Every president has had to deal with journalists who have raised their ire, questioned their policies, and otherwise hampered their time in office. The recent tweets from President Trump aimed at MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski illustrate the historical tension between presidents and the press, except now their messages can be communicated faster and with greater bluntness.
The ongoing antagonism between the press and public officials has caused greater distance between them and less trust. Journalists become frustrated if they cannot develop sources. And in response, public officials become frustrated if journalists do not get a story right, relying on innuendo.
As the influential memoir of a prominent journalist shows, this was not always the case.
July marks the 10th anniversary of the publication of The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years Reporting in Washington by longtime political columnist Robert Novak. This bestselling book, so named for the nickname given to Novak for his “unsmiling pessimism about the prospects for America and Western civilization,” is perhaps the best window into the interaction between politicians and the journalists who cover them.
Throughout his illustrious career, Novak covered Congress, presidents and every major player in Washington. However, his reporting went far beyond the Beltway.
He details his quadrennial trips to cover the early presidential primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire. His network of sources on the state and county levels told him which candidates were gaining traction, which had good organization, and which ones were fated to be also-rans. Novak was also a regular presence at off-year Democrat and Republican gatherings.
In addition, he reported from such far-flung locations as Nicaragua, where he covered the struggle against the Communist Sandinista regime, as well as hot spots in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. It is rare to find a single journalist who can report on domestic and international events with such clarity and accuracy.
As a Capitol Hill reporter for The Wall Street Journal, Novak was often invited to after-hours drinks by Senate Republican Leader Everett Dirksen and a handful of other senators, where they would discuss issues of the day. Novak never reported what he heard in these meetings, but it gave him invaluable insight on the workings of Congress.
Democratic Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson would invite Novak to his office for Scotch, where Novak writes, Johnson would ask Novak keep up with him drink-for-drink. It was only later that Novak learned Johnson’s drinks were heavily watered down, and Johnson was using these meetings to gain information from Novake.
As Novak wrote, “Johnson was a taker, not a giver.
There were times Bob Novak was ahead of his peers in identifying political trends. In 1980, conservative activist Paul Weyrich alerted Novak that evangelical Christians had become disaffected with President Jimmy Carter and were beginning to align with the Republican Party. Novak reported from a gathering of pastors in Georgia that native and born-again Christian Jimmy Carter had failed them on social issues such as abortion and school prayer. Nobody else reported on this development, and the influence of Christians in politics continues to this day.
As years went by, Novak continued to build relationships with top-notch Congressional sources, including Rep. Jack Kemp, R-N.Y., one of the most prominent congressional Republicans of the 1970s and 1980s. He also revealed that one of his best sources was Rep. Robert Matsui, D-Calif. While Novak is known for being a conservative columnist, he praised Matsui for being an excellent source simply because he wanted Novak to get the story right.
Today’s viewers of cable news may bemoan the journalistic inexperience of many of the so-called analysts who pass off conjecture and talking points as reporting. This was not always the case.
Novak and his writing partner, Rowland Evans, were among the first political analysts signed by the fledgling Cable News Network. When cable news was in its infancy, using seasoned journalists on the air meant credibility. Novak went on to produce his own CNN show with Evans, as well as a weekend show, “Capital Gang.”
The Prince of Darkness bridges the age of the hard-drinking political reporter with the electronic age. It is a stellar guide for those who report the news and those who consume it. Today’s journalists and public officials should read The Prince of Darkness to see that it is quite possible to behave with at least a grudging respect for one another.
Trust in media and public officials is plummeting. A way to restore it is to increase personal interaction between journalists and sources. They may not always see eye to eye, but if they occasionally look each other in the eye, it will go a long way to ease the friction that exists today.
The media may move faster with bursts of information, but the public’s desire for thoughtful, well-sourced analyses like those written by Robert Novak has not abated.
Kevin P. McVicker is vice president of Shirley & Banister Public Affairs, which publicized Robert Novak’s The Prince of Darkness.
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