Carl Bernstein: Journalist Who Uncovered the Watergate Scandal

Photo by Celeste Cirillo-Penn

Sports Editor: Zoe Forster

Carl Bernstein spoke on behalf of Cornell Hillel April 23 in Goldwin Smith Hall, Lewis Auditorium. With Bernstein’s role in the Watergate scandal and numerous government investigations, he emphasized the ongoing internal breakdown of the United State’s government, which has become hindered by ideological differences.

As Cornell students, he calls on our generation to fix the inner turmoil that threatens to destroy the idea of national interest and common good.

With this in mind, here are a few things you can learn from Carl Bernstein.

When reporting on an event or reading the newspaper, always look for the best attainable version of the truth. Your job as a journalist is to report on a real condition, “not to bring on a desired event, ” Bernstein said. Your job as a citizen is to find out what really happened.

Because journalists tend to imbue their own ideological differences into the report, try reading a variety of articles that are about the same event. Analyze each article individually and extract what really happened. Look deeper into the story—Don’t look or apply  “ideological ammunition” to reinforce what you already know, Bernstein said.

In addition, your job as a journalist and citizen is to determine what the news is.  As Bernstein stated, remember that “facts by themselves are not news.”

For example, during the Watergate Scandal the press decided along with the government that the event was of national interest. The Republicans and Democrats put aside their ideological differences because they understood the issue was important to the common good.

So the next time you’re reading or writing about a controversial topic, don’t automatically criticize and assume the other party is at fault.

Bernstein’s advice may be hard to fulfill, but you have to take small steps to solve a big problem.