Journalism perception

"All the President's Men" is a movie about the Watergate Scandal. This scandal was the biggest political scandal to hit the US government. This bought down the President, subverted the entire concept of the Constituition, compromised personal liberty and freedom of speech, and it was hailed as one of the Greatest Investigations in the field of Journalism.

Looking at the way Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, reporters at Washington Post covered the incident, it is no wonder that Watergate changed the face of Investigative Reporting. It emphasizes the fact that many things don't occur in Isolation. A certain small piece of evidence can lead to a bigger controversy. It also tells us that if lies and unlawfulness have to come out in the open, it is upto the Journalist to put in that maximum effort. The movie emphasized the fact that Woodward and Bernstein undertook Maximum of field research. They spent their time out on the field, calling people, confirming facts on paper, interviewing them personally, and always taking notes.

What it also tells us is that Journalists have to be committed to the cause at all times. It is very easy to dismiss the movie because technology has made many things easier. Technology has reduced the legwork that Woodward and Bernstein put in on the field, but it doesn't take away the fact that for solid confirmation of a fact, Fieldwork and simple note taking are of paramout importance. Technology is a device by which a lot of this Generation's journalists take for granted.

Woodward and Bernstein tell us that efforts should not be made in the office, but out on the field. They emphasize a very important point of perseverance, and careful management of their sources. This generation has to be very patient, and we have to put in so much of fieldwork that we forget what the office room looks like! However, one doubt still remains. Will sources and people concerned with the issue talk openly to Journalists in today's time? Many people nowadays are tending towards secrecy and concealment. Journalists are made to prode that little bit extra to get information, thus it throws ethics out of the window completely.

Watergate teaches us that if journalists put in creditable and useful fieldwork into good use, and with good source management and note taking, Accountability in the instituitions of Democracy shall always remain.