The President and the Press

From "All the President's Men"

Journalism gets a bad name in spite of all it offers to society. For a long time, any mention of being “from the press” is an automatic threat for many people, especially those in power. This is especially apparent in the 1976 movie “All The President’s Men,” which was a retelling of the Watergate scandal from the perspectives of Bernstein and Woodward, the investigative journalists who uncovered Former US President Nixon’s involvement in the case.

In the movie, the search for information is time-consuming. Many leads end up going nowhere and any testimonial they manage to obtain always goes off the record. The journalists were more often than not left with a multitude of anonymous statements which they had to weave around by asking the right questions and making compromises with the individuals. A prime example of this was when Bernstein and Woodward were minutes from their article deadline. Their editor, upon reviewing their story explained that the claims they made may not be substantiated enough. They scrambled to find another source to go on record, but no one wanted to be quoted on it. None of the sources needed to say anything except to verify that the story was true. This fact was played by Bernstein when he asked one of their sources to keep on the phone line after he counted to ten if the story was indeed true. This way, there are no statements being said, just verifications.

Moments like those underline the importance of sources and backed-up information, as there is a very thin line between speculation and truth. The burden of proof is always on those making the claim, which is why the two men went out of their way to look for evidence. However in can be said that the men were not out to sabotage former President Nixon, only slowly uncovering what he had truly done.

In this specific case, the Bernstein and Woodward weren’t the only ones at stake in case their story or headline was proven false, but also their editor and publisher. This puts pressure on the journalists to be true and thorough with their research, with the added challenge of doing it within their own bounds as members of the press.

However in the pursuit for truth and leads, the journalists are also putting their own lives at risk, especially since they were dealing with people with positions much higher than them. Those people have enough power and money to keep the journalists quiet one way or another, but they kept at the story long enough to uncover what was a series of unfortunate events for Nixon and his men.

Personally, the movie taught me that Journalism is an extensive process of uncovering. It is doing anything by your bounds and rights as a member of the press to reveal information that the masses deserve to know, without ever putting your sources at risk. When a person gives a testimonial, it is important that we honor their request for anonymity. However, despite this, there are always workarounds to get the information we need without having to prd too much or make the source feel unsafe or pressured. Journalists then have to be resourceful and witty, because the information is more likely shrouded in more lies that they have to dig through.

If anything, the movie highlighted the fight and importance of the free press in checks and balances especially within the government. The freedom of the press is protected by the American first amendment and Filipino constitution. These sorts of reports can go a long way in revealing what bigger institutions don’t want the masses to know. In this day and age, information is as big of a threat as guns and ammunition, and investigative reporting can lead people to truths that otherwise would continually be hidden. Reports like these breaks the cycle of apathy among those who commit the acts; they essentially say that no one can get away just because they are in a higher position.

The value in journalism isn’t merely in its ability to disseminate information, but to sift through lies and uncover truths involving institutions. They have a responsibility to the truth, but an even greater responsibility towards the people they serve.