Benjamin C. Bradlee - Academy of Achievement

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Bradlee - Academy of Achievement</title>  <meta name="description" content="As vice president and executive editor of The Washington Post, Benjamin Bradlee guided the leading newspaper of the nation's capital for nearly 20 years, through some of the most dramatic episodes in the history of American journalism. After serving as a communications officer in the Navy during the Second World War, Bradlee founded the New Hampshire Sunday News and served for a time as the press attaché to the American Embassy in Paris. He worked as a European correspondent for Newsweek magazine, covered the presidency of his friend John Kennedy for The Washington Post, and became the Post's executive editor in 1968. At Bradlee's insistence, the Post risked criminal prosecution by publishing the controversial Pentagon Papers, a devastating exposé of government deception in the Vietnam War. When the trail of the Watergate conspirators turned cold, Bradlee urged his young reporters to continue the investigation. The Post's coverage earned the paper one of its numerous Pulitzer Prizes. His autobiography, A Good Life, was published in 1995. Benjamin Bradlee died in 2014 at the age of 93. His remarks on Watergate are interspersed throughout our interview with Bob Woodward."/> <link rel="canonical" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/benjamin-c-bradlee/"/> <meta property="og:locale" content="en_US"/> <meta property="og:type" content="article"/> <meta property="og:title" content="Benjamin C. Bradlee - Academy of Achievement"/> <meta property="og:description" content="<p class="inputtext">As vice president and executive editor of <i>The Washington Post</i>, Benjamin Bradlee guided the leading newspaper of the nation's capital for nearly 20 years, through some of the most dramatic episodes in the history of American journalism.</p> <p class="inputtext">After serving as a communications officer in the Navy during the Second World War, Bradlee founded the <i>New Hampshire Sunday News</i> and served for a time as the press attaché to the American Embassy in Paris. He worked as a European correspondent for <i>Newsweek</i> magazine, covered the presidency of his friend John Kennedy for <i>The Washington Post</i>, and became the <i>Post</i>'s executive editor in 1968.</p> <p class="inputtext">At Bradlee's insistence, the <i>Post</i> risked criminal prosecution by publishing the controversial Pentagon Papers, a devastating exposé of government deception in the Vietnam War. When the trail of the Watergate conspirators turned cold, Bradlee urged his young reporters to continue the investigation. The <i>Post</i>'s coverage earned the paper one of its numerous Pulitzer Prizes. His autobiography, <i>A Good Life</i>, was published in 1995. Benjamin Bradlee died in 2014 at the age of 93. His remarks on Watergate are interspersed throughout our interview with Bob Woodward.</p>"/> <meta property="og:url" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/benjamin-c-bradlee/"/> <meta property="og:site_name" content="Academy of Achievement"/> <meta property="og:image" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/bradlee-3-Feature-Image-2800x1120.jpg"/> <meta property="og:image:width" content="2800"/> <meta property="og:image:height" content="1120"/> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary"/> <meta name="twitter:description" content="<p class="inputtext">As vice president and executive editor of <i>The Washington Post</i>, Benjamin Bradlee guided the leading newspaper of the nation's capital for nearly 20 years, through some of the most dramatic episodes in the history of American journalism.</p> <p class="inputtext">After serving as a communications officer in the Navy during the Second World War, Bradlee founded the <i>New Hampshire Sunday News</i> and served for a time as the press attaché to the American Embassy in Paris. He worked as a European correspondent for <i>Newsweek</i> magazine, covered the presidency of his friend John Kennedy for <i>The Washington Post</i>, and became the <i>Post</i>'s executive editor in 1968.</p> <p class="inputtext">At Bradlee's insistence, the <i>Post</i> risked criminal prosecution by publishing the controversial Pentagon Papers, a devastating exposé of government deception in the Vietnam War. When the trail of the Watergate conspirators turned cold, Bradlee urged his young reporters to continue the investigation. The <i>Post</i>'s coverage earned the paper one of its numerous Pulitzer Prizes. His autobiography, <i>A Good Life</i>, was published in 1995. Benjamin Bradlee died in 2014 at the age of 93. His remarks on Watergate are interspersed throughout our interview with Bob Woodward.</p>"/> <meta name="twitter:title" content="Benjamin C. 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[(max-width:992px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/bradlee-3-Feature-Image-2800x1120-1400x560.jpg"></div> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <figcaption class="feature-area__text ratio-container__text container"> <div class="feature-area__text-inner text-white"> <h2 class="serif-8 feature-area__text-subhead back"><a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever">All achievers</a></h2> <h1 class="serif-1 entry-title feature-area__text-headline">Benjamin C. Bradlee</h1> <h5 class="sans-6 feature-area__blurb"><i>The Washington Post</i></h5> </div> </figcaption> </div> </div> </figure> </header> </div>  <nav class="in-page-nav row fixedsticky"> <ul class="nav text-xs-center clearfix" role="tablist"> <li class="nav-item col-xs-3"> <a class="nav-link active" data-toggle="tab" href="#biography" role="tab" data-gtm-category="tab" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever Biography">Biography</a> </li> <li class="nav-item col-xs-3"> <a class="nav-link" data-toggle="tab" href="#profile" role="tab" data-gtm-category="tab" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever Profile">Profile</a> </li> <li class="nav-item col-xs-3"> <a class="nav-link" data-toggle="tab" href="#interview" role="tab" data-gtm-category="tab" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever Interview">Interview</a> </li> <li class="nav-item col-xs-3"> <a class="nav-link" data-toggle="tab" href="#gallery" role="tab" data-gtm-category="tab" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever Gallery">Gallery</a> </li> </ul> </nav> <article class="post-2009 achiever type-achiever status-publish has-post-thumbnail hentry careers-journalist"> <div class="entry-content container clearfix">  <div class="tab-content"> <div class="tab-pane fade in active" id="biography" role="tabpanel"> <section class="achiever--biography"> <div class="row"> <header class="editorial-article__header col-md-8 col-md-offset-2 text-xs-center"> <i class="icon-icon_bio text-brand-primary"></i> <h3 class="serif-3 quote-marks">We knew that the front page was going to be a historical document, it was going to be reproduced in the history books.</h3> </header> </div> <div class="row"> <aside class="col-md-4 sidebar clearfix"> <h2 class="serif-3 p-b-1">Presidential Medal of Freedom</h2> <div class="col-xs-12 sidebar--chunk p-b-2"> <dt class="serif-7">Date of Birth</dt> <dd class="sans-2"> March 26, 1943 </dd> </div> <div class="col-xs-12 sidebar--chunk p-b-2"> <dt class="serif-7">Date of Death</dt> <dd class="sans-2"> October 21, 2014 </dd> </div> </aside> <article class="editorial-article col-md-8"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body><figure id="attachment_28637" style="width: 671px" class="wp-caption alignright"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-28637 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-highschool-Ben-Bradlee-2-002.jpg"></noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-28637 lazyload" alt="Ben Bradlee as a senior at St. Mark's School, where he played varsity baseball." width="671" height="1216" data-sizes="(max-width: 671px) 100vw, 671px" data-srcset="/web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-highschool-Ben-Bradlee-2-002.jpg 671w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-highschool-Ben-Bradlee-2-002-210x380.jpg 210w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-highschool-Ben-Bradlee-2-002-419x760.jpg 419w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-highschool-Ben-Bradlee-2-002.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Ben Bradlee as a senior at St. Mark’s School. At age 14, he was stricken with polio but exercised to recover from the disease, and within a year was working as a copy boy for a local newspaper. Bradlee then enrolled at Harvard.</figcaption></figure><p>Benjamin Crowninshield Bradlee was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to a family with deep roots in New England on his father’s side, and European aristocracy on his mother’s. Relatives had achieved prominence in the law, banking, diplomacy and publishing. He spent his first eight years in an atmosphere of wealth and privilege, but his family lost most of their fortune in the 1929 stock market crash. His father, who had been a bank vice president, supported the family by part-time work as a bookkeeper and managing the janitorial staff at the Boston Museum. Young Ben Bradlee’s relatives helped him to attend private schools. He was at St. Mark’s School when he was stricken with polio at age 14. For months he lost the use of his legs, but he exercised rigorously to recover from the disease, and within a year was working as a copy boy for a local newspaper. Like generations of Bradlees before him, he enrolled at Harvard College, where he studied English and Classical Greek and participated in Naval ROTC. On the same day in 1942, he graduated from Harvard and was commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy. He married his college sweetheart, Jean Saltonstall, before departing for active duty. Assigned to naval intelligence, he saw action in some of the most intense battles of the Pacific campaign, including the battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval engagement in history.</p> <p>After returning from the Pacific, Bradlee worked as a reporter for the <em>New Hampshire Sunday News</em>. In 1948, with the paper failing, and a wife and child to support, he joined <em>The Washington Post</em> as a reporter. His first stint at the <em>Post</em> was a brief one, but he became friendly with the paper’s associate publisher, Philip Graham, son-in-law of the <em>Post</em>’s publisher, Eugene Meyer.</p> <figure id="attachment_20071" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-20071 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-U1102481.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-20071 size-full lazyload" alt="March 8, 1956: At the request of the American Embassy, the American journalist Benjamin Bradlee is not expelled from France as it was announced by the French Interior Ministry. The journalist had tried a month before to get an interview with rebel leaders in Algeria. (Bettmann/CORBIS)" width="2280" height="1875" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-U1102481.jpg 2280w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-U1102481-380x313.jpg 380w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-U1102481-760x625.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-U1102481.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">1956: At the request of the American Embassy, Ben Bradlee is not expelled from France as it was announced by the French Interior Ministry. The journalist had tried a month before to get an interview with rebel leaders in Algeria.</figcaption></figure><p>In 1951 Bradlee secured an appointment as press attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Paris. While in Paris, he joined the staff of the U.S. Information and Educational Exchange (USIE), parent organization of the Voice of America radio service. In 1953 he left the USIE to become Paris correspondent for <em>Newsweek</em> magazine. His marriage to Jean Saltonstall ended in divorce, and Bradlee married Antoinette “Tony” Pinchot, an American he met through the U.S. Embassy.</p> <p>As the <em>Newsweek</em> correspondent, Bradlee interviewed guerrillas who were fighting French rule in Algeria. The French government objected to his contact with the rebels and sought his expulsion from the country. <em>Newsweek</em> brought him back to the United States to serve as the magazine’s Washington correspondent.</p> <figure id="attachment_27954" style="width: 760px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-27954 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/ST-C198-2-63.jpg"></noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-27954 lazyload" alt="1963: The President and Mrs. Kennedy with Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin C. Bradlee in the White House family living room. Bradlee and Kennedy became friends when the two moved in on the same block of N Street in Georgetown and remained friends through Kennedy’s presidency. (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum)" width="760" height="773" data-sizes="(max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px" data-srcset="/web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/ST-C198-2-63.jpg 760w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/ST-C198-2-63-374x380.jpg 374w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/ST-C198-2-63-747x760.jpg 747w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/ST-C198-2-63.