All The President's Men Essay

In All the President’s Men, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were forced to make several ethical decisions because of the nature of the story they were investigating and reporting. Some of those ethical decisions can be justified, while some cannot. There were multiple instances in the movie where they either met or didn't meet the four ethical principles established by the SPJ Code of Ethics, those being: Seek Truth and Report it, Minimize Harm, Act Independently, and Be Accountable and Transparent. Seek Truth and Report it means to be accountable, fair, and honest in the journalist’s interpretation and delivery of information. Minimize Harm means to treat subjects and sources as human beings deserving of basic respect. Acting independently …show more content…
Only an overriding public need can justify intrusion into anyone’s privacy.” As seen, the story that Woodward and Bernstein were working on was on a government scandal about how extremely significant political individuals were actually corrupt and were committing fraudulent and unethical crimes against their country for their political gain. And while neither Woodward nor Bernstein had any idea about the monumental impact that would occur after the story was published, both made critical decisions which directly influenced the lives of the people involved. The concept of minimizing harm can actually directly contradict the notion of seeking the unadulterated truth and reporting it. Woodward and Bernstein had a moral obligation to report on this affair. But in turn, those in public office who were rightly held accountable for their actions, those actions being reported lead to an extreme negative impact on their personal lives and how they were perceived. Some, such as President Nixon, were forced to endure substantial self-sabotage, which led to Nixon’s resigning in