Woodward, Bernstein to visit UTPB

The two reporters who broke the story on the Watergate break-in that eventually led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation will be the guest speakers at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin’s gymnasium later this month, according to UTPB spokeswoman Iris Foster.
   Washington Post Associate Editor Bob Woodward and Vanity Fair writer Carl Bernstein will speak at 7 p.m. Oct. 15 to share their experiences during their Pulitzer Prize-winning work with the Washington Post on the Watergate scandal.
   The event is free to the public, and no tickets or reservations are needed.
   John Ben Shepperd Institute Associate Director Karen Johnson said the talk will be titled “From Nixon to Bush: What President Obama Can Learn from Presidents Past.”
   Johnson said she could not get the cost to the institute to bring the two journalists to Odessa, though typically guest speakers of their fame would ask between $30,000 and $50,000 for an appearance.
   Glen Findley, an assistant professor of history in government at Odessa College, said Woodward and Bernstein’s reporting on the Watergate scandal marked the change of the role in the press from being “lapdogs” to being “watchdogs.” He compared Woodward and Bernstein’s coverage of Nixon to the media’s coverage of Franklin Roosevelt, saying the public at large didn’t know that Roosevelt used a wheelchair and was afflicted with polio because the press back then never reported it.
   “They weren’t as aggressive… they would even protect the president and the White House,” Findley said. “By covering the scandal… journalism kind of reached the high water mark in what I would call watchdog journalism.”

IF YOU GO
   >> What: Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein speaks.
   >> When: 7 p.m. Oct. 15.
   >> Where: UTPB Gymnasium.
   >> Cost: Free.