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">1963: The President and Mrs. Kennedy with Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin C. Bradlee in the White House family living room. Bradlee and Kennedy became friends when the two moved in on the same block of N Street in Georgetown and remained close friends through Kennedy’s presidency. (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum)</figcaption></figure><p>Bradlee and his wife, Tony, bought a house in Washington’s Georgetown neighborhood, where they became friendly with their neighbors, U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline. Kennedy had graduated two years ahead of Bradlee at Harvard and both had served in the Navy in World War II. Their friendship developed quickly, and the senator became an invaluable source of information for the journalist. Bradlee covered the presidential election of 1960, and after Kennedy’s election, his friendship with the new president enhanced his profile in Washington’s journalism community. When Bradlee learned that <em>Newsweek</em> was for sale, he encouraged his friend Philip Graham to buy it for The Washington Post Company. Graham gave Bradlee shares in the new company’s stock as a finder’s fee and made him the <em>Post</em>’s Washington bureau chief.</p> <p>The future looked bright for Bradlee, his paper and his country, when he suffered three startling losses in succession. In August 1963, Philip Graham committed suicide after a long struggle with depression. Graham’s widow, Katharine, became the <em>Post</em>’s new publisher. The following November, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. The death of the president was followed within a year by the murder of Bradlee’s sister-in-law, Mary Pinchot Meyer, a close friend of the president’s. Many years later, Bradlee admitted that after her death, he and his wife had disposed of a diary in which Meyer had recorded details of an intimate relationship with the president.</p> <figure id="attachment_20077" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="wp-image-20077 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-Bradlee-AP-710621076.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-20077 size-full lazyload" alt="Katharine Graham (1917-2001), publisher of The Washington Post, and Ben Bradlee (1921-2014), the paper's executive editor, leave U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., in 1971, after receiving the go-ahead to print the Pentagon Papers. (AP Images)" width="2280" height="1585" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-Bradlee-AP-710621076.jpg 2280w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-Bradlee-AP-710621076-380x264.jpg 380w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-Bradlee-AP-710621076-760x528.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-Bradlee-AP-710621076.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">June 21, 1971: Katharine Graham, publisher of <em>The Washington Post</em>, and Ben Bradlee, executive editor, leave U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. The newspaper got the go-ahead to print Pentagon papers on Vietnam. Later however, the U.S. Court of Appeals extended for one more day a ban against publishing the secret documents.</figcaption></figure><p>In 1965, Bradlee became managing editor of <em>The Washington Post</em> and moved aggressively to expand the newspaper’s national and international coverage. Mrs. Graham came to rely heavily on his direction of the paper, and in 1968 named him to the newly created post of executive editor.</p> <p>One of the high points of Bradlee’s tenure at the <em>Post</em> came with the discovery of a classified Defense Department study tracing the history of America’s involvement in Vietnam. Daniel Ellsberg, formerly an employee of the State Department and the Department of Defense, was one of the authors of the study. He shared a collection of the Pentagon Papers, as they became known, with Neil Sheehan of <em>The New York Times</em>.</p> <figure id="attachment_20079" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-20079 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-be021797-W-and-B-at-Post-deskcorbis-.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-20079 size-full lazyload" alt="Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in The Washington Post offices at the height of the Watergate investigation, April 29, 1973. (Bettmann/CORBIS)" width="2280" height="1564" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-be021797-W-and-B-at-Post-deskcorbis-.jpg 2280w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-be021797-W-and-B-at-Post-deskcorbis--380x261.jpg 380w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-be021797-W-and-B-at-Post-deskcorbis--760x521.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-be021797-W-and-B-at-Post-deskcorbis-.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">1973: Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein at <em>The Washington Post</em> during the height of the Watergate investigation.</figcaption></figure><p>Among other things, the documents disclosed U.S. government complicity in the overthrow and assassination of South Vietnamese President Diem. They revealed that the second Gulf of Tonkin incident — the immediate pretext for America’s direct military involvement — had not taken place as described in official accounts, a fact later confirmed by participants in the alleged incident, including Admiral James Stockdale. The documents also revealed a series of covert U.S. military actions in Laos and Cambodia, as well as North Vietnam. The cumulative effect of the disclosures was to suggest that the government had misled the American people about the rationale for war, its progress, and its likely outcome.</p> <figure id="attachment_20792" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-20792 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/nixonresigns.jpg"></noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-20792 lazyload" alt="August 9, 1974: This headline is one of the most iconic in journalism history, with a front page banner reading: "Nixon Resigns" and a one-line, six-column subhead: "Ford Assumes Presidency Today." The front page photo is captioned: "President Nixon and daughter Julie embracing Wednesday after the president's decision to resign."" width="640" height="512" data-sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" data-srcset="/web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/nixonresigns.jpg 640w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/nixonresigns-380x304.jpg 380w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/nixonresigns.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">August 9, 1974: This headline is one of the most iconic in journalism history, with a front page banner reading: “Nixon Resigns” and a one-line, six-column subhead: “Ford Assumes Presidency Today.” The front page photo is captioned: “President Nixon and daughter Julie embracing Wednesday after the president’s decision to resign.”</figcaption></figure><p>The Nixon administration feared the precedent of allowing classified information to find its way into print. When <em>The New York Times</em> began to report on the content of the papers, the administration obtained a court order enjoining the <em>Times</em> from further disclosures. This was the first instance of a U.S. court imposing prior restraint on a publication. While the <em>Times</em> appealed its case to a higher court, the <em>Post</em> obtained portions of the documents from Ellsberg.</p> <figure id="attachment_41322" style="width: 745px" class="wp-caption alignright"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-41322 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Bradlee-Benjamin-recieving-Golden-Plate-award-from-Paul-Nitze.jpg"></noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-41322 lazyload" alt="" width="745" height="745" data-sizes="(max-width: 745px) 100vw, 745px" data-srcset="/web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Bradlee-Benjamin-recieving-Golden-Plate-award-from-Paul-Nitze.jpg 745w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Bradlee-Benjamin-recieving-Golden-Plate-award-from-Paul-Nitze-190x190.jpg 190w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Bradlee-Benjamin-recieving-Golden-Plate-award-from-Paul-Nitze-380x380.jpg 380w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Bradlee-Benjamin-recieving-Golden-Plate-award-from-Paul-Nitze.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Awards Council member and statesman Paul H. Nitze presents the Golden Plate Award to Ben Bradlee during the 1988 Achievement Summit in Nashville, Tennessee.</figcaption></figure><p>Bradlee and publisher Graham knew they too would face federal legal action if they reported on the contents of the Pentagon Papers. The opportunity came at a difficult time for The Washington Post Company, as it was preparing a public offering of its stock. In addition to the <em>Post</em> newspaper and <em>Newsweek</em> magazine, the company owned a number of radio and television stations, licensed by the federal government, whose licenses could be suspended or revoked. Bradlee and Mrs. Graham decided the public’s interest in learning the truth about the war outweighed any potential risk to themselves or the <em>Post</em> and proceeded with publication. The administration brought a suit against the <em>Post</em>, but the federal court denied the motion, and subsequent appeals ended with the Supreme Court affirming the press’s right to publish information in the public interest without prior restraint. Graham and Bradlee had won a great victory, but the <em>Post</em>’s conflict with the Nixon administration was far from over. Bradlee assigned two young Post reporters, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, to investigate an attempted burglary at the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters in the Watergate office complex. Their investigation quickly discovered a connection between the burglars and a CIA employee working in the White House. In the face of criticism from the president’s side, and skepticism from many in the news media, Bradlee supported his reporters.</p> <figure id="attachment_28636" style="width: 1866px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-28636 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-book-Ben-Bradlee-1-002.jpg"></noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-28636 lazyload" alt="Ben Bradlee's 1995 memoir, “A Good Life: Newspapering and Other Adventures.”" width="1866" height="2816" data-sizes="(max-width: 1866px) 100vw, 1866px" data-srcset="/web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-book-Ben-Bradlee-1-002.jpg 1866w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-book-Ben-Bradlee-1-002-252x380.jpg 252w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-book-Ben-Bradlee-1-002-504x760.jpg 504w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-book-Ben-Bradlee-1-002.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Ben Bradlee’s 1995 memoir, <em>A Good Life: Newspapering and Other Adventures</em>, a book about fearless journalism.</figcaption></figure><p>After President Nixon won re-election in a historic landslide, Woodward and Bernstein’s reporting led to a Senate investigation and the revelation that the president had authorized the payment of hush money to the burglars — to conceal their relationship with the president’s re-election campaign, and to block the revelation of other covert activities, including an attempt to burglarize the office of Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist. As the House of Representatives initiated impeachment proceedings, the president resigned. <em>The Washington Post</em> had established an international reputation for investigative reporting that would remain unchallenged for many years.</p> <p>The Pentagon papers and Watergate made Ben Bradlee a public figure on the national stage. He saw himself portrayed by the actor Jason Robards, Jr. in the film <em>All the President’s Men</em>, based on Woodward and Bernstein’s chronicle of the Watergate affair. In 1975, Bradlee published <em>Conversations with Kennedy</em>, a memoir of his friendship with the late president. By the end of the decade, his marriage to Antoinette Pinchot ended and he married <em>Post</em> reporter Sally Quinn.</p> <figure id="attachment_28893" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="wp-image-28893 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-IMG_5242.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-28893 size-full lazyload" alt="wp-img_5242" width="2280" height="1520" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-IMG_5242.jpg 2280w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-IMG_5242-380x253.jpg 380w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-IMG_5242-760x507.