Film Analysis: All The President's Men

All the President’s Men was a film produced to examine the journalism investigation of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein which centered around President Nixon’s Watergate scandal, in result of the break in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters. Unable to grasp the full nature of the scandal at the time, the investigation put forth by Woodward and Bernstein would eventually uncover a deep knowledge of the break in and attempts the Nixon’s administration went through to cover it up. Through out the movie, both Woodward and Bernstein demonstrate characteristics which public administrators should have to ensure responsible conduct. Cooper states, “Only a deeply internalized set of individual attributes can maintain congruence with the organization’s goals and, beyond that, consistency with the obligations of citizenship in a democracy” (2012, p. 172). Responsible administrators should demonstrate individual attributes similar to those of Woodward and Bernstein. Both Woodward and Bernstein stood by their professional values to report the truth to public by displaying honesty, courage, and fairness, while gathering and reporting the information. Woodward and Bernstein consistently showed a …show more content…
Clearly Nixon’s administration was acting unethically and in their own self interest. By informing society of Woodward and Bernstein’s findings, this allowed the citizens the opportunity to participate in ensuring their elected officials were acting responsibly, with accountability, and in their best interests. Through the film, both Woodward and Bernstein demonstrated the ethical characteristics of trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship in which all public administrators should possess to ensure responsible