Before the jokes began at Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ dinner, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein imparted an austere but reassuring message to their fellow journalists at a time when President Trump has repeatedly excoriated the media for perpetuating “fake news.”
“Mr. President, the media is not fake news,” Woodward said to applause at the glitzy Washington Hilton affair.
The president wasn’t in the building. He had, instead, chosen to mark his 100th day in office at a rally in Pennsylvania. There he continued his tirade against the press, saying, “A large group of Hollywood actors and Washington media are consoling each other in a hotel ballroom in our nation’s capital right now.” He also slammed “CNN and MSNBC as very fake news.”
Still, the president’s constant barrage against the free press, including its reliance on unnamed sources and leaks in recent reporting, has weighed heavily on the state of journalism. That didn’t seem lost on the two legendary Watergate journalists who once relied on anonymous sources, including “Deep Throat”, to aid their investigative reporting in the 1970s that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
“Any president and his administration in Washington is clearly entitled to the most serious reporting efforts possible,” Woodward advised. He explained that journalists need to get their tone right — and that when sometimes the reporting goes “too far,” they need to own up to their mistakes.
Both Woodward and Bernstain shared lessons they learned from one another, which help refine their reporting abilities.
“Almost inevitably, unreasonable government secrecy is the enemy, and usually the giveaway about what the real story might be,” Bernstein said about what he has gleaned from Woodward, who he worked with at the Washington Post. “And when lying is combined with secrecy, there’s usually a pretty good road map in front of us.”
He added: “Sustained inquiry is essential; you never know what the real story is until you’ve done the reporting, as Woodward says.”
Bob Woodward: "Whether the media's revered or reviled, we should and must persist." #WHCD2017 pic.twitter.com/U81hAt5cL2— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) April 30, 2017
“Journalists should not have a dog in the political fight except to find the best obtainable version of the truth,” Woodward said, referring to a realization he made from his discussions with Bernstein. Reciting a lesson learned from their Watergate investigation, Woodward stressed that “very aggressive reporting is often necessary.”
Bernstein emphasized too the importance of “incremental reporting” without trying to paint a big picture in a single story — another realization he made with the help of Woodward.
“We’re reporters, not judges, not legislators,” Bernstein said. “What the government or citizens or judges do with the information we developed is not our part of the process, nor our objective. Our job is to put the best obtainable version of the truth out there. Period. Especially now.”
