Bob Woodward

American journalist

Bob Woodward, an American investigative journalist, rose to fame for his groundbreaking reporting on the Watergate scandal alongside Carl Bernstein. He has since authored numerous best-selling books on American politics and continues to be a respected voice in journalism.

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About the Bob Woodward

Robert Upshur Woodwardis an American investigative journalist. He started working for The Washington Post as a reporter in 1971 and now holds the honorific title of associate editor though the Post no longer employs him.

While a reporter for The Washington Post in 1972, Woodward teamed up with Carl Bernstein, and the two did much of the original news reporting on the Watergate scandal. These scandals led to numerous government investigations and the eventual resignation of President Richard Nixon. The work of Woodward and Bernstein was called “maybe the single greatest reporting effort of all time” by longtime journalism figure Gene Roberts.

Woodward continued to work for The Washington Post after his reporting on Watergate. He has written 21 books on American politics and current affairs, 14 of which have topped best-seller lists.

Frequently Asked Questions

Bob Woodward is an American investigative journalist who started working for The Washington Post in 1971 and is best known for his reporting on the Watergate scandal.

As a reporter for The Washington Post in 1972, Bob Woodward teamed up with Carl Bernstein to do much of the original news reporting on the Watergate scandal, which led to numerous government investigations and the eventual resignation of President Richard Nixon.

Bob Woodward has written 21 books on American politics and current affairs, 14 of which have topped best-seller lists.

While Bob Woodward started working for The Washington Post as a reporter in 1971, he now holds the honorific title of associate editor, though the Post no longer employs him.

The work of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein on the Watergate scandal was called ,maybe the single greatest reporting effort of all time, by longtime journalism figure Gene Roberts.

65 Quotes by Bob Woodward

  1. 1.

    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

    American journalist

  2. 2.

    I don’t think voters give a hoot about the character of their political advisors, except to the extent that character reflects on the candidates.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  3. 3.

    I have gone on the air and announced my telephone number at the Washington Post. I go into the night, talking to people, looking for things. The great dreaded thing every reporter lives with is what you don’t know. The source you didn’t go to. The phone call you didn’t return.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  4. 4.

    The central dilemma in journalism is that you don’t know what you don’t know.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  5. 5.

    I suspect there have been a number of conspiracies that never were described or leaked out. But I suspect none of the magnitude and sweep of Watergate.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  6. 6.

    The failure of the system to deal quickly was attributable to Nixon’s lying, stonewalling and refusal to come clean. So it took 26 months for the final truth to be known.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  7. 7.

    We need to police ourselves in the media.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  8. 8.

    Nixon had some large achievements in foreign affairs. They will be remembered. But a president probably gets remembered for one thing, and Watergate will head the Nixon list, I suspect.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  9. 9.

    The legislator learns that when you talk a lot, you get in trouble. You have to listen a lot to make deals.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  10. 10.

    If you interviewed 1,000 politicians and asked about whether the media’s too soft or too hard, about 999 would say too hard.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  11. 11.

    I deal with first-hand sources. And give the people, even John Sununu, the opportunity to respond to what I’ve been told by first-hand sources.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  12. 12.

    I give lectures for money, but all the money goes to charity. So, I make no money from it.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  13. 13.

    Using these unnamed sources, if done properly, carefully and fairly, provides more accountability in government.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  14. 14.

    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

    American journalist

  15. 15.

    I don’t think it’s useful for somebody to argue with reviews.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  16. 16.

    I have written things that Republicans and Democrats and all kinds of figures have either hated or felt very uncomfortable about. Because in doing these long projects and books, you get close to the bone. And they’re not calling me up and asking me for dinner.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  17. 17.

    The fact of the Watergate cover-up is not nearly as interesting as the step into making the cover-up. And when you understand the step, you understand that Richard Nixon lied. That he was a criminal.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  18. 18.

    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

    American journalist

  19. 19.

    Deep Throat was a very unfortunate name given to the source by the managing editor of The Washington Post.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  20. 20.

    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

    American journalist

  21. 21.

    There are people who take rumors and embellish them in a way that can be devastating. And this pollution has to be eradicated by people in our business as best we can.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  22. 22.

    I don’t think there will ever be a permanent truce, but I believe the media needs to be more careful and be willing to count to 10 before rushing on the air or into print.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  23. 23.

    The cloud of doubt that surrounds political figures tends to remain and never dissipate or be clarified.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  24. 24.

