Kaitlin Manning
Plackowski
June 1, 2011
APAS Research Paper
Journalism and the Government
Without a doubt, journalists, no matter the time period, have influence in one way or
another. Their primary job is to provide the accurate and reliable information people need in
order for them to function in society. While their primary goal is to provide information,
journalists serve other functional roles. Journalists serve to spur people to take action, they
identify society’s heroes and villains, they act as a watchdog to protect against corruption and
abuse and they provide information for entertainment purposes. These myriad of roles have
evolved over time. With the advent of social media, it is widely anticipated that journalists role
will continue to evolve and change in order to adapt to the new information channels social
media vehicles like Twitter, Facebook and You Tube provide. Different types of writing over
time however has changed and helped influence the realm of both society and the government as
well.
Perhaps one of the most defining pieces of journalism written in the late 1900s was the
pieces written by journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward of the Washington Post. These
reporters worked together to break the story that, in the words of Stanley Kutler, the scandal's
leading historian, "consumed and convulsed the nation and tested the constitutional and political
system as it had not been tested since the Civil War."1 . If nothing else, the Watergate scandal
served to underscore the importance of the role of journalists as watchdogs and defenders of the
first amendment protection of freedom of the press. Woodward and Bernstein’s reporting served
notice to individuals at the highest level of our government, up to and including the President,
that no one is above the law and if they break the law, they will be held accountable. This is
evidenced in the United States v. Nixon, where the Supreme Court held that the President is not
above the law, and can't use Executive Privilege as an excuse to withhold material evidence (the
Watergate tapes) that is "demonstrably relevant in a criminal trial." The Watergate scandals left
such an impression on the national and international consciousness that many scandals since then
have been labeled with the suffix "-gate" such as “Contragate” and “Travelgate”. Even the
judging scandal in the pairs event at the 2002 Winter Olympics in which a controversial double
gold medal was awarded to Russians Yelena Berezhnaya & Anton Sikharulidze and Canadians
Jamie Sale & David Pelletier was termed "Skategate".
Bernstein and Woodward, while perhaps the best known contemporary investigative
journalists, were far from the first individuals who turned out to be highly influential. Journalists
however were not the only ones who wrote to invoke change and galvanize people to take action.
Some writers wrote of their own experiences and ideas in the hope that sharing these experiences
would serve to invoke change within peoples’ views and incite individuals to call for changes to
the way our government works. In 1776, Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense to “sketch a map
of utopia.” This pamphlet was primarily written to help “capture the colonists’ imaginations”,
and convince the large number of colonists to break from the ideals of the English monarchy,
and relinquish any beliefs that the Monarchy and the system of British rule was appropriate for
1
Feldstein,M(2004).WatergateRevisted [ElectronicVersion]. Retrieved from http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=3735
the colonies. Paine’s work, being one of “the most popular of some two thousand pamphlets
published during the Revolution, uses the language of universal rights and individual sovereignty
to argue against reconciliation and prophetic language to invoke “the divine law”, linking
America’s independence to God’s will.” Paine is largely credited with laying the foundation for
the Declaration of Independence in his work Common Sense. More importantly, his work
popularized the idea of American independence and help garner support for a form of
government that was comprised of elected officials. Largely due to this publication, America
was able to assert their independence from England and become its own country. Paine’s
journalistic endeavors were influential in shaping both government policies as well as “appealing
to his readers’ consciences.” Paine’s beliefs and the stylistic choices he chose to write with seem
to be tools still used by journalists today. He “rooted his arguments in common experience and
addresses his audience directly” like so many other successful journalists have used as a means
to an end.
Many other writers followed in the footsteps of Thomas Paine by influencing the people
and then eventually the government. Very significant writers including Harriet Jacobs and
Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote stories that helped call for change and galvanized people to take the
necessary steps to make the change happen. Two particularly compelling pieces of literature are
Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. These pieces are compelling
because they took a controversial issue out of the shadows and put in the public forum for debate
and discussion. Prior to the publication of the novel, it was easier for the opponents of slavery to
adopt an “out of sight out of mind” philosophy. However, the publication of these novels
changed this. The repercussions of slavery and what it really did to people and families was out
in the public space and people on both sides of the issue were compelled to take action. In 1861
when Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl was published and Uncle Tom’s Cabin published in
1852 slavery was not yet abolished and the publications of these novels are credited with fueling
the abolitionist movement that eventually led to the end of slavery in America. Although the
thirteenth amendment was not ratified until 1875, its supporters would likely have read pieces
written by Jacobs and Stowe. Both writers helped spark emotion regarding the injustices of
slavery and influenced people to support its abolishment.
