Posted on 07/04/2005 7:09:23 AM PDT by SoFloFreeper
"I'm the guy they used to call Deep Throat." And with that short quote, one of the best-kept secrets in modern journalism came to an end.
News Director Bob Longo
To say the least, things uttered by the now 90-something W. Mark Felt over the years have shaped the course of modern history. Felt was a senior FBI official during the Nixon administration, and what he whispered into the ears of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of The Washington Post back in the day rocked the world.
He spoke recently to Vanity Fair magazine for a July article released on the Web Tuesday and corroborated by The Washington Post. Felt confirmed what some had suspected... his tips, hints and help guided Woodward and Bernstein to drive a story that became known as Watergate and eventually led to The Post unraveling the scandals of Richard Nixon's White House. In what amounts to a history, civics and journalism lesson rolled into one, Nixon was forced to resign rather than face the political reaper.
Imagine that. An unknown, un-named source pointing an accusatory finger at a White House mired in an unpopular war. A White House that ignored the truth and the law of the land and thumbed its nose at The Post, its reporters and their source. A White House shrouded in secrecy and the zealous protection of its own and its own doctrines, motives and operatives, seemingly with no regard to what the American people or the world thought.
But amazingly, yesterday's traitor seems to be today's hero. "I guess people used to think Deep Throat was a criminal, but now they think he's a hero," Felt reportedly told family.
It's a fine, relevant modern-day exclamation point to a decades-old mystery and story.
Yes, the press often has a thorny relationship with the people and institutions it covers. The main reason is simple: the press shouldn't and usually doesn't have a stake in the future or outcome of those it covers.
That leaves the press free to explore, poke and prod. The uncovered stories sometimes are a surprise and shock. Sometimes they lead to change and sometimes that change rocks the world.
That's why when people are casting stones of doubt and attack the press for investigative, groundbreaking stories, I often find myself smiling.
Yes, the process can be ugly. And yes, the press sometimes gets it wrong.
But more often than not, the objective facts revealed bring more than shock and awe. They bring change.
Yes, Deep Throat was a traitor to some and surely a curiosity to most others, but what he helped do ... and undo ... was worth the risk, don't you think?
So, next time you see a story that raises questions about our government ... a story the government vehemently disagrees with, don't jump to conclusions. Give it a chance to resonate. Eventually, the facts that are unearthed may change your opinion ... and the world around you.
But .. no media outlet thought it was worth it when the tattletale was saying things about Clinton.
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