    Clinton feels a profound alienation from the Washington culture here, and I happen to agree with him.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  25. 25.

    Any suggestion that I’m writing about political operatives because I’m interested in political operatives misses the entire point.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  26. 26.

    People like to pigeonhole and say, Well, I’m a Washington insider, and you know, that’s quite silly. What does that even mean?

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  27. 27.

    Clinton… believes that the Washington Press Corps is so out of touch that it is absolutely inconceivable that reporters would understand the issues that people are really dealing with in their lives.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  28. 28.

    Some newspapers have a hands-off policy on favored politicians. But it’s generally very small newspapers or local TV stations.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  29. 29.

    There’s hostility to lying, and there should be.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  30. 30.

    Nixon’s attempts to order subversion of various departments was bound to come out in some form.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  31. 31.

    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

    American journalist

  32. 32.

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

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  33. 33.

    The Washington Times wrote a story questioning the authenticity of some of the suggestions made about me in Silent Coup. But as a believer in the First Amendment, I believe they have more than a right to air their views.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  34. 34.

    The number of illegal activities were so large that one was bound to come out and lead to the uncovering of the others. Nixon was too willing to use the power of government to settle scores and get even with enemies.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  35. 35.

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

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  36. 36.

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

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  37. 37.

    There is a garbage culture out there, where we pour garbage on people. Then the pollsters run around and take a poll and say, do you smell anything?

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  38. 38.

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

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  39. 39.

    After Nixon resigned in 1974, he engaged in a very aggressive war with history, attempting to wipe out the Watergate stain and memory. Happily, history won, largely because of Nixon’s tapes.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  40. 40.

    Deep Throat did serve the public interest by providing the guidance and information to us.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  41. 41.

    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

    American journalist

  42. 42.

    The biggest rap on me is that I don’t find a Watergate every couple of years. Well, Watergate was unique. It’s not something Carl Bernstein, I, or the Washington Post caused.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  43. 43.

    I have found people don’t want to be told. That they can figure it out.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  44. 44.

    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

    American journalist

  45. 45.

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

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  46. 46.

    There may yet be another Watergate book. I have thought a book about the aftermath of Watergate and its impact could be done, perhaps by me or someone else.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  47. 47.

    I think people are smart enough to sort it out. They know when they’re watching one of these food fight shows where journalists sit around and yell and scream at each other, versus serious issue reporting.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  48. 48.

    Certain political figures think when you call them and ask them for a comment; that you are somehow doing something that you shouldn’t be doing.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  49. 49.

    I think that everyone is kind of confused about the information they get from the media and rightly so. I’m confused about the information I get from the media.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  50. 50.

    I recently did the David Letterman Show about my book. He was very serious and made no jokes and it caught me off guard a little bit. He was much more serious than some of the joke shows that journalists get on.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  51. 51.

    It was accountability that Nixon feared.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  52. 52.

    A reporter’s ability to keep the bond of confidentiality often enables him to learn the hidden or secret aspects of government.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  53. 53.

    Way before Watergate, senior administration officials hid behind anonymity.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  54. 54.

    Watergate is an immensely complicated scandal with a cast of characters as varied as a Tolstoy novel.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  55. 55.

    Because of Watergate in part, I am kind of a magnet for calls and information and suggestions.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  56. 56.

    The source known as Deep Throat provided a kind of road map through the scandal. His one consistent message was that the Watergate burglary was just the tip of the iceberg.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  57. 57.

    Not a season passes without new disclosures showing Nixon’s numerous attempts at criminal use of his presidential powers and in fact the scorn he held for the rule of law.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  58. 58.

    Suppose Watergate had not been uncovered? I’d still be on the City Desk.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  59. 59.

    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

    American journalist

  60. 60.

    When you see how the President makes political or policy decisions, you see who he is. The essence of the Presidency is decision-making.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  61. 61.

    Deep Throat’s information, and in my view, courage, allowed the newspaper to use what he knew and suspected.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  62. 62.

    Even now there is no evidence that anyone involved in the Nixon operation was going to threaten us.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  63. 63.

    We’re not going to have another Watergate in our lifetime. I’m sure.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  64. 64.

    It would seem that the Watergate story from beginning to end could be used as a primer on the American political system.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist

  65. 65.

    When you hear in the tape recordings Nixon’s own voice saying, We have to stonewall, We have to lie to the Grand Jury, We have to pay burglars a million dollars, it’s all too clear the horror of what went on.

    Bob Woodward

    American journalist