Aside from women like Beecher and Stowe new kind of writers seemed to burst onto the
scene in era so famously nicknamed the “Progressive Era.” During this time investigative
journalism became more and more popular with the advent of the muckrakers. Muckrakers were
reform oriented journalists who investigated topics in order to expose social and political evils in
the United States. Their primary goal was to improve the welfare of society. To that end they
chose to focus their attention on issues such as child labor, racial discrimination, and corruption
in business and government. . Muckrakers included men like Jacob Riis and Upton Sinclair and
are credited with bringing public awareness to social problems and, through this awareness,
forcing government and business to rectify these issues. Despite public criticism of their
endeavors, President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, helped pave the way for many legislative
reforms in the United States due to the journalist’s reports. Sinclair's 1906 novel The Jungle
exposed unsanitary conditions in the meat-packing industry and so enraged the public that
Roosevelt was compelled to initiate legislation that led to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug
Act in 1906. Another prominent muckraker, Jacob Riis documented the squalid conditions that
existed in tenement housing in his book, How the Other Half Lives. He also took photographs of
children that documented the appalling conditions of child labor. His pioneering work helped
focus attention and public opinion on the plight of the some of society’s most vulnerable
populations. His photographs coupled with his writings aided in the institution of new laws
regarding child labor.
Jacob Riis however was far from the first to have expanded just outside writing to get his
voice heard. Thomas Nast was a man who for the first time used political cartoons to invoke a
change of opinion within the people and the government, his main target being a man named
William “Boss” Tweed. Nast’s main objective was to “help destroy the corrupt Tweed Ring that
swindled New York City of millions of dollars.” (Boime 43) His cartoons being published in
newspapers like Harpers Weekly added to his “influence on the American public, by combining
a deep understanding of party controversy, fierce idealism, and incisive style to create its most
authentic channel of artistic expression. His crisp linear technique, sharp tonal contrasts and
knack for monumental design literally laid the foundations for the rich era of American
cartooning that emerged in the last quarter of the century.” (Biome 43) What Tweed was doing
was wrong, so what better way to expose the man who, “During the rapid expansion of New
York City after the Civil War, the Democratic boss, William Marcy Tweed, and his "ring" of
cronies padded contracts and extracted bribes, bilking the public of millions of dollars.” (Reaves
62) Nast’s ardent strive for exposing Tweed “would bring him to the peak of his abilities and
influence.” (Reaves 62) Even though using a different ways to expose corruption, Bernstein and
Woodward were quite like Nast. Both knew of wrong doings being committed by people
working in the government and they had the power allowing them to expose these people and
stand up for what is right. That is the beauty of writing and the art of artists.
Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodard were men were reports in the late nineteenth
century who were quite different from one another. “Bernstein was a college dropout” and
Woodward a graduate from Yale.” (Bernstein, Woodward, 16) Both working at The Washington
Post at the time, they seemed to find common interest in a story named Watergate. At first
Woodward was assigned the piece, him thinking it was going to be some story about “the small
local Democratic party office”, but to his surprise it was “the headquarters of the Democratic
National Committee in the Watergate office-apartment-hotel complex.” (Bernstein, Woodward,
17) The story quickly took Woodward’s attention, so he hurriedly went to work. Bernstein
likewise started compiling ideas surrounding the story as well, doing all he could out what really
went on at Watergate. The two soon became close business partners; they now worked as a team.
They would help each other out at no cost in order to break the story they knew would help them
gain national recognition, and oh were they right. As the stories started developing more and
more, people seemed to take further interest in the matter. Soon Watergate stories were printed
front page by every major newspaper out there at the time. Bernstein and Woodward were not
the only ones, The New York Times was a strong competitor of the Post at the time, and so the
pair new it was up to them to break the story first. They worked tireless hours, interviewed
numerous amounts of people in hopes of linking their clues together to find out what members of
the Committee to Reelect the President were doing trying to bug the National Democratic
Committee.
The story eventually broke due to Bernstein and Woodward’s rigorous work effort in
their attempts to break the story. Watergate was now the biggest political scandal America had
seen yet. The story being so powerful and controversial led to distraught feelings throughout the
nation. President Nixon, due to all the controversy decided to resign as President. Bernstein and
Woodward’s reports sparked some of the most notorious politics our country has seen yet. The
pairs brilliancy in their writing even won them the Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for their extremely
effective reports. After writing for The Post the two then wrote a book, All the President’s Men
documenting their efforts regarding the scandal, which shows each step they took that lead them
closer and closer to the breaking point. The duo will however will always be remembered for
their stories that eventually developed into the biggest political scandal America has withstood.
Without the influence of writers, journalists, and cartoonists where would we be today?
Things probably would not be the same as they are today. The development of writing also has
changed vastly from the sixteenth century to present day. Men like Thomas Paine still have
influence because we even study his work today, but time has changed and so has writing. Jacob
Riis and Upton Sinclair were also men who helped inspire change throughout the country. They
started investigating things and topics no one cared or dared to do before. Things today are quite
the same, journalists’ research things, so the people can find more out about the topic. A need for
writing is a necessity in our country and we would not be the same country we are today without
the influential workings of prominent pieces that have been created over time.