...I'm okay with being REALITY-based.




Monday, April 28, 2003
      ( 11:57 AM )
 
Deep Throat Revealed...?

Doing what investigative reporters don't seem to know how to do anymore, college students at the University of Illinois (my brother's alma mater), under the guidance of journalism professor Bill Gaines, have taken 4 years to painstakingly research and uncover the identity of Bob Woodward's Deep Throat. Thanks to bartcop for the heads up on this really interesting story on a missing piece of American history.

And their conclusion? Fred Fielding, the deputy counsel under John Dean. All roads lead back to Fielding, the students say. Every piece of information attributed to Deep Throat can be traced to Fielding. The response of Carl Bernstein was that the students should be "spanked" for trying to find out who a reporter's source was. "They should be learning how to protect sources," he whined. But Prof. Gaines responded that Woodward and Bernstein didn't protect Deep Throat because they turned him into a character in their book and movie. Besides, has been, the students were learning how to investigate and research.

Sounds like "reporters" nowadays could use a class or two from Prof. Gaines. Investigative reporting, especially when it comes to gatekeeping on the government, seems to have gone the way of.... Deep Throat.

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