COLUMN: A brush with Ben Bradlee


opinion

News of the death of Washington Post Editor Ben Bradlee is a loss to the world of journalism.

Bradlee was an icon in the newspaper business and played a significant role in the history of our nation as he oversaw the development of the Watergate Scandal story, which brought down President Richard M. Nixon in 1974, elevating Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford to the presidency.

In March 1979, I was a freshman at Central Michigan University pursuing journalism. I was a writer for Central Michigan Life, and found a calling in journalism. A few years earlier, the Watergate Scandal elevated the status of journalists, making folk heroes of Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward. Much of the credit for their work also rested with their executive editor, Bradlee, who oversaw all their activity and guided them through that historic time.

At the time, Bradlee was the largest figure in the newspaper world and he was coming to speak at CMU. Through luck and timing I was asked by University Events if I’d like to pick Bradlee up at the airport in Midland. I jumped at the opportunity and was given a university car and his schedule. By default I became his driver and personal escort during his visit, getting him to all his engagements, both professional and social. What an opportunity that was!

Since I was a journalism student, they later asked me to go ahead and introduce him at his speech to a crowded Warriner Hall. It became my first true speaking opportunity in front of thousands of people.

One thing you have to remember about the Watergate era is that it all happened pre-Internet. Reporters’ tools were notepads, typewriters and the telephone. Likewise, when I went to research Benjamin Crowinshield Bradlee, the only resource I could find at the CMU Library in 1979 was a Who’s Who and Bradlee’s book Conversations with Kennedy.” Bradlee became very close personal friends with John F. Kennedy, a rarity in the journalism world in those days. The library also had a copy of, Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye,” a memoir of Kennedy written by his closest friends and advisors where Bradlee was mentioned. Needless to say, I couldn't put my hands on a lot of information about Bradlee like we can today, much in the same way Woodward and Bernstein had to work hard to find information.

I learned enough about him to carry on an intelligent conversation in the car, but as a true journalist he asked me more questions than I asked him. We talked a lot about CMU and the school’s journalism program. He was a pretty down-to-earth guy for being on top of the communications world.

While taking him around campus and visiting the journalism classes he repeatedly urged aspiring journalists to “learn Chinese.” He was a visionary and ahead of his time when it came to seeing the rising impact of China on the entire world.

His speech at Warriner Hall was promoted as “To Print…or Not to Print.” His signed poster still hangs in my office. Much of his discussion focused on the media’s dilemma of releasing stories and information that could be damaging to our nation and national security. In those pre-Internet days, organizations like the Washington Post and major networks took their role as “gatekeepers” of information seriously.

The topic of his speech concerned a Midwest newspaper which obtained information that was previously classified on “How to build a Bomb” and lamented on whether or not to publish it. This opened a debate in the media about their role as gatekeepers and what was “fit to print." The New York Times banner motto for many years was “All the News that’s Fit to Print.” It was a heady discussion the Internet later made moot, but at the time was an ethical conundrum in the publishing business.

Honesty, accuracy, integrity and relevance was a concern for editors before the Internet. Those values still exist today, but the Internet has added the dimension of speed in reporting and oftentimes speed trumps accuracy. That’s a topic for another column.

Following any of Bradlee’s speeches the questions and answers always circled back to Watergate. The inevitable question arises on the identity of Deep Throat, the key source of the entire Watergate Scandal. (It was ultimately revealed that Mark Felt, a former deputy director of the FBI admitted to being Deep Throat a few days before his death in 2008.)

Sure enough that evening in 1979, a question was asked about the identity of Deep Throat. Bradlee was a master at responding to that question. He stated “I’m sorry, but the identity of Deep Throat will have to remain Washington’s best kept secret.” The questioner then followed up and asked “Can you tell us anything about him?” Bradlee simply responded “Him?” The audience roared. He thanked the audience, gracefully stepped away from the podium and the event ended. 

It was an event I’ll never forget and was proud to be a part of, and a great day for CMU.

T. R. Shaw Jr. is a 1982 CMU journalism graduate and was a staff writer and photographer for CM Life from 1978-1982. He later served as a U.S. Navy public affairs officer and is presently a freelance writer in Battle Creek. He is currently CEO of the Shaw Funeral Homes in Battle Creek and active in many community affairs.

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