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-IMG_5242.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Ben Bradlee and <em>CBS News</em> correspondent Mike Wallace at the 2003 Achievement Summit in Washington, D.C.</figcaption></figure><p>Bradlee’s tenure as editor of the <em>Post</em> was marred when it was discovered that a 1981 Pulitzer Prize-winning story about a juvenile heroin addict had been fabricated by the reporter, who had also falsified her credentials when she was hired by the paper. Bradlee ordered a full disclosure of the facts and personally apologized to the mayor and the chief of police of Washington, D.C. for the story’s implied criticism of the city’s administration and law enforcement.</p> <p>In his 26 years at the editor’s desk, Ben Bradlee had doubled the <em>Post</em>’s circulation and made it one of the world’s leading newspapers. He stepped down as executive editor in 1991 and assumed the less demanding position of vice president at large. The shares of Washington Post stock Bradlee received at the time of the <em>Newsweek</em> purchase had made him a wealthy man. In his later years he set out to give much of his money away. He endowed a professorship of Government and the Press at Harvard, raised millions of dollars for the National Children’s Medical Center and served as Chairman of the Historic St. Mary’s City Commission. For many years, Bradlee had maintained a second home in St. Mary’s City, Maryland, the state’s oldest European settlement, and he was pleased to play a role in preserving its history.</p> <figure id="attachment_20822" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-20822 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-GettyImages-451308379.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-20822 size-full lazyload" alt="November 20, 2013: President Barack Obama shakes hands after awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Ben Bradlee in the East Room of the White House. (Photo by Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images)" width="2280" height="1826" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-GettyImages-451308379.jpg 2280w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-GettyImages-451308379-380x304.jpg 380w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-GettyImages-451308379-760x609.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-GettyImages-451308379.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">November 20, 2013: President Barack Obama shakes hands after awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Ben Bradlee in the East Room of the White House. (Photo by Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure><p>In 1995, Bradlee published a memoir, <em>A Good Life: Newspapering and Other Adventures</em>. By 2007, the French government had forgiven him for his reporting on the war in Algeria, and it gave him its highest decoration, the Legion of Honor. In 2013 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama. He died at home the following year at the age of 93. He was survived by four children, ten grandchildren and a great-grandchild. His oldest son, Benjamin Bradlee, Jr., became an author and editor of <em>The Boston Globe</em>, and received the Pulitzer Prize for his paper’s investigation of child abuse in the archdiocese of Boston.</p></body></html> <div class="clearfix"> </div> </article> </div> </section> </div> <div class="tab-pane fade" id="profile" role="tabpanel"> <section class="clearfix"> <header class="editorial-article__header"> <figure class="text-xs-center"> <img class="inductee-badge" src="/web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/themes/aoa/assets/images/inducted-badge@2x.png" alt="Inducted Badge" width="120" height="120"/> <figcaption class="serif-3 text-brand-primary"> Inducted in 1988 </figcaption> </figure> </header> <div class="row"> <aside class="col-md-4 sidebar"> <dl class="clearfix m-b-0"> <div class="col-xs-12 sidebar--chunk p-b-2"> <dt class="serif-7">Career</dt> <dd class="sans-2"> <div><a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/#filter=.journalist">Journalist</a></div> </dd> </div> <div class="col-xs-12 sidebar--chunk p-b-2"> <dt class="serif-7">Date of Birth</dt> <dd class="sans-2"> March 26, 1943 </dd> </div> <div class="col-xs-12 sidebar--chunk p-b-2"> <dt class="serif-7">Date of Death</dt> <dd class="sans-2"> October 21, 2014 </dd> </div> </dl> </aside> <article class="col-md-8 editorial-article clearfix"> <p class="inputtext">As vice president and executive editor of <i>The Washington Post</i>, Benjamin Bradlee guided the leading newspaper of the nation’s capital for nearly 20 years, through some of the most dramatic episodes in the history of American journalism.</p> <p class="inputtext">After serving as a communications officer in the Navy during the Second World War, Bradlee founded the <i>New Hampshire Sunday News</i> and served for a time as the press attaché to the American Embassy in Paris. He worked as a European correspondent for <i>Newsweek</i> magazine, covered the presidency of his friend John Kennedy for <i>The Washington Post</i>, and became the <i>Post</i>‘s executive editor in 1968.</p> <p class="inputtext">At Bradlee’s insistence, the <i>Post</i> risked criminal prosecution by publishing the controversial Pentagon Papers, a devastating exposé of government deception in the Vietnam War. When the trail of the Watergate conspirators turned cold, Bradlee urged his young reporters to continue the investigation. The <i>Post</i>‘s coverage earned the paper one of its numerous Pulitzer Prizes. His autobiography, <i>A Good Life</i>, was published in 1995. Benjamin Bradlee died in 2014 at the age of 93. His remarks on Watergate are interspersed throughout our interview with Bob Woodward.</p> </article> </div> </section> </div> <div class="tab-pane fade" id="interview" role="tabpanel"> <section class="clearfix"> <div class="col-md-12 interview-feature-video"> <figure> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/juzdFeGeNIk?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light&start=0&end=2803&version=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Woodward-and-Bradlee-2003-MasterEdit.00_46_12_29.Still001-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Woodward-and-Bradlee-2003-MasterEdit.00_46_12_29.Still001-760x428.jpg"></div> <div class="video-tag sans-4"> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> <div class="video-tag__text">Watch full interview</div> </div> </div> </figure> </div> <header class="col-md-12 text-xs-center m-b-2"> <i class="icon-icon_bio text-brand-primary"></i> </header> <aside class="col-md-4 sidebar"> <h2 class="serif-3 achiever--biography-subtitle">Presidential Medal of Freedom</h2> <div class="sans-2">Washington, D.C.</div> <div class="sans-2">May 1, 2003</div> </aside> <article class="editorial-article col-md-8">   <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>(The Academy of Achievement interviewed Ben Bradlee and Bob Woodward, the award-winning investigative journalist of <em>The Washington Post</em>, on May 1 during the 2003 International Achievement Summit. Their interviews are combined here.)</strong></p> <p><strong>Mr. Woodward, can you tell us about the night you first got that phone call about a break-in at the Watergate?</strong></p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/RyEgOOeEqIo?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light&start=0&end=74&version=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Woodward-and-Bradlee-2003-MasterEdit.00_39_48_15.Still025-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Woodward-and-Bradlee-2003-MasterEdit.00_39_48_15.Still025-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/keys-to-success/preparation/">Preparation</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p class="inputtext">Bob Woodward: June 17, 1972. I had worked for the<em> Post</em> for nine months. They had this — it looked like a local burglary at the Democratic Headquarters, a police story. I covered the night police beat. It was a Saturday morning, I think the summer. Editors looked around and thought, “Who could we call in? Who would be dumb enough to work on this story on a Saturday morning?” And they thought of me immediately. So I went to work with about seven or eight other people, including Carl (Bernstein), and I went to the arraignment of the five burglars, and the judge wanted to know where one of them worked, and he was mumbling. He wouldn’t say. Kind of going, “CIA.” And the judge said, “Where?” And he went, “CIA.” And the judge said, “Speak up. Where do you work? Where did you work?” And he went, “CIA, Central Intelligence Agency.” And I know my reaction was one of “Oh! This is not your average burglary.”</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body><p><strong>Why did they think of you? You mentioned that you had been at the <em>Post</em> for nine months. How long had you been at the previous paper?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: One year exactly. So I did not have two years’ experience. I was the lowest-paid reporter at <em>The Washington Post</em>, because they would only give you credit with the Newspaper Guild if you had worked for a daily, and I had worked for a weekly.</p> <p><strong>What an incredible jump in your fortunes as a journalist, from one year on a little suburban paper to <em>The Washington Post</em>. How did you do that?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: I was not married at the time and loved being free to do something. I worked quite hard, did a number of stories that the<em> Post</em> and <em>The New York Times</em> picked up. The <em>Post</em> is a very competitive institution, and I think that was the main reason.</p> <p><strong>How old were you at the time of that break-in?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: Twenty-nine.</p> <figure id="attachment_27618" style="width: 2116px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-27618 " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/GettyImages-50420524_master.jpg"></noscript><img class="size-full wp-image-27618 lazyload" alt="1985: Washington Post Editor Ben Bradlee and CEO Katharine M. Graham. (Roy Karten/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images)" width="2116" height="2681" data-sizes="(max-width: 2116px) 100vw, 2116px" data-srcset="/web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/GettyImages-50420524_master.jpg 2116w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/GettyImages-50420524_master-300x380.jpg 300w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/GettyImages-50420524_master-600x760.jpg 600w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/GettyImages-50420524_master.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">1985: <em>Washington Post</em> Editor Ben Bradlee and CEO Katharine M. Graham. (Roy Karten/The LIFE Images Collection)</figcaption></figure><p><strong>Mr. Bradlee, when did it become clear to you that the Watergate break-in was something more than a simple burglary?</strong></p> <p>Ben Bradlee: Probably the first or second day, really. It was strange. You had a lot of Cuban or Spanish-speaking guys in masks and rubber gloves, with walkie-talkies, arrested in the Democratic National Committee Headquarters at 2:00 in the morning. What the hell were they in there for? What were they doing?</p></body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/Knuga6JtN08?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light&start=0&end=0&version=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Woodward-and-Bradlee-2003-MasterEdit.00_30_07_19.Still017-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Woodward-and-Bradlee-2003-MasterEdit.00_30_07_19.Still017-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p class="inputtext">The follow-up story was based primarily on their arraignment in court, and it was based on information given our police reporter, Al Lewis, by the cops, showing them an address book that one of the burglars had in his pocket, and in the address book was the name “Hunt,” H-u-n-t, and the phone number was the White House phone number, which Al Lewis and every reporter worth his salt knew. And when, the next day, Woodward — this is probably Sunday or maybe Monday, because the burglary was Saturday morning early — called the number and asked to speak to Mr. Hunt, and the operator said, “Well, he’s not here now; he’s over at” such-and-such a place, gave him another number, and Woodward called him up, and Hunt answered the phone, and Woodward said, “We want to know why your name was in the address book of the Watergate burglars.” And there is this long, deathly hush, and Hunt said, “Oh, my God!” and hung up. So you had the White House. You have Hunt saying “Oh, my God!” At a later arraignment, one of the guys whispered to a judge. The judge said, “What do you do?” and Woodward overheard the words “CIA.” So if your interest isn’t whetted by this time, you’re not a journalist.