Watergate
Published on Twitter, August 10, 2014
Something I believe that nobody I know believes: Woodward & Bernstein Watergate coverage precipitated 40yr collapse of trust in print news.
That long slow slide of trust can be seen, among other places, in Gallup polls over the years.
After Nixon resigned 40 years ago this weekend, Washington Post Watergate coverage became exemplar for entire next generation reporters.
Political press became obsessed with unearthing scandal, which metastasized throughout print journalism. Gunning for Pulitzer bait.
There are clearly scandals that need to be unearthed, like Watergate. BUT: Endless scandal frenzy is exhausting and demoralizing. Particularly when applied indiscriminately across news landscape, and particularly when extrinsic press motivations are so clear.
Irony is we now know Woodward & Bernstein less reported Watergate than had story fed to them by Mark Felt, partisan in internal FBI battle.
I think the 40 year echo effects of Watergate have more to do with the existential crisis of newspapers than anyone would ever admit. As news consumers, endless barrage of scandal, tragedy, and conflict has real psychological effects. Makes world seem worse than it is.
Followup reading that provokes thought:
Also the book "Breaking The News" by James Fallows is thought provoking and recommended.
And of course Steven Pinker on the broad perspective of our era.
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