Journalist Profile: Bob Woodward

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Journalist Profile: Bob Woodward

Author: lucyinthesky

"The central dilemma in journalism is
that you don't know what you don't know."

Journalist Profile: Bob Woodward

Name: Robert "Bob" Woodward
Date of Birth: March 26, 1943
Current occupation: Assistant managing editor of The Washington Post

Bob's start in journalism
"I called my father and said I'm not going to law school, but have this job at a newspaper he had never heard of. And my father said probably the severest thing he has ever said to me. He said, 'You're crazy.' So he didn't think it was a good idea."

Raised in Geneva, Illinois, Woodward enrolled at Yale University. He studied History and English Literature, receiving his BA degree in 1965. Bob applied to several law schools as well as a job at The Washington Post as a reporter. The newspaper's editor, Harry Rosenfeld, hire him on a 2-week trial basis. Bob failed because of his lack of experience, but Bob was still extremely interested in journalism.

Bob found a job at another newspaper called the Montgomery Sentinel. After a year of training there, he later joined The Washington Post.

The Watergate Scandal
The Watergate Scandal is one of the most famous political scandals in American history. A break-in at a Watergate office in Washington, DC led Bob Woodward and his fellow reporter Carl Bernstein to suspect an elaborate plot involving the White House.

Woodward and Bernstein eventually found the evidence they needed and published many articles on the government's efforts to destroy President Nixon's political opponents in order for a successful re-election. This eventually led to Nixon's resignation as president in 1974. You can read more about the Watergate scandal here.

All The President's Men

"Watergate is an immensely complicated scandal
with a cast of characters as varied as a Tolstoy novel."

Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward wrote a nonfiction book together called All The President's Men, a detailed account of the Watergate scandal and the players in it. These real-life people were portrayed in the book like a cast of characters: The President, The President's Men, The Burglars, The Informant, The Prosecutors, The Judge and The Washington Post.

Eventually, this book turned into a film produced by Robert Redford in 1976, featuring Robert Redford himself and Dustin Hoffman as the two investigative reporters.

Bob's Books
Bob Woodward has published many books regarding the George W. Bush administration and its policies, particularly regarding Iraq, Afghanistan and its response to the September 11th attacks. He has interviewed George W. Bush numerous times.

Later Career
"I once said in an interview with somebody at CBS, I said something that a lot of reporters have put up, the quote, on their desks. And it says the following, 'All good work is done in defiance of management.'"

Bob is currently the Assistant Manager Editor at The Washington Post. He has helped his newspaper win the Pulitzer Prize twice. He has written 12 best-selling non-fiction books to date.

Bob also regularly gives speeches to industry lobbying group and donated his fees to his personal foundation, the Woodward Walsh Foundation. He still lives in Washington, D.C. with two daughters and his wife Elsa Walsh, a writer for The New Yorker.