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>What a story.</strong></p> <p>Ben Bradlee: It’s a good story. Not bad, as they say, and what legs! You have kids who weren’t born at that time doing term papers on it at colleges and high schools.</p> <p><strong>Mr. Woodward, once you heard one of the burglars say he worked for the CIA, where did you take it from there?</strong></p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/mmyCYJDTK6o?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light&start=0&end=91&version=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Woodward-and-Bradlee-2003-MasterEdit.00_39_01_22.Still022-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Woodward-and-Bradlee-2003-MasterEdit.00_39_01_22.Still022-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p class="inputtext">Bob Woodward: Is the CIA connected to this? Well, it turns out a lot of CIA people were, and they tried to use the CIA to cover up the FBI investigation, but they never pinned it on the CIA. It was a White House operation. So you would not go from the CIA to the White House instantly, but within several days, through the work of another reporter, we learned there was this cryptic entry in the address books of two of the five burglars that very simply said “H. Hunt – W. House.” So I called the White House and asked for Mr. Hunt, and he came on, and I said, “Why is your name in the address books of these two burglars who were caught in the Democratic Headquarters?” And he screamed out, “Good God!” and hung up the phone. And there was a sort of, as I have said, “I am packing my bags” quality to his voice that didn’t tell you everything you needed to know but certainly got you focused on, you know, this is interesting now. And it turned out he had worked for the CIA for years, had been working in the White House as a consultant to Chuck Colson, who was then Nixon’s hatchet man.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body><p><strong>So this was over a period of days, I take it, that it got interesting.</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: Yes, and each week it got more and more interesting. As a colleague of ours at the<em> Post</em>, Bill Greider, wrote the day they disclosed the secret taping system in the White House. I think the lead of his story was, “Will the wonders of Watergate never cease?”</p> <figure id="attachment_20082" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-20082 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-1973-woodward-bernstein.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-20082 size-full lazyload" alt="May 7, 1973: Reporters Bob Woodward, right, and Carl Bernstein, whose reporting of the Watergate case won them a Pulitzer Prize, sit in the newsroom of The Washington Post. On August 5, 2013, The Washington Post announced the paper had been sold to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. One of the key dates in the history of The Washington Post was when the Post began reporting on the break-in at the Democratic National Committee's offices at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo)" width="2280" height="1532" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-1973-woodward-bernstein.jpg 2280w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-1973-woodward-bernstein-380x255.jpg 380w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-1973-woodward-bernstein-760x511.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-1973-woodward-bernstein.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">1973: Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, whose reporting of the Watergate case won them a Pulitzer Prize, sit in the newsroom of <em>The Washington Post</em>. One of the key dates in the history of <em>The Washington Post</em> was when the <em>Post</em> began reporting on the break-in at the Democratic National Committee’s offices at the Watergate Hotel.</figcaption></figure><p><strong>Mr. Bradlee, there is a scene early in the book and the movie, <em>All the President’s Men</em>, in which you criticize Woodward and Bernstein for their approach to a story about E. Howard Hunt, and his interest in Chappaquiddick and Ted Kennedy. What was that about? Hunt had been studying Ted Kennedy and checked books out of the library</strong></p> <p>Ben Bradlee: A book had been taken out of the library. When we found out who had taken it out, it was Hunt, and everybody said, “What the hell is Hunt doing taking a book on Teddy Kennedy. Why is he interested in that?” But every Republican in the country was interested in Chappaquiddick, and not a few Democrats, so I said, “Find out what the hell he took it out for. Maybe we have a story and maybe we don’t.”</p> <p><strong>So all the while that this was coming out, you were being very careful that there was enough confirmation of these things?</strong></p> <p>Ben Bradlee: We were being very careful. As the stakes increased, and as the White House looked more and more threatened, and Nixon himself looked more threatened, and his office became threatened, we just were determined that we weren’t going to make any silly mistake.</p> <p><strong>Were there any mistakes?</strong></p> <p>Ben Bradlee: One.</p></body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/XKHldiYH50M?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light&start=0&end=115&version=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Woodward-and-Bradlee-2003-MasterEdit.00_26_42_28.Still014-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Woodward-and-Bradlee-2003-MasterEdit.00_26_42_28.Still014-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p class="inputtext">We made one mistake in a story in which we said that — Woodward and Bernstein said — that there was a slush fund of $300,000 set up in the Committee to Re-elect the President, and it was controlled by Haldeman, and that one of the witnesses had testified to that slush fund to the grand jury investigating Watergate. I have forgotten which one it was. But the following morning, Dan Schorr of CBS — we saw on <em>CBS Morning News</em>— shoved a microphone in front of this guy and said, “The<em> Post</em> says you did this. Did you?” and he said, “No.” And the whole town shook, as far as I’m concerned, because that was the first time we had been accused of getting anything wrong. What it turned out was that the question hinged on whether or not he had told that to the grand jury, and since he hadn’t, he was able to say “No.” He wasn’t asked was there a slush fund, which, of course, there was. It turned out that he hadn’t been asked, and that interested us a great deal, because if the prosecution wasn’t asking him those interesting questions, that suggested that there was a reason they weren’t, and the reason might be that they were trying to cover it up. Anyway, it took two days, and we got confirmation that there was, and in fact there was a slush fund of $750,000. So that gave hope to the Republicans, and of course, all of the Republican spokesmen had a field day beating us upside the face over that, but it didn’t last very long. Thank God.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body><p><strong>This was a long process.</strong></p> <p>Ben Bradlee: Four hundred stories about Watergate in <em>The Washington Post.</em> Four hundred in two years and two months.</p> <p><strong>Mr. Woodward, there were mistakes made during Watergate, you have said in the book. What were some of the mistakes?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: We accused some people of things they didn’t do that were based on some reports, written reports. We said Haldeman had controlled the secret fund, according to the Grand Jury testimony of the Nixon Committee treasurer, and he had not testified to that. The story was true, but he had never testified to it because they never asked him.</p> <p><strong>Mr. Bradlee, at what point did you get the inkling that the Oval Office was involved? Do you remember?</strong></p> <p>Ben Bradlee: Well, right away, with Hunt’s name and the White House telephone number in there.</p> <figure id="attachment_20074" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-20074 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-dean-alleges-nixon-knew-of-cover-up-plan.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-20074 size-full lazyload" alt=""Dean Alleges Nixon Knew of Cover-up Plan" by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, Washington Post staff writers, Sunday, June 3, 1973; Page A01. (© 1973 The Washington Post Co.)" width="2280" height="3275" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-dean-alleges-nixon-knew-of-cover-up-plan.jpg 2280w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-dean-alleges-nixon-knew-of-cover-up-plan-265x380.jpg 265w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-dean-alleges-nixon-knew-of-cover-up-plan-529x760.jpg 529w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-dean-alleges-nixon-knew-of-cover-up-plan.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">“Dean Alleges Nixon Knew of Cover-up Plan” by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, <em>Washington Post</em> staff writers.</figcaption></figure><p><strong>And Nixon himself?</strong></p> <p>Ben Bradlee: Nixon himself? I can’t remember, but there were so many. Haldeman? Yes. Ehrlichman? Yes. All of the guys who later went to jail. Mitchell? Yes. It was inconceivable that Nixon wasn’t. But of course, that all became academic when the tapes came out. It came out in the Ervin Committee hearings in the Senate. We were told that before we could write it, but yes, we knew it. It was so important. The whole reputation of the paper was hanging on that by the time. There was an election on in ’72, and most of the rest of the country was saying, “The <em>Post</em> is just playing politics,” and all that stuff.</p> <p><strong>Mr. Woodward, at what point did you realize that President Nixon was implicated in this?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: Quite late. We were reporting on the president’s men, and the White House people, the Attorney General, John Mitchell, people in the Nixon campaign, the Committee to Re-Elect the President, and the focus was not Nixon. It was only later, when Dean testified, and the tapes came out, that it was quite clear that not only was Nixon involved, he was in charge of the cover-up.</p> <p><strong>And that this wasn’t just a cover-up of a burglary. For example, t</strong><strong>alk about how it affected Muskie.</strong></p> <p><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Bob Woodward: That’s right.</span></p></body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/donBmjze9Y0?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light&start=0&end=106&version=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Woodward-and-Bradlee-2003-MasterEdit.00_11_27_26.Still006-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Woodward-and-Bradlee-2003-MasterEdit.00_11_27_26.Still006-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p class="inputtext">That was the key. The important discovery for Carl and myself was that Watergate wasn’t isolated. There were other burglaries. There was the whole intelligence-gathering apparatus. There were spies in all the Democratic candidates’ campaigns that had been planted and paid by the Nixon campaign. That they would sabotage campaigns. Things that seemed to be simple and innocuous but were quite devastating, false press releases, and accusing people of various activity and so forth, and a kind of sowing the seeds of discord.</p> <p class="inputtext">There was a letter forged, saying that Muskie had made some disparaging remark about Canadians, and Muskie got very upset. It was never conclusively established that this had been done by the Nixon campaign, but one of the people in the White House acknowledged to one of our reporters that he had written it. Muskie, in the emotion of the campaign, was trying to explain what had gone on. There had been some disparaging remarks made elsewhere about his wife, and he cried, in the snow, in New Hampshire, standing on the back of a flatbed truck, and it’s generally believed that was the end of his candidacy. And of course, Muskie was going to be the strong candidate against Nixon.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body> <p><strong>It seems to me that to be a topnotch investigative journalist, you have to have a lot of guts in order to question some of these things.</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: No. The guts are supplied by the owners of the newspaper and the editors. They have always backed what I do. I’m out there doing it, and if there’s pressure or debate or controversy, they’re absorbing that pressure. Certainly during Watergate, it didn’t get transmitted to Carl Bernstein or myself through them. They said, “Keep going. Get to the bottom of it.”</p> <figure id="attachment_20087" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-20087 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Ben-Bradlee.