it, they had to work hard to be men of integrity.
It wasn’t only them who believed in verification of sources, Ben Bradlee, their editor strained that it was necessary. Bradlee kept them in check multiple times, making sure they had things right.
In the end, their story was printed, but only after serious consideration and verification was the Watergate scandal made known. Above all else, their goal was to make sure what they were reporting was the truth.
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