Watergate Scandal Just About Everyone

¶ … Watergate Scandal

Just about everyone is aware how Watergate, a political scandal involving illegal activities by President Richard Nixon's administration directly impacted history. Of course, the scandal led to the impeachment and resignation of Nixon and the appointment of Vice President Gerald Ford as successor. Only a pardon by Ford spared Nixon the dubious distinction of becoming the first chief executive in the history to be indicted for felonies committed in the White House. After Nixon, the frontrunner for the Republicans for reelection was knocked out of contention; the Democrats had an easy task of electing their candidate, Jimmy Carter, for President. However, with the change in the political tide, also came other changes that are less appreciated. Most notably, Watergate impacted the way the media does their job, caused the American people to lose trust in their government and instigated ethical reforms in government.

Alicia Shepard, a professor at American University, describes how Watergate dramatically changed the journalistic climate (Kenslea). She states that the reporting of the event inspired many people to go into journalism. She also relates how Watergate has changed the way journalism is now done, including the current trend to use and overuse anonymous sources.

There has been an increase in investigative reporting following Watergate, with 'I-teams' or investigative units becoming part of the media landscape. Shepard also believes that Watergate created distrust between the media and the White House that wasn't as common before the event. She states that, "Before Watergate, reporters were cowed by the White House and accepted everything that they spat out at them. Now, journalists have become much more aggressive and combative, questioning everything the White House does or says." (Shepard, cited in Kenslea)

Watergate exposed an ugly dark side to our government, revealing common and widespread corruption that United States citizens had not previously realized. Americans came to understand that the scandal spread deep into a complex web of officials, agencies and establishments. Many believe that the impeachment of Nixon was not just to bring him to justice, but was about the need to "reaffirm the rule of law and regain the public's trust in government" (Genovese, 1999).

Although government decisions and operations at all levels in the United States continue to be hampered by the lack of effective leadership as well as ethical standards, the Watergate Scandal has had some positive impacts on government. For instance, the scandal became a huge factor in passing the Freedom of Information Act in 1986, as well as laws requiring new financial disclosures by key government officials. Passed in 1974, the Freedom of Information Act has been hailed as one of our greatest democratic reforms because it allows ordinary citizens to hold the government accountable by requesting and scrutinizing public documents and records (Rosen, 2002). The Ethics in Government Act of 1978, amended by the Ethics in Government Act of 1989, subjected senior executives and other high-ranking officials to financial disclosure as part of post-Watergate ethics reforms. Its rules were designed to reduce corruption and prevent the improper use of knowledge gained while in the government's employ (Ethics in Government Act).