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-20087 size-full lazyload" alt="April 1973: <em>Washington Post</em> publisher Katharine Graham with reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, and editor Howard Simons discuss the Watergate story in managing editor Benjamin C. Bradlee's office at the Washington Post headquarters." width="2280" height="1472" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Ben-Bradlee.jpg 2280w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Ben-Bradlee-380x245.jpg 380w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Ben-Bradlee-760x491.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Ben-Bradlee.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">April 1973: <em>Washington Post</em> publisher Katharine Graham with reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, and editor Howard Simons discuss the Watergate story in managing editor Benjamin C. Bradlee’s office at the <em>Post</em>.</figcaption></figure><p><strong>Didn’t you have a chat with the <em>Post</em>‘s publisher, Katharine Graham, in the midst of all of this?</strong></p></body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/JyTaI_MqBRc?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Woodward-and-Bradlee-2003-MasterEdit.00_38_10_13.Still021-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Woodward-and-Bradlee-2003-MasterEdit.00_38_10_13.Still021-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/keys-to-success/integrity/">Integrity</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p class="inputtext">Bob Woodward: About six months after Watergate, after Carl and I had written many of — almost all of — our main stories, she called me up for lunch. And she had a style of “I want to know what’s going on. I want to offer some ideas. Kind of parse it out.” But she wasn’t the editor. She was the publisher. She had what I call “Mind on, hands off.” She was intellectually engaged in the news, but her hands were not directing, not saying, “Investigate this, don’t investigate that, give the emphasis here.” That was Bradlee and the editors’ job. But she was quite curious, quite well-informed, plugged in. And she said, “When will we know the full story of Watergate? When will all the truth come out?” Quite optimistically. She posed this, almost suggesting that it was inevitable. And my reaction was, I told her, “Well, Carl and I think that it will never come out, that Nixon and his White House are so good at obscuring things, of sealing off information, preventing disclosure, that we’ll never know.” She looked at me quite stricken and said, “Never? Don’t tell me never.” And I remember thinking and feeling quite motivated that she was saying the standard here is the bar is quite high. “Don’t tell me ‘never.’ Get to the bottom of it.” That your resources, the resources of the newspaper, should be directed at completing this story, getting the full tale, if you would. And it in many ways is, I think, the principle under which she and her son, Don Graham, tried to run <i>The Washington Post.</i> “Don’t tell me ‘never.’ Don’t let things elude us. It’s our job to figure them out.”</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>Mr. Bradlee, it’s important to remember that Nixon was reelected during this period.</strong></p> <p>Ben Bradlee: By an overwhelming margin, as we were reminded so often.</p> <p><strong>But you decided to “back the kids.”</strong></p> <p>Ben Bradlee: I backed the kids.</p> <p><strong>That’s a quote from the movie and the book. What made you “back the kids,” Woodward and Bernstein?</strong></p> <p>Ben Bradlee: Because the kids were right. They were not hard to support, these young reporters, because they were right. Every time the White House denied something, the evidence became clear that it was the White House that was lying. First, the spokesmen at the White House, Ziegler and some of those guys, and next the Attorney General, and Chuck Colson, all of those people, the White House aides, were lying. Robert Dole, and Dole’s successor as the chairman of the Republican Party, George Bush the first. These guys lied because they didn’t know the truth, and they couldn’t believe that they were being lied to.</p> <p><strong>Nixon didn’t last too long in that second term. Where were you when he resigned, and what were your feelings?</strong></p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/AtJXwnEOEI8?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light&start=0&end=108&version=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Woodward-and-Bradlee-2003-MasterEdit.00_25_21_14.Still011-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Woodward-and-Bradlee-2003-MasterEdit.00_25_21_14.Still011-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p class="inputtext">Ben Bradlee: I was at <em>The Washington Post</em>, and I couldn’t believe it. I mean, I believed it, because it was — I knew it was coming. I really — we knew it, we knew it, we knew it, but we couldn’t — we were being told by the people who were telling us that if we publish it, he’ll change his mind and won’t resign! So we started phrasing it “close to resignation,” and “debating resignation,” and then, finally, we learned that — I think he was going to do it at nine o’clock at night, or eight o’clock at night. He resigned. Well, I was down there. Where the hell? I mean, I lived in that place for those periods. And we were so scared that we were going to — by this time, we knew that the front page was going to be a historical document. It was going to be reproduced in the history books, and we wanted to be sure that we got it right, and be sure that some — there wasn’t a typo. In those days, you worried terribly about typos. We wanted to be sure that it wasn’t sabotaged in some way by, you know, printers slipping in the “F” word or something like that that was going to screw it up. And we had to be sure the headline was right. We had to be sure. Just — it was terribly, critically important that we do it right and that we not brag, not seem to be bragging, and that we didn’t allow any television in there for days.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body><figure id="attachment_20792" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-20792 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/nixonresigns.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-20792 size-full lazyload" alt="August 9, 1974, The Washington Post: This headline remains among the most historic in presidential history, with a bold front page banner head reading simply: "Nixon Resigns" and a one-line, six-column subhead: "Ford Assumes Presidency Today". The front page photo is captioned: "President Nixon and daughter Julie embracing Wednesday after the president's decision to resign."" width="640" height="512" data-sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" data-srcset="/web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/nixonresigns.jpg 640w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/nixonresigns-380x304.jpg 380w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/nixonresigns.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">August 9, 1974: This headline is one of the most iconic in journalism history, with a front page banner reading: “Nixon Resigns” and a one-line, six-column subhead: “Ford Assumes Presidency Today.” The front page photo is captioned: “President Nixon and daughter Julie embracing Wednesday after the president’s decision to resign.”</figcaption></figure></body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/gNC5bjzyCOg?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Woodward-and-Bradlee-2003-MasterEdit.01_01_11_24.Still002-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Woodward-and-Bradlee-2003-MasterEdit.01_01_11_24.Still002-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> <figcaption class="achiever__interview-video-terms"> <span>Keys to success —</span> <a class="comma-item" href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/keys-to-success/integrity/">Integrity</a> </figcaption> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p class="inputtext">I was worried about the <i>Post</i>‘s image of all of this, and that there would be a segment of society who said, you know, “They were out to get him, those bastards, and they got him.” And it was going to be — we were just very careful. We had such good sources. One of the sources I can now reveal — I mean, I have talked about — was Senator Goldwater, who was a great friend of my wife’s family, and I used to talk to him all the time. I’d have drinks with him early — all of late July and early August. And he would be going over to the White House to give Nixon the news that he didn’t have any — his support in the Senate was eroding. And he was the one who said that. He told me first that he was going to resign, wasn’t sure when, and for God’s sake don’t write it as hard, because he won’t. So we were terribly worried, and we didn’t — it’s a big newspaper and a lot of people in it, and you can’t control all of them even if you wanted to. So we tried to just keep people out of the building. We didn’t allow any television people in. We didn’t allow television in for six months, I don’t think. And when Redford wanted to film the movie in the <i>Post</i>, we told him he couldn’t. He wanted to film it from 3:00 in the morning until 8:00 in the morning, and we just told him it was not possible.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body><p><strong>Mr. Bradlee, what were your emotions when Nixon resigned?</strong></p> <p>Ben Bradlee: That we had really done a really good job. That the difficulties they put up to prevent the truth from coming out had been overcome. That really is what we’re all about. Let’s be sure for the record to say that it wasn’t just the <em>Post</em>. The <em>Post</em> played a critical role in the beginning, and Woodward and Bernstein came in at critical moments. They were the first to reveal the tapes, and they were always ahead of the curve, but there was a lot of great reporting done by other people, Sy Hirsch, the Los Angeles Times, they all did really good work.</p> <figure id="attachment_21063" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><noscript><img class="wp-image-21063 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-nixon-E3392-07.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-21063 size-full lazyload" alt="August 9, 1974: President Richard M. Nixon announces his resignation as the 37th President of the United States to Cabinet members, White House staff and employees, and family members. President Nixon announced that he would resign the next day to begin "that process of healing which is so desperately needed in America."" width="2280" height="1517" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-nixon-E3392-07.jpg 2280w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-nixon-E3392-07-380x253.jpg 380w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-nixon-E3392-07-760x506.jpg 760w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-nixon-E3392-07.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">August 9, 1974: President Richard M. Nixon announces his resignation as the 37th President of the United States to Cabinet members, White House staff and employees, and family members. President Nixon announced that he would resign his presidency to begin “that process of healing which is so desperately needed in America.”</figcaption></figure><p><strong>Mr. Woodward, tell us what it felt like to you personally when Nixon stepped down.</strong></p></body></html> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/88180Cbdnms?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light&start=0&end=86&version=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Woodward-and-Bradlee-2003-MasterEdit.00_09_50_16.Still004-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Woodward-and-Bradlee-2003-MasterEdit.00_09_50_16.Still004-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p class="inputtext">Bob Woodward: We had done some of the early stories, that it led to the Senate Watergate Committee, led to the House Judiciary Committee and impeachment investigation. Special Prosecutor Cox and Jaworski investigated this, put lots of people in jail. The Supreme Court ordered the president to turn over his tapes, which really sunk him — the “smoking gun” tapes — at the end. So I had just a sense that — we had done some of the first work on this — that any suggestion that we had caused it, or brought down a president, was a stretch, to say the least, and not factual. That we had done stories, but it is a process of the judiciary, the Congress, the Supreme Court, that led to Nixon’s demise. But then, of course, if you think about it, Nixon is the one who did himself in. The piston driving the Nixon administration was hate. Nixon was a full-blown hater, and if you listen to the tapes, it’s chilling and frightening.</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>Paranoid too. Right?