From LONG ISLAND – by Ann Parry (ann-parry.com)
November 18, 2012

Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein speak at Hofstra

To make sure I understood it correctly, I read Hofstra University’s announcement twice that Pulitzer Prize winning journalists BOB WOODWARD and CARL BERNSTEIN were speaking there this year. 

Hempstead, NY, USA. March 20, 2012. CARL BERNSTEIN, investigative journalist, talks about the Watergate political scandal during its 40th Anniversary, at Hofstra University. (© 2012 Ann Parry/Ann-Parry.com)

The Commission on Presidential Debates had chosen Hofstra as the site of the October 16, 2012 Presidential Debate, and the Woodward Bernstein lecture was part of a series of events leading up to it.

Hempstead, NY, U.S. March 20, 2012. BOB WOODWARD, investigative journalist, talks about the Watergate political scandal during its 40th Anniversary, at Hofstra University. (© 2012 Ann Parry/Ann-Parry.com)

Ever since playing such pivotal roles in the Watergate scandal, America’s presidential earthquake in the 1970’s, the two have been investigative reporting rock stars, and I was going to see them!

Four Decades Ago

Riding past the Watergate Hotel in 1973, during the summer I spent job hunting in Washington, DC, I stared at the curved buildings as if enough willpower could summon a recreation of the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters there the year before.

In 1974 President Nixon resigned after investigations spearheaded by Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein revealed break-in cover-up attempts that led all the way to the White House. 

In 1976 the Academy Award-winning movie based on their non-fiction book All the President’s Men vividly brought to life the events that both brought down a president and profoundly altered the perception of the institution of the American presidency.

Back to the Present

Forty years later, on March 20, 2012, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein spoke at Hofstra University about the Watergate legacy.

Hempstead, NY, USA. March 20, 2012. – On stage, L-R, CARL BERNSTEIN and BOB WOODWARD answer audience questions after the investigative journalists spoke on 40th Anniversary of the Watergate political scandal, at Hofstra University. (© 2012 Ann Parry/Ann-Parry.com)

First they discussed their investigation into the break-in, and its cover-up, of the Democratic National Headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Wash. DC, which lead to the resignation of President Nixon.

Then the journalists answered questions from the full-house audience.

It was the first of a long series of outstanding Hofstra Debate 2012 Signature Events – all open and free to the public – that I covered this year. Talk about setting the bar high!

Feature Photo (top of post): Hempstead, New York, U.S. March 20, 2012 L-R, Journalists BOB WOODWARD and CARL BERNSTEIN speak on 40th Anniversary of Watergate, at Hofstra University. Lecture was about the Watergate political scandal, which lead to resignation of President Richard Nixon.

Woodward & Bernstein, Hofstra: my PHOTO GALLERY

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