Washington Post editor leaves legacy

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Benjamin Bradlee, the former editor of the Washington Post who led the paper through the tumultuous days of covering Watergate, died Tuesday, Oct. 21. The 93-year-old Boston native was a graduate of Harvard and friends with such politicians as John F. Kennedy. While Bradlee was not someone I knew, he was someone who influenced what I do.

Bradlee spent most of his life holding those in power accountable for their actions. For journalism students like me who studied the craft in the early ’70s, he was the role model of excellence that combined creative writing with detective work.

While in college, one of my daily assignments was to read and review any Washington Post articles on the famous hotel break in — what were the sources sited, what was the newest development and comment on the reporting techniques. I wish I still had that collection of reviews. I do remember asking the question “Why would Nixon do it?”

At the time, it seemed like Bradlee and “the liberal media” were on a hunt to taint a popular president. Most of the country assumed that all presidents were like George Washington, who could not tell a lie. But we were wrong. Had Bradlee not been willing to push for the truth behind the break in, it may have taken us longer to discover that presidents were flawed and fallible human beings.

Now as a teacher of journalism, Bradlee is part of a history unit that I present on Watergate. I have my students do the article reviews like I had to do so long ago. They, however, have the benefit of history to perfect their analysis.

As we look at the articles, I can imagine Bradlee guiding the steps of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, asking questions about new information, sources and credibility. Having read “All the President’s Men” and watched the movie a dozen or so times, I can hear Bradlee yelling at the lead reporters on this assignments to “get someone to go on record.” I tell my own students that getting a source is a basic for telling a fair and accurate story.

Since his death, I have received emails and text messages from former students wanting to make sure that I knew of his passing. Each had a comment about Bradlee’s influence.

Bradlee and I would not be political allies. We would not walk in the same social circles. Yet Bradlee’s career has shaped me and what I do. I admire his commitment to truth, and to pushing his reporters to stay on a story past the point where others may have surrendered.

As his character says at the end of the movie, “Nothing is riding on this but the First Amendment, freedom of speech and the future of the country.” That was a lofty goal for reporting about a simple break-in, but the principle applies to any story. Thank you, Ben Bradlee, for setting such a standard.

HUFF is the faculty advisor.