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31 May 2005
'Deep Throat' and the Ol' Glory Days of the "Old Media"
In a spectacular progression of events within a single day, the identity of 'Deep Throat' was confirmed. News of the revelation could hardly have eluded most in the United States, but to a world outside the country this would scarcely occupy more than a column or two of frontpage space. There has been talk of late of how circulations are in decline amongst the print media and how the new darling of the Fourth Estate is an entire Fifth Estate of its own -- the world of weblogs. But still a little over thirty years ago, when computers were mere BASIC machines and word processors still used green cursors, the "old media" was in its heyday and investigative journalism was being moulded into a more daring enterprise, two reporters from The Washington Post in a series of stunning articles exposed the Watergate scandal and were instrumental in causing the resignation of then President of the United States, Richard Nixon.Fouler scandals have been staged prior to Watergate and since, but Watergate remains to this day the singularly most important cover-up that innocuously enough had only to do with a small-time bugging operation at the Democratic National Committee headquarters. As its place in the cultural history of the United States and what defined its political theatre, Watergate has had few to equal it. The reporting that went into exposing it was discreet, substantive, pertinent and respectful as compared to the so-called "sting operations" that have become the weapon of choice amongst the Indian media.
With the final part of what has now become folklore mystery being resolved, it is however time to milk it for all its worth. The Washington Post smartly enough has sensed the momentousness of the occasion and offered a rich cache of the Woodward-Woodstein articles along with a chronological sequence of events. It backs this up with opinions, editorials and its very own weblog features in addition to photo galleries showcasing illuminating and rare photographs, audio transcripts from the famous Nixon tapes and a little press conference of Mark Felt's family following the disclosure. Mr Felt himself has been advised by the Wall Street Journal to make haste and enter into a book deal lest his memory of events as they happened thirty years ago fade away at the inopportune moment. The Wall Street Journal also prices an advance on the book to be as high as $1 million. The Washington Post no doubt must have got a lot more hits on their website today than at any other time, and they seized on the occasion to spotlight their role in the fashioning of history and the political spectacle of the United States in 1973. In all honesty though, the Washington Post retrospective contains many valuable soundbites, quotes and "famous last words" -- notably Mr Nixon saying "I am not a crook" -- in addition to a blow-by-blow account of how the controversy burgeoned from a trifling snafu into the biggest political debacles of all.
