Carl Bernstein

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Lore & Background

Bernstein was born to a secular Jewish family in Washington, D.C., the son of Sylvia (née Walker) and Alfred Bernstein. Both his parents were civil-rights activists and members of the Communist Party USA in the 1940s. He attended Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, where he worked as circulation and exchange manager for the school's newspaper Silver Chips. He began his journalism career at the age of 16 when he became a copyboy for The Washington Star and moved "quickly through the ranks." At the University of Maryland, College Park, he was a reporter for The Diamondback, but was dismissed after the fall 1964 semester for bad grades. In 1965, he left the Star to become a full-time reporter for the Elizabeth Daily Journal in New Jersey, winning first prize in New Jersey's press association for investigative reporting, feature writing, and news on a deadline. In 1966, he began reporting for The Washington Post, covering local news and becoming known as one of the paper's best writing stylists. On a Saturday in June 1972, Bernstein was assigned with Bob Woodward to cover a break-in at the Watergate office complex. Five burglars had been caught; four turned out to be ex-CIA agents who did security work for the Republicans. Bernstein and Woodward connected the burglars to a massive slush fund and a corrupt attorney general. Bernstein was the first to suspect President Nixon was involved, and he found a laundered $25,000 check that linked Nixon to the burglary. Their discoveries led to further investigations, and on August 9, 1974, Nixon resigned to avoid facing impeachment. In 1974, they released All the President's Men, which "remained on best-seller lists for six months." A second book, The Final Days, was published in 1976. After Watergate, Bernstein left the Post in 1977. He worked at ABC, CNN, and CBS as a political commentator. He spent a year researching secret cooperation between the CIA and American media, published as a 25,000-word article in Rolling Stone. Between 1980 and 1984, he was ABC News' Washington Bureau Chief and then a senior correspondent. In 1982, for ABC's Nightline, he was the first to report during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon that Ariel Sharon had "deceived the cabinet about the real intention of the operation—to drive the Palestinians out of Lebanon." He released Loyalties: A Son's Memoir, revealing his parents had been Communist Party members. In 1992, for Time, he wrote a cover story on the alliance between Pope John Paul II and President Ronald Reagan. With Marco Politi, he published His Holiness (1996), arguing the Pope's role in supporting Solidarity was a principal factor in the downfall of communism in Europe. In 1992, he wrote a cover story for The New Republic titled "The Idiot Culture," indicting modern journalism for sensationalism. His biography of Hillary Rodham Clinton, A Woman in Charge (2007), appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list for three weeks. He is a regular political commentator on CNN.

Reader's Guide

Carl Bernstein's significance rests primarily on his Watergate reporting with Bob Woodward, which Gene Roberts called "maybe the single greatest reporting effort of all time." That work triggered government investigations and the resignation of a sitting president. Bernstein's career since Watergate has continued to focus on the theme of the use and abuse of power via books and magazine articles. He has also done reporting for television and opinion commentary. He is the author or co-author of six books: All the President's Men (1974) and The Final Days (1976), both with Bob Woodward; Loyalties: A Son's Memoir (1989); His Holiness: John Paul II and the History of Our Time (1996) with Marco Politi; A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton (2007); and Chasing History: A Kid in the Newsroom (2022). He has been married three times: first to Carol Honsa, then to writer and director Nora Ephron from 1976 to 1980, and since 2003 to former model Christine Kuehbeck. During his marriage to Ephron, he had a much-publicized extramarital relationship with Margaret Jay in 1979. Ephron was inspired by the events to write the 1983 novel Heartburn, made into a 1986 film starring Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson. Bernstein was portrayed by Dustin Hoffman in the film version of All the President's Men and by Bruce McCulloch in the 1999 comedy film Dick.

Did You Know?

• Bernstein began his journalism career at age 16 as a copyboy for The Washington Star.
• He was dismissed from the University of Maryland after the fall 1964 semester for bad grades.
• Bernstein was the first to suspect President Nixon was involved in the Watergate break-in and found a laundered $25,000 check linking Nixon to the burglary.
• His parents were members of the Communist Party USA in the 1940s, something even J. Edgar Hoover had tried and been unable to prove.
• Bernstein's extramarital affair with Margaret Jay, daughter of British Prime Minister James Callaghan, inspired Nora Ephron's novel Heartburn.

The Watergate Investigation

On a Saturday in June 1972, Bernstein and Bob Woodward were assigned to cover a break-in at the Watergate office complex, where the Democratic National Committee kept its headquarters. Five burglars had been caught red-handed that morning; four of them turned out to be former CIA agents who performed security work for the Republican Party. Through a sustained series of stories, the pair traced the intruders to a massive slush fund and a corrupt attorney general. Bernstein was the first to suspect that President Nixon himself was involved, and he uncovered a laundered $25,000 check that directly linked the president to the burglary. Their reporting set off a chain of government investigations that ultimately led, on August 9, 1974, to Nixon's resignation amid House Judiciary Committee hearings. Long-time journalism figure Gene Roberts later described their work as 'maybe the single greatest reporting effort of all time.'

Roots and Early Reporting Career

Born February 14, 1944, in Washington, D.C., to a secular Jewish family, Bernstein grew up in a politically charged household. His parents, Sylvia and Alfred, were civil-rights activists and members of the Communist Party USA in the 1940s. He attended Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, where he managed the school paper Silver Chips. At just 16, he became a copyboy for The Washington Star and rose quickly through its ranks, though the paper unofficially demanded a college degree for bylined work. After a brief stint at the University of Maryland's Diamondback, he was dismissed following the fall 1964 semester for poor grades. He then moved to the Elizabeth Daily Journal in New Jersey, where he won first prize in New Jersey's press association for investigative reporting, feature writing, and deadline news. In 1966, he joined The Washington Post, covering local news and earning a reputation as one of the paper's finest stylists.

Expanding the Scope After Watergate

After departing the Post in 1977, Bernstein broadened his journalistic reach considerably. He spent a year researching secret CIA cooperation with American media during the Cold War, producing a 25,000-word article for Rolling Stone. At ABC News, he served as Washington Bureau Chief and then senior correspondent from 1980 to 1984. In 1982, for Nightline, he broke the story that Ariel Sharon had deceived Israel's cabinet about the true intent of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon—driving Palestinians out rather than merely creating a security zone. He also worked at CNN and CBS as a political commentator and appeared in television commercials. His 1989 memoir, Loyalties: A Son's Memoir, revealed his parents' Communist Party membership—a fact even J. Edgar Hoover had failed to prove. In 1992, he penned a Time cover story on the Reagan–John Paul II alliance, later co-authoring the papal biography His Holiness with Marco Politi.

Legacy, Books, and Cultural Footprint

Bernstein and Woodward's 1974 book All the President's Men stayed on best-seller lists for six months and was adapted in 1975 into a film starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford, earning multiple Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA nominations including Best Picture. Their 1976 follow-up, The Final Days, chronicled Nixon's final weeks in office. Beyond Watergate, Bernstein authored or co-authored four more books, including the 2007 Hillary Clinton biography A Woman in Charge, which Knopf printed in a first run of 275,000 copies and which spent three weeks on the New York Times best-seller list, though a CBS survey later categorized it among publishing 'misses.' He also wrote the 1992 New Republic essay 'The Idiot Culture,' critiquing journalism's drift toward gossip over substance. His 2022 memoir Chasing History: A Kid in the Newsroom looked back on his early years in the trade. He remains a regular political commentator on CNN.