“Using these unnamed sources, if done properly, carefully and fairly, provides more accountability in government.”
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Watergate provides a model case study of the interaction and powers of each of the branches of government. It also is a morality play with a sad and dramatic ending.
A reporter's ability to keep the bond of confidentiality often enables him to learn the hidden or secret aspects of government.
The failure of the system to deal quickly was attributable to Nixon's lying, stonewalling and refusal to come clean. So it took 26 months for the final truth to be known.
There are people who take rumors and embellish them in a way that can be devastating. And this pollution has to be eradicated by people in our business as best we can.
