The years since the 1972 break-in at the Watergate complex in Washington, DC, have solidified the dominant popular narrative about the scandal that toppled Richard Nixon’s presidency. The dominant narrative revolves around the claim—ever appealing and reassuring to journalists—that investigative reporting by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein for the Washington Post uncovered the crimes that forced Nixon’s resignation in August 1974. This essay describes how the narrative of the heroic journalist took hold, why it is misleading, and how it might be revised to emphasize that Watergate ended a corrupt presidency despite, and not because of, journalists and their sources.
