American leaders were once considered powerful and respected individuals appointed to represent the needs of their people. Great leaders throughout history like Abraham Lincoln and George Washington are commemorated for their service. But this optimism towards government has quickly eroded as Americans lose faith in their leaders. How has such an important institution lost the support of the people it represents? When the New York Times published the first papers of the infamous “pentagon papers” outlining America’s involvement in Vietnam, Then President Richard Nixon demanded that the publication be stopped. The Supreme Court ignored the request, citing the constitutional right to freedom of speech. Americans were surprised to discover the
…show more content…
The deceitful actions of Nixon could not have been exposed to the public without proper coverage from the media. This would become one of the earliest examples of the media exposing major scandals. Journalists now play a larger role in any political event. Their increased involvement in major political issues and skepticism of politics represents the desire of the public to have better knowledge of the events taking place in parliament. The first publication releasing information about the scandal was ground-breaking in the journalism industry. The release of this information ignited a backlash so powerful that it lead to the first presidential resignation in American history. This showed that the media had the power to expose a major scandal and even have a president from office. It removed boundaries of journalists covering powerful leaders and created a new possibility or even expectation for the media to hold leaders accountable. The media has always had the responsibility of covering the issues that were deemed important for the public to know. Suddenly, it became the norm for journalists to interview politicians or cover debates and this coverage has only grown since then. The public no longer trusted politicians to be open. They began to feel that a separate organization was needed to ensure accountability. The publishers of this original article were two young journalists, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Washington post in 1974. They have become associated with the Watergate scandal and their contribution to its ousting. Many young Americans saw what they did and aspired to achieve the same success. It began the era of celebrity journalism. Journalists everywhere are now associated with the stories they covered. This change in the profession started with the Watergate scandal, but has expanded to almost all forms of investigative
The deceitful actions of Nixon could not have been exposed to the public without proper coverage from the media. This would become one of the earliest examples of the media exposing major scandals. Journalists now play a larger role in any political event. Their increased involvement in major political issues and skepticism of politics represents the desire of the public to have better knowledge of the events taking place in parliament. The first publication releasing information about the scandal was ground-breaking in the journalism industry. The release of this information ignited a backlash so powerful that it lead to the first presidential resignation in American history. This showed that the media had the power to expose a major scandal and even have a president from office. It removed boundaries of journalists covering powerful leaders and created a new possibility or even expectation for the media to hold leaders accountable. The media has always had the responsibility of covering the issues that were deemed important for the public to know. Suddenly, it became the norm for journalists to interview politicians or cover debates and this coverage has only grown since then. The public no longer trusted politicians to be open. They began to feel that a separate organization was needed to ensure accountability. The publishers of this original article were two young journalists, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Washington post in 1974. They have become associated with the Watergate scandal and their contribution to its ousting. Many young Americans saw what they did and aspired to achieve the same success. It began the era of celebrity journalism. Journalists everywhere are now associated with the stories they covered. This change in the profession started with the Watergate scandal, but has expanded to almost all forms of investigative