This Sunday, the Park City Institute is bringing author Bob Woodward to the Eccles Center. Woodward is best known one of the legendary journalists whose reporting on the break-ins to the Democratic Convention at the Watergate Hotel and the cover up that followed; led to the resignation of the United States 37th President, Richard Nixon. Woodward spoke with KPCW about what he has in store for his presentation on Sunday.
Award winning journalist, best-selling author and investigative reporter Bob Woodward is coming to the Eccles Theater this Sunday. Park City Institute is bringing Woodward who will be speaking about his new book Fear: Trump in the White House.
“Talk about what’s in the book, like the tax cut. The policy towards Korea, the policy in the Middle East in detail about the alliance with the Saudis and the cautions that all kinds of people issued to the President and his son-in-law Jared Kushner about getting so close to the Saudi’s. Now we see the Saudi’s and it certainly looks like the crowned prince who’s really the de-facto ruler in Saudi Arabia, he had knowledge—if he didn’t order the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, somebody who wrote columns in my newspaper. I clearly spell out the warnings that were issued and Trump and Jared Kushner just went ahead with the arrangements that they made in this case.”
Woodward also will discuss other presidency’s he’s covered. Including Richard Nixon and his reporting that lead to Nixon’s resignation.
“The question was always asked, what was Watergate? My conclusion—it’s not original—my conclusion in the end is that we had Watergate because Nixon had a lust for political power. I think that applies to Trump also. He’s had some sort of lust for political power. Getting this job, as people have suggested, is a trophy. It wasn’t clear what he wanted to do and we have all of these policies that are based on judgements that are just not factual in many cases.”
Woodward says he’ll also be taking questions from the audience.
“I love questions from the audience. Unfiltered, it’s always quite fascinating to see what people want to ask about so we’ll do that at length.”
Woodward said he has no one story or accomplishment that he was most proud of.
“I don’t think pride is a very good emotion for a journalist. You do your job. I have found that often there are matters that I didn’t realize, didn’t really understand the significance of in so many of the stories that or books that I have written. So, pride, quite honestly, is out of the reach of a journalist because we are trying to get the best obtainable version of the truth. There’s no perfect version of the truth. As time goes on memoirs are written, documents come out, people start talking. You always learn more than you did at the begging of the story. Or as I’ve written about President at the beginning of a presidency.”
KPCW News Director Leslie Thatcher asked Woodward what he sees is the biggest change in journalism over his illustrious career.
“The pace. The internet, impatience, speed drives everything. When Carl Bernstein and I could work on Watergate stories we’d work for two or three weeks on one story. Two drafts, the editors would comment on it. There was a process that included in-depth look at gee what don’t we know? Have we checked all the sources? Now, if you have what looks like an incremental advance on a story somebody could be in your office and say, ‘Can we get it on the website by noon?’ So of necessity, unless people take time, days, weeks, months for a story we’re rushing by events too much in my view.”
Woodward also gave advice to journalists just starting out.
“My advice is practical. If you’re supposed to work eight hours, work two hours more, work 10 hours. So, 25% more, if you do that, that will double your value to the news organization and to yourself. If you’re supposed to work 8 hours, work 12. Four hours more, 50% more and I think it will literally double your usefulness. Time against the problem is often the key. That doesn’t mean you do that every day of the week but when there’s a big story or when something is unexplained, not understood. Dive into it. Spend that extra time chasing down people who might know, witnesses, documents notes. Some sort of substantiation of what you’re working on. That takes extra time.”
That’s Bob Woodward. He’s speaking at the Eccles Center Theater on Sunday at 7:30. You can get tickets at Park City Institute’s website or by calling the box office. 435-655-3114.
