Comm 3525: "Watergate: The Secret Story" Viewing Guide

1. How did the 'reality' of Watergate coverage depicted in this video compare with the dramatized version of All The President's Men? What, if anything, did you learn from The Secret Story that was absent from ATPM?

2. What, if anything, did you learn about covering Watergate that you didn't learn from the readings?

3. How did Woodward, Bernstein and Bradlee differ in their responses to Mike Wallace's questions about Deep Throat? What if anything , is significant about these different responses? Why, if at all does it matter what Deep Throat's true identity is?

4. What are the problems associated with using anonymous sources? When might using anonymous sources be necessary?

5. How did Nixon obstruct justice?

6. Why was it important for Woodward and Bernstein to 'follow the money'?

7. How did the government 'get back at' the Post for their Watergate coverage?

8. What does Watergate tell us about the power of government to spin and control information of importance to the public? How do Bennett's four biases apply to this question?

9. What did Nixon know, and when did he know it?

10. What are the enduring lessons of Watergate for U.S. journalism?