He was never cynical but persistently skeptical. And the thread that ran through his life — remarkably, without self-righteousness — was reverence for the truth. – Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein, The Washington Post
Ever since Ben Bradlee, editor extraordinaire of The Washington Post, died on October 21 at the age of 93, there has been no shortage of tributes to him. One in particular resonated for me because it was penned by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, the two journalists most linked to the editor in my mind.
The Post was my hometown paper. I was born in D.C., grew up in one of its Maryland suburbs and we always subscribed to the Post. Bradlee reigned at the Post for 26 years – more than half of my life. Growing up, I had no point of comparison and thought all newspapers were of such high caliber. As I began to pursue my journalism education and communications career path, I soon learned they were not. To me, the Post became one of the world’s best papers because of Ben Bradlee’s fearlessness, tenacity and spot-on good judgment.
Woodward and Bernstein’s homage to Bradlee’s work ethic caused me to reflect on some fundamental tenets of journalism that apply to my work in communications, too:
- Know what’s newsworthy and what’s not. Bradlee had a nose for news and demanded his reporters avoid “mego” — the acronym Bradlee used for “my eyes glaze over”. Lesson: Ask yourself the same question he asked his reporters over and over again, “What’s the story?”
- Verify your facts. Although the Post won 17 Pulitzer Prizes during Bradlee’s tenure, the paper was burned on various occasions when some of its reporting (and sometimes entire stories) were revealed to be fabricated or false. Lesson: Bullet-proof your story by always thoroughly researching and confirming anything you state as fact.
- Line up sources to support your story. And then add a few more. Bradlee’s demand that Woodward and Bernstein find more sources before he approved running one of their Watergate stories was famously depicted in All the President’s Men. Lesson: Support your story with bullet-proof, trustworthy sources.
- Seek out the truth. For Bradlee, being right trumped being first. Lesson: Resist the temptation to rush your story out to scoop the competition. Take care of steps #1-3 above first.
- Stay positive. Bradlee’s energy was infectious and his can-do attitude buoyed the journalists who toiled away in the Post’s newsroom. Lesson: Don’t let one defeat derail your mission to continue seeking out good stories worth telling.
What’s your opinion about Ben Bradlee’s impact on journalism?