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: Well, paranoid, and…</p> </div>     <div class="achiever__video-block"> <figure class="achiever__interview-video"> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"> <iframe class="embed-responsive-item embed-responsive--has-thumbnail" width="200" height="150" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/ylNvU4sB3gE?feature=oembed&autohide=1&hd=1&color=white&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&theme=light&start=0&end=0&version=3" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="embed-responsive__thumbnail ratio-container__image lazyload" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Woodward-and-Bradlee-2003-MasterEdit.00_30_51_17.Still020-380x214.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Woodward-and-Bradlee-2003-MasterEdit.00_30_51_17.Still020-760x428.jpg"></div> <i class="embed-responsive__play icon-icon_play-full text-brand-primary"></i> </div> </figure>  <div class="achiever__interview-video__copy"> <p class="inputtext">He wanted to use the presidency as an instrument of personal revenge, to settle scores, too often, and that’s not what the presidency is about. And what’s sad about the Nixon presidency is not just the criminality and abuse of power, but the simple truth, to the best of my knowledge at this point, on those tapes no one ever says what would be good, what would be right for the country, what would be best for the country, which of course is what a president is supposed to do. It seemed to always be about Nixon. “How does this affect me, Nixon, the president? How do I pay someone back, either good or bad, for what they have done to me?”</p> </div> </div>      <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html><body><figure id="attachment_20080" style="width: 2280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><noscript><img class="wp-image-20080 size-full " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929im_/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-aahn001088-bradlee-portrait-corbis.jpg"></noscript><img class="wp-image-20080 size-full lazyload" alt="Ben Bradlee (1921-2014), Executive Editor of The Washington Post, 1994. (Christopher Felver/CORBIS)" width="2280" height="3165" data-sizes="(max-width: 2280px) 100vw, 2280px" data-srcset="/web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-aahn001088-bradlee-portrait-corbis.jpg 2280w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-aahn001088-bradlee-portrait-corbis-274x380.jpg 274w, /web/20181221033929im_/http://www.achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-aahn001088-bradlee-portrait-corbis-547x760.jpg 547w" data-src="https://web.archive.org/web/20181221033929/http://162.243.3.155/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-aahn001088-bradlee-portrait-corbis.jpg"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Ben Bradlee (1921-2014), Executive Editor of <em>The Washington Post</em>, 1994. (Christopher Felver/CORBIS)</figcaption></figure></body></html> </div>    <aside class="collapse" id="full-interview">    <div class="achiever__interview-copy"> <p><strong>Mr. Bradlee, by the time of the Watergate affair, the <em>Post</em> had already come into conflict with the Nixon administration over the Pentagon Papers. How did that come about?</strong></p> <p>Ben Bradlee: The Pentagon Papers was a study commissioned by Nixon in the first or second year of his first term, 1970 or ’69. It was to see if they could find the origins of our involvement in Vietnam, and what went wrong. How did we get into committing 500,000 troops 10,000 miles away in a way that we could never win? There were 7,000 papers finally, and The New York Times got a copy of it. They had it for three months, and they started to publish it. We had heard that they had this big blockbuster coming up, and suddenly, they just dropped this on us. One morning in June of ’71 I think, they led the newspaper with it, with eight-column banners. My God, it looked like the end of the world! We led the paper that day with Tricia Nixon’s wedding. It was embarrassing that they had this great story and we didn’t.</p> <p><strong>How did they get the story?</strong></p> <p>Ben Bradlee: From Daniel Ellsberg. He had worked in the Pentagon, and then he had worked for the Rand Corporation. He had gone to Vietnam as a soldier, so he had fought in Vietnam, but he got convinced that it was a quagmire and that it was a great mistake and that by releasing this study, he could shine light into the darkest corners and change the course of the world. He did. It was already changing, but he certainly speeded it along.</p> <p><em>The New York Times</em> played the lead role but we played a role too. After the <em>Times</em> had been estopped by a judge, we decided to publish them. I think most people feel that the old <em>Post</em> would have just sat by. A judge told the <em>Times</em> they couldn’t publish it, so a judge would tell us the same thing. But three or four days later, we got a copy of them from Ellsberg, only we didn’t have three months to study them. We had one day.</p> <p>Our lawyers were telling us that — and this New York judge had ruled — that the statute says whoever has reason to believe that publication of certain information will threaten the national security of the United States shall be — this was a civil suit, but the criminal equivalent, which they would certainly have done had they convicted us, would have put us in jail, put us all in jail, including Katharine Graham, or the possibility of it. And once you are convicted of a felony, you can’t own television stations, so it would have cost us all the television stations. I think there were two or three then, but I think there are six now. But it would have been — I mean, there was a lot of money on the table. And she decided to do it. We worked her over very hard, but so did the lawyers. She had the lawyers on the same phones.</p> <p>Finally, the night before we published came the critical moment, and we were in my house. The reporters were all there, and the editors were there, working on the copy, and there was some guy writing for the next morning. And there came a time when we had to get her, ‘okay,’ and the lawyers started off by telling her —the lawyer was one of the greatest men, even though he didn’t approve of publishing it — but the way he told her that was just so important. He said, “I think on balance I am against it.” I mean, he didn’t tear his hair out and say, “God damn it, Katharine, you can’t do this. It risks the whole thing.” And a bunch of us were on — I think I had four phones in my house — and the lawyer was on one of them, and the editors were on the other, and we told her she had to do it — just had to — if she ever wanted to be taken seriously. I mean, I shudder to think the way we put it. But she finally said, “Well, okay. I say we publish it.” And three of the journalists all hung up immediately, because we didn’t want any — we had what we came for, and we didn’t want to let her change her mind. And we published the next day. We missed the first edition, but we published it the second edition, which came out at 11 o’clock at night, 11:30.</p> <p><strong>You probably didn’t sleep a whole lot that night.</strong></p> <p>Ben Bradlee: Well, we were tired. We actually published three papers with it before they stopped us, and then we were in the courts for 12 days. We just didn’t sleep a hell of a lot.</p> <p><strong>What made you decide that this had to be done?</strong></p> <p>Ben Bradlee: It is an interesting thing. You don’t think of journalists automatically as patriots, one. You don’t think of them as real authorities in the question of what is classified and what isn’t, and what is a threat to the United States and what isn’t. But in fact at that time, we were. We were more expert than a lot of the government witnesses who testified against us. Like an assistant secretary of defense who had been a year or two before head of a big Republican contributor and head of an automobile company and, you know, sold cars in Omaha or somewhere. And most of us had served in World War II. Most of us had quite fancy security clearances in that capacity. So we did, and there was no threat to the national security, and information, truth, is not a threat to security, and we believed that.</p> <p>Eighteen years after the Supreme Court ruled that they couldn’t shut us down, the prosecuting attorney, who was the Solicitor General of the United States, wrote the<em> Post</em> a letter saying that in the whole Pentagon Papers, there was no threat to national security.</p> <p><strong>Who was that? What was his name?</strong></p> <p>Ben Bradlee: His name was Griswold, and he had been the dean of the Harvard Law School. I mean, he was no rank amateur himself. They were after us and <em>The New York Times.</em> You have to remember that the Attorney General, who prosecuted us was the first and only Attorney General in the history of the United States to go to jail.</p> <p><strong>And that was?</strong></p> <p>Ben Bradlee: John Mitchell, Attorney General Mitchell.</p> <p><strong>Who played quite a role in the Watergate affair.</strong></p> <p>Ben Bradlee: He sure did. Much to his chagrin. He went to jail for that. He and 39 others, I might add. Think of that! 39 or 40 people in this White House staff went to jail.</p> <p><strong>Mr. Woodward, in your book <em>Shadow</em>, you talk about how Nixon’s presidency affected the presidents who’ve come since. How would you summarize that? </strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: This is a book I did in 1999 that took the five presidents after Nixon — Ford, Carter, Reagan, the first Bush, and Clinton — and analyzed the Special Prosecutor law, and showed how that, and the new climate of Congressional activism and media activism, meant the presidency was going to be forever altered. It was going to be scrutinized and examined. Each of these presidents had their own way of responding. Most of them didn’t realize that the world had changed. They wanted to have a whole presidency where they could do what they wanted and no one would examine them or scrutinize them, and they got in trouble, a lot of them, because of this.</p> <p><strong>Do you see President Clinton’s impeachment related to Watergate?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: Certainly. If you didn’t have the Independent Counsel, which was a direct outgrowth of Watergate, you never would have had Ken Starr, you never would have had a criminal investigation of Clinton.</p> <p><strong>It has been said that as dark a chapter as Watergate was in the American presidency, in a sense, it showed the branches of government working.</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: Yes. That’s the standard cliché about Watergate: the system worked. And it did. It took a long time, and if you examine the sequence, you could identify hundreds of points where the road to full disclosure would have been — the thread would have been cut. So it’s not inevitable that the system works. In fact, it probably doesn’t work that often.</p> <p><strong>Mr. Bradlee, do you think there could be another Watergate today? It seems that there are very few long, extensive investigations into corruption where an editor lets reporters work on a story for a couple of years.</strong></p> <p>Ben Bradlee: How about the <em>Boston Globe</em> and the Catholic Church? There’s an example of incredibly good reporting over a long, protracted time period, laced with denials by the highest people in Boston society — the Cardinals and the priests. I know a lot about that story because my son was the editor at the <em>Boston Globe</em> who ran that investigation, and I think that’s a perfect example of how newspapers can persist in the face of denials and correct wrongs. That’s why we all joined this business.</p> <p><strong>Mr. Woodward, there is an interesting scene in the book and in the film <em>All the President’s Men</em> where you tap out a story and Carl Bernstein immediately starts rewriting it, and you’re miffed. Tell us a little bit about what actually happened.</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: We would frequently do competing drafts of stories and put it together. I recall in that incident, I did one, he did one, and I looked at his, and I realized his was better, as was almost always the case. He was a much better writer.</p> <p><strong>That’s an astonishing thing for a journalist to say. One doesn’t think of humility as a common quality of journalists for some reason.</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: That’s not humility, that’s realism.</p> <p><strong>How do you think your different perspectives and personalities complemented one another as you continued the Watergate investigation?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: Well, we looked at it differently. There was competition. Who’s going to get what lead and put it together? Sometimes I was thought to be the more cautious one, but Carl (Bernstein) could be cautious, and I could be aggressive or overly aggressive. It taught me the benefits of collaboration, and that collaboration is a wonderful thing. I now do my books alone, but I have a full-time assistant who is kind of my collaborator. A man named Mark Molsey on the last book and the next book; I’ve done 11 books.</p> <p><strong>Are you and Bernstein still friends?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: Yes, we are. We talk all the time. We’re much better friends than we were at the time.</p> <p><strong>Was he the more experienced journalist at the time?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: Oh, yes. He’d started at age two, I think. Maybe it was 16, but he had fully a decade-plus of experience under his belt.</p> <p><strong>What about you? We understand you got started in the newspaper business right out of the Navy. What did you do in the Navy? Were you in intelligence?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: I was not in intelligence; I was in communications, and they are different in the Navy. Some people think I was in intelligence. I’m sure it would have been more interesting. I didn’t like the Navy, I didn’t like Vietnam, I didn’t like the war, and was disappointed in myself that I didn’t figure out how to adjust to being a part of this that I didn’t like, and so I didn’t quite have the guts to run away or stand on principle. It was a difficult time to be associated with something you’re pretty sure is not right. You can’t prove it’s not right, but you think it’s not right. And my last year, I served in the Navy here in Washington and lived over on P Street and decided I would get a subscription to a paper called <em>The Washington Post</em> that had a young, very feisty editor named Ben Bradlee, and started reading the <em>Post</em>, and during that year, 1969-1970, you could just feel the energy in the newspaper. You could feel that they took not an adversarial position toward government, but a position of skepticism, a position of there is accountability reporting. Why did this happen? How did it happen? What’s secret? What’s not known? What does it mean? In a sense, there were the two worlds: of the Navy, where all the opposite principles seemed to prevail; and then there was <em>The Washington Post</em> there at my doorstep every morning, kind of saying, “Wait a minute. What’s the government up to? What is this secret government we have?</p> <p><strong>When you began to work as a journalist, what was the reaction of your family? Did they support you, or did they think it was a little strange?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: I was going to go to law school after five years in the Navy, so I was age 27, and I got a job at a weekly paper in Montgomery County, Maryland for $110 a week. And I called my father, who was a judge at that point, or about to become a judge, and said, “I’m not going to law school,” but have this job at a newspaper he had never heard of. And my father, a man of great restraint, nonjudgmental in fact, said probably the severest thing he has ever said to me. He said, “You’re crazy.” And at the same time, it was my decision. So he didn’t think it was a good idea. He always saw me as a lawyer. To a certain extent, I always saw myself as a lawyer. And I was going on an unknown path, and that concerned him, but when I got into it and then went to work for the <em>Post</em>, he was quite supportive.</p> <p><strong>What attracted you to the newspaper business?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: If somebody came from Mars to America and went around for months or years, and then you asked them who has the best jobs, they would say the journalists, because the journalists get to make momentary entries into people’s lives when they are interesting, and get out when they cease to be interesting. And most jobs, if you are a lawyer or a doctor, you have to deal with clients, patients who have boring problems or diseases that are routine, and of course, the definition of “news” is “non-routine.” What’s going on in the town — in culture, in the nation, in the world — is news, and you get to work on that.</p> <p><strong>You get to have access to people you wouldn’t normally have access to.</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: And problems. What I try to do is piece together how people make decisions.</p> <p><strong>How did you get interested in those things? Where were you born?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: I was born in a hospital in Geneva, Illinois but lived in Wheaton, which is the home of Billy Graham, the evangelist, so it was very fundamentalist Christian. There were no bars in town. People who went to Wheaton College had to sign a pledge: no drinking, smoking, dancing, movies, playing of cards. So it was the classic kind of Winesburg, Ohio small town. My father was a lawyer there, and I worked as a janitor in his law office when I was in high school, and started reading the files and discovered that the projection that people in the town made about their own lives was in fact not who they were, that lots of them had secrets, and many of them were in my father’s law office files.</p> <p><strong>As defendants?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: As defendants, as tax cases, divorce cases, the full catastrophe of litigation. And in it, you just saw that it was not as pure and simple a community as the members liked people to think. People had troubles, and people had secrets.</p> <p><strong>Were you the only child? Were there siblings?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: In the family I was raised in: a brother, a sister, two stepsisters, a half-sister.</p> <p><strong>And you grew up with all of them?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: Yes, and then later, my parents were divorced, and my father remarried a woman who had three kids also. It was one of those families that was “glued together.”</p> <p><strong>How old were you during the divorce?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: About 11, 12, 13.</p> <p><strong>Was it tough?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: Of course. Divorce is painful because it is unknown to a child. You don’t have a context for it, so it destroys the very notion of context, because the only context you know as a child is family.</p> <p><strong>Yes. Were there other writers in your father or mother’s family?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: No, not that I can think of. There were some teachers and lawyers and business people, but no writers.</p> <p><strong>What did your mom do?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: She was a housewife.</p> <p><strong>When you were a child, who most inspired you? Were there particular teachers or relatives?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: Oh, yes, I had teachers at Wheaton. A community high school history teacher named Elizabeth Duncan who taught American history and was a great teacher. Very forceful, very insistent that we write essays to answer questions, and not short answers. Somebody who through force of personality made history interesting and important.</p> <p><strong>Were there other people that inspired you? Writers or journalists who inspired you?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: Not really. It looked like I was going to become a lawyer, and my father to a certain extent was my model. He was a very well-regarded lawyer in town. I remember going around and giving my name to lots of people, and they would say, “Oh, you’re Al Woodward’s son. He’s a good lawyer, a fair man.”</p> <p><strong>Where were you in the pecking order of siblings? </strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: The oldest.</p> <p><strong>Do you think being the oldest had an influence on your life? </strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: Who knows whether it’s that? To a certain extent, I was able to go my own way. I would have summer jobs, while my parents and other siblings would go on vacation, for instance.</p> <p><strong>So you had a certain amount of independence?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: An immense amount of independence.</p> <p><strong>What books impressed you as a kid? Are there particular books that you remember?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: Sure. I didn’t start reading seriously until probably junior high school. I had a friend who read books like <em>Crime and Punishment</em> by Dostoyevsky. I had fallen in love with some books at a younger age like <em>Swiss Family Robinson</em>, adventure stories, but I tried to read <em>Crime and Punishment,</em> and read some other books, and then in high school I took a course reading books, and that really kind of focused me on the value of a book.</p> <p><strong>At that period, what did you like to read? Who were your favorite authors?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: We read pretty much the range of classics, and nothing really jumped out or are books that I had distinct memories of. The distinct memories I have of books are from college. William Faulkner’s books, certainly. Probably one of my favorite books is <em>All the King’s Men</em>, Robert Penn Warren’s book about political corruption in Louisiana and about a reporter who watches this and gets to participate and see, but doesn’t have all of the full consequences of the action fall on him.</p> <p><strong>Sounds familiar.</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: It’s the nature of the business. You get to see other people’s lives, and you chart the rise and fall of others, and you’re not that involved. You are an observer and you have to work pretty hard to preserve your outsider status, but that is what you get to do as a reporter.</p> <p><strong>You mentioned Faulkner. Are there particular novels of his that you remember liking?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: Sure. <em>Light in August</em>;<em> Absalom, Absalom</em>; “The Bear,” that little novella. It was mysterious always, his writing, but of great emotional impact.</p> <p><strong>There’s so much richness in his language, it’s almost the opposite of journalistic writing.</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: Well, of course, what Faulkner is trying to do is get to the interior, and in the end, as a journalist, you are trying to get to the interior. You are trying to understand somebody’s reasoning and their emotions and the demons they may or may not have. You are trying to find out what really happened. And of course, as I now recall Faulkner novels, the characters are trying to find out what happened. It’s not clear, it’s obscure. Events are in no way simple or cinematic. Events are filtered through minds and memories and prejudices, and you feel intimate with his characters.</p> <p><strong>I’m thinking of the book <em>As I Lay Dying</em>, which is from all different characters’ points of view, like interviewing people for a story.</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: Or <em>The Sound and the Fury</em>, which is his great book. That goes back to the idea of family secrets.</p> <p><strong>What are you most proud of, looking back on your career so far?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: I don’t know whether I feel pride. I think pride is hubris. I think it is an emotion that if you bask in it, it’s like hate; it will destroy you. So I don’t make those kinds of assessments. I like what I do. I am repeatedly struck by how I have missed part of the story, always. One of the managing editors at the <em>Post</em>, Howard Simons, during Watergate — this was not on a Watergate story, but I was struggling with a story early in my time at the <em>Post</em> — and he came by, and he said, “You don’t have to understand a man in an afternoon.” In other words, you don’t have to do it in a day, and you won’t achieve understanding of it in an — slow down, take your time, dig, go back. And no one goes back or slows down or digs enough, particularly me.</p> <p><strong>You’ve said journalism should be called a practice, like law. What did you mean by that?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: Yes. I think journalism is a practice, like law, that you keep learning. You are trying to get it right and you never do, and that there must be a sense whenever you get to something and then realize two weeks earlier, two days or two minutes earlier, you didn’t know that, and it’s critical that no matter what you do, you are never going to have the full story. So you are dealing a glancing blow to what’s out there. You want to deal a careful glancing blow. You want to spend time on it. You want to make sense out of it. You want it to be fair. But in the end, it’s only a glancing blow.</p> <p><strong>Mr. Woodward, there’s a last question we’d like to ask. What does the American Dream mean to you?