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Ben Bradlee was a transformative American newspaper editor whose leadership at The Washington Post helped shape modern journalism. He played a key role in exposing the Watergate scandal, which led to the resignation of President Nixon, and championed press freedom. Bradlee's unwavering commitment to truth, integrity, and fearless journalism continues to inspire journalists to hold power accountable and to pursue investigative reporting with courage, conviction, and an unwavering sense of duty to the public.
"The Nixon administration really put a lot of pressure on CBS not to run the second broadcast."
33
"Sure, some journalists use anonymous sources just because they're lazy and I think editors ought to insist on more precise identification even if they remain anonymous."
22
"I never believed that Nixon could fully resurrect himself. And the proof of that was in the obits."
42
"We were right about the slush fund. But Sloan did not testify about it to the Grand Jury."
31
"The biggest difference between Kennedy and Nixon, as far as the press is concerned, is simply this: Jack Kennedy really liked newspaper people and he really enjoyed sparring with journalists."
30
"I must be out of it, but I don't know any good journalists who have excused Clinton's problems."
28
"If an investigative reporter finds out that someone has been robbing the store, that may be "gotcha" journalism, but it's also good journalism."
40
"The really tough thing would have been to decide to take Woodward and Bernstein off the story. They were carrying the coal for us - in that their stories were right."
22
"There have been as many investigative reporters on this newspaper working on Clinton's many problems as I can remember there were working on Watergate."