About All the President's Men
Watergate looms large in both American political consciousness and in the mythos surrounding the practice of investigative reporting. Based on the bestselling book by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, whose reporting on Watergate won a Pulitzer Prize for the Washington Post, Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman portray the journalists as they work to unravel the scandal that ultimately led to the resignation of President Nixon. [138 mins; drama; English] A Q&A with Washington journalist, editor, and author Martin Schram will follow the screening.
“All the President's Men is a quintessential American movie: It does a lot of things well and makes it all look simple.” – Joseph Gelmis, Newsday
“A story that has been marshalled with dazzling skill and precision.” – Richard Combs, Sight & Sound
“One of the best movies ever made about American politics.” – Adrian Turner, Radio Times
Watergate at 50: The Watergate scandal began in 1972 with a bungled break-in at Democratic Party headquarters and ended two years later with the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon. Aside from the political fallout, the affair highlighted the practice of investigative journalism in the U.S. In observance of the 50th anniversary of the Watergate scandal, The Media School at Indiana University is proud to sponsor this screening of All the President’s Men.
This screening is the first of several events planned by The Media School to critically appraise investigative journalism’s role in society in association with the Watergate anniversary. Details for the other events will be announced soon.
Martin Schram is a prize-winning Washington columnist, commentator, national and international correspondent, and author of six books. He has covered many of the major national and international news stories for more than four decades. He reported on the presidency and national affairs for The Washington Post, was Newsday’s Washington bureau chief, and has filed dispatches from major international flashpoints. His nationally syndicated newspaper column, which focuses on the intersection of the news media, public policy, and politics, is distributed by Tribune News Service to more than 200 newspapers. His most recent books, Vets Under Siege: How America Deceives and Dishonors Those Who Fight Our Battles and Avoiding Armageddon: Our Future. Our Choice., were widely acclaimed. He also appears frequently as a commentator on various television networks, has worked extensively as a newspaper editor, directed the coverage of investigative and enterprise journalism projects, and was a television documentary executive.
At age 30, Schram was named Washington bureau chief and senior editor of Newsday. Under his leadership, the newspaper’s bureau emphasized investigative and enterprise reporting, in the era where Newsday earned a reputation as one of America's leading newspapers. During the presidency of Richard Nixon, Newsday was recognized for a number of investigative exclusives, including Schram’s Watergate scandal revelations that the Watergate burglars were being paid hush money in exchange for pleading guilty to avoid trials that would reveal new evidence; and his exclusive report that the Watergate burglars reportedly also broke into the Chilean Embassy and photographed documents.
Curated by Gerry Lanosga of The Media School, with support from the Center for Documentary Research and Practice, the Michael I. Arnolt Center for Investigative Journalism, and IU Cinema. This partnership is supported through IU Cinema’s Creative Collaborations program.