</strong></p> <p>Bob Woodward: Interesting question. Obviously, there’s not one American dream. There are hundreds of millions of American dreams. What in my business I’ve found is that we basically do have a free press, that we can operate independently. But the real input comes from people who believe in a free press, believe in the First Amendment, believe in open discourse as much as possible, hate secrets, hate secret government, hate secret concentrations of power. So in an odd way, those in my business have a million allies out there. People who are basically truth-tellers, want to help somebody, know that the truth is cleansing, that the truth is a good thing, that the society needs to function on that. And that in a little way, and often in a significant way, that’s realized. That we do explain enough about what’s going on. I think in the atmosphere we are in now, somebody who would get up and propose some of the things that were done in Vietnam, like conducting the war when we didn’t believe in it, or burglarizing, or wiretapping, or doing the abusive things of Watergate, I think it’s so ingrained that there are enough people who would stand up and say, “We can’t do that. We shouldn’t do that.” That doesn’t mean there won’t be more scandals and maybe even larger scandals, but in a sense, the vision or the dream of the people who wrote the Constitution has, at least in part, been realized.</p> <p><strong>We want to thank you for talking with us today.</strong></p> <p>Thank you.</p> </div>  </aside>  <div class="read-more__toggle collapsed" data-toggle="collapse" data-target="#full-interview"><a href="#" class="sans-4 btn">Read full interview</a></div> </article> </section> </div> <div class="tab-pane fade" id="gallery" role="tabpanel"> <section class="isotope-wrapper">  <header class="toolbar toolbar--gallery bg-white clearfix"> <div class="col-md-6"> <div class="serif-4">Benjamin C. Bradlee Gallery</div> </div> <div class="col-md-6 text-md-right isotope-toolbar"> <ul class="list-unstyled list-inline m-b-0 text-brand-primary sans-4"> <li class="list-inline-item" data-filter=".photo"><i class="icon-icon_camera"></i>30 photos</li> </ul> </div> </header> <div class="isotope-gallery isotope-box single-achiever__gallery clearfix"> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.64605263157895" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Ben-Bradlee.jpg" data-image-caption="Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham with reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, and editor Howard Simons discuss the Watergate story in Post managing editor Benjamin C. Bradlee's office at The Washington Post, April 1973." data-image-copyright="Ben-Bradlee" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Ben-Bradlee-380x245.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Ben-Bradlee-760x491.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.69473684210526" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Bradlee-AP-710621076.jpg" data-image-caption="June 21, 1971: Katharine Graham, left, publisher of The Washington Post, and Ben Bradlee, executive editor of The Washington Post, leave U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. The newspaper got the go-ahead to print Pentagon papers on Vietnam. Later however, the U.S. Court of Appeals extended for one more day a ban against publishing the secret documents. (AP Photo)" data-image-copyright="Bradlee AP 710621076" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Bradlee-AP-710621076-380x264.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Bradlee-AP-710621076-760x528.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.82236842105263" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/U1102481.jpg" data-image-caption="March 8, 1956, in Paris, France: At the request of the American Embassy, the American journalist Benjamin Bradlee is not expelled from France as it was announced by the French Interior Ministry. The journalist had tried a month before to get an interview with rebel leaders in Algeria. (Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS)" data-image-copyright="Benjamin Bradlee Working at His Typewriter" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/U1102481-380x313.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/U1102481-760x625.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.2666666666667" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/GettyImages-50420524_master.jpg" data-image-caption="1985: Washington Post Editor Ben Bradlee and CEO Katharine M. Graham. (Roy Karten/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images)" data-image-copyright="Katharine Graham;Benjamin C. Bradlee;Mrs. Philip L. Graham" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/GettyImages-50420524_master-300x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/GettyImages-50420524_master-600x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.3669064748201" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-5-held-in-plot-to-bug.jpg" data-image-caption=""5 Held in Plot to Bug Democrats' Office Here" by Alfred E. Lewis, Washington Post staff writer, Sunday, June 18, 1972, Page A01. Contributing to this story were Washington Post staff writers Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, Bart Barnes, Kirk Scharfenberg, Martin Weil, Claudia Lery, Abbott Combes, and Tim O'Brien. (© 1972 The Washington Post Co.)" data-image-copyright="wp-5 held in plot to bug" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-5-held-in-plot-to-bug-278x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-5-held-in-plot-to-bug-556x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.67236842105263" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-1973-woodward-bernstein.jpg" data-image-caption="In this May 7, 1973 file photo, reporters Bob Woodward, right, and Carl Bernstein, whose reporting of the Watergate case won them a Pulitzer Prize, sit in the newsroom of The Washington Post. On August 5, 2013, The Washington Post announced the paper had been sold to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. One of the key dates in the history of The Washington Post was when the Post began reporting on the break-in at the Democratic National Committee's offices at Washington's Watergate Hotel. (AP Photo)" data-image-copyright="Washington Post Key Dates" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-1973-woodward-bernstein-380x255.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-1973-woodward-bernstein-760x511.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.65131578947368" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-324510-001-woodward-bernstein-walk-corbis.jpg" data-image-caption="Investigative journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, April 1, 1976. (Betty Mimms/CORBIS SYGMA)" data-image-copyright="wp-324510-001-woodward-bernstein-walk-corbis" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-324510-001-woodward-bernstein-walk-corbis-380x247.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-324510-001-woodward-bernstein-walk-corbis-760x495.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.3893967093236" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-aahn001088-bradlee-portrait-corbis.jpg" data-image-caption="Ben Bradlee (1921-2014), Executive Editor of The Washington Post, 1994. (Christopher Felver/CORBIS)" data-image-copyright="wp-aahn001088-bradlee-portrait-corbis" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-aahn001088-bradlee-portrait-corbis-274x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-aahn001088-bradlee-portrait-corbis-547x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.68552631578947" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-be021797-W-and-B-at-Post-deskcorbis-.jpg" data-image-caption="Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in The Washington Post offices at the height of the Watergate investigation, April 29, 1973. (Bettmann/CORBIS)" data-image-copyright="wp-be021797-W-and-B-at-Post-deskcorbis-" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-be021797-W-and-B-at-Post-deskcorbis--380x261.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-be021797-W-and-B-at-Post-deskcorbis--760x521.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.0174029451138" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/ST-C198-2-63.jpg" data-image-caption="1963: The President and Mrs. Kennedy with Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin C. Bradlee in the White House family living room. Bradlee and Kennedy became friends when the two moved in on the same block of N Street in Georgetown and remained friends through Kennedy’s presidency. (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum)" data-image-copyright="ST-C198-2-63" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/ST-C198-2-63-374x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/ST-C198-2-63-747x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66578947368421" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-bradlee-GettyImages-457580162.jpg" data-image-caption="Ben Bradlee" data-image-copyright="wp-bradlee-GettyImages-457580162" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-bradlee-GettyImages-457580162-380x253.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-bradlee-GettyImages-457580162-760x506.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.75" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-bradlee-with-graham-old-Corbis-u1708133.jpg" data-image-caption="Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham (1917-2001) and her executive editor, Ben Bradlee (1921-2014), in 1971. (© Bettmann/CORBIS )" data-image-copyright="wp-bradlee-with-graham-old-Corbis-u1708133" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-bradlee-with-graham-old-Corbis-u1708133-380x285.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-bradlee-with-graham-old-Corbis-u1708133-760x570.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.4366729678639" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-dean-alleges-nixon-knew-of-cover-up-plan.jpg" data-image-caption=""Dean Alleges Nixon Knew of Cover-up Plan" by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, Washington Post staff writers, Sunday, June 3, 1973; Page A01. (© 1973 The Washington Post Co.)" data-image-copyright="wp-dean alleges nixon knew of cover up plan" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-dean-alleges-nixon-knew-of-cover-up-plan-265x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-dean-alleges-nixon-knew-of-cover-up-plan-529x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.3126079447323" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-dwf15-42980-bradlee-color-portrait-corbis.jpg" data-image-caption="Ben Bradlee departs Washington National Cathedral following the funeral service for Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham, July 23, 2001. (© Ron Sachs/Corbis)" data-image-copyright="wp-dwf15-42980-bradlee-color-portrait-corbis" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-dwf15-42980-bradlee-color-portrait-corbis-290x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-dwf15-42980-bradlee-color-portrait-corbis-579x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.3333333333333" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-president-taped-talks.jpg" data-image-caption=""President Taped Talks, Phone Calls; Lawyer Ties Ehrlichman to Payments; Principal Offices Secretly Bugged Since Spring 1971" by Lawrence Meyer, Washington Post staff writer, Tuesday, July 17, 1973; Page A01. (© 1973, The Washington Post Co.)" data-image-copyright="wp-president taped talks" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-president-taped-talks-285x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-president-taped-talks-570x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.82236842105263" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-U1102481.jpg" data-image-caption="March 8, 1956: At the request of the American Embassy, the American journalist Benjamin Bradlee is not expelled from France as it was announced by the French Interior Ministry. The journalist had tried a month before to get an interview with rebel leaders in Algeria. (Bettmann/CORBIS)" data-image-copyright="wp-U1102481" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-U1102481-380x313.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-U1102481-760x625.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.67631578947368" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-wl008966-woodward-in-dc-current-corbis.jpg" data-image-caption="Bob Woodward in Washington, D.C., June 1992. (Wally McNamee/CORBIS)" data-image-copyright="Bob Woodward in Washington, June 1992. (Wally McNamee/CORBIS)" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-wl008966-woodward-in-dc-current-corbis-380x257.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-wl008966-woodward-in-dc-current-corbis-760x514.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.65921052631579" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-wl009143-woodward-watch-nixon-on-tv-corbis.jpg" data-image-caption="Bob Woodward at The Washington Post, watching former President Nixon on TV, April 11, 1977. (Wally McNamee/CORBIS)" data-image-copyright="wp-wl009143-woodward-watch-nixon-on-tv-corbis" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-wl009143-woodward-watch-nixon-on-tv-corbis-380x251.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-wl009143-woodward-watch-nixon-on-tv-corbis-760x501.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.4" title="Katharine Graham (1917-