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I gave my word that this source would not be identified unless he changed his mind. He has not…

Bob Woodward

If information is true, if it can be verified, and if it’s really important, the newspaper needs to be willing to take the risk associated with using unidentified sources.
BOB WOODWARD

Important Needs Risk
Many people have their reputations as reporters and analysts because they are on television, batting around conventional wisdom. A lot of these people have never reported a story.
BOB WOODWARD

People Stories Wisdom
Newspapers that are truly independent, like The Washington Post, can still aggressively investigate anyone or anything with no holds barred.
BOB WOODWARD

Independent Newspaper
Lawyers didn’t seriously get involved in the Watergate stories until quite late, when we realized we were on to something.
BOB WOODWARD

Lawyer Literature Stories
We need to police ourselves in the media.
BOB WOODWARD

Media Needs Police
I gave my word that this source would not be identified unless he changed his mind. He has not…
BOB WOODWARD

Literature Mind Source
I recently read some of the transcripts of Nixon’s Watergate tapes, and they spent hours trying to figure out who was leaking and providing information to Carl and myself.
BOB WOODWARD

Information Tape Trying
Watergate provides a model case study of the interaction and powers of each of the branches of government. It also is a morality play with a sad and dramatic ending.
BOB WOODWARD

Government Motherhood Play
I believe there’s too little patience and context to many of the investigations I read or see on television.
BOB WOODWARD

Believe Patience Television
I think journalism gets measured by the quality of information it presents, not the drama or the pyrotechnics associated with us.
BOB WOODWARD

Drama Quality Thinking
When you practice reporting for as long as I have, you keep yourself at a distance from True Believers. Either conservatives or liberals or Democrats or Republicans.
BOB WOODWARD

Distance Long Practice
Nixon’s grand mistake was his failure to understand that Americans are forgiving, and if he had admitted error early and apologized to the country, he would have escaped.
BOB WOODWARD

Apology Country Mistake
[Clinton] believes that the Washington press corps is so out of touch that it is absolutely inconceivable that reporters will understand the issues that people are really dealing with in their lives.
BOB WOODWARD

Believe Issues People
I believe Watergate shows that the system did work. Particularly the Judiciary and the Congress, and ultimately an independent prosecutor working in the Executive Branch.
BOB WOODWARD

Believe Independent Work
I’m not going to name some of my colleagues who are very well-known for their television presentation, but they wouldn’t know new information or how to report a story if it came up and bit them.
BOB WOODWARD

College Names Stories
Finally, the president added, ‘The American people are idealists, but they also want their leaders to be realistic…’
BOB WOODWARD

Leader People President

I gave my word that this source would not be identified unless he changed his mind. He has not…

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I gave my word that this source would not be identified unless he changed his mind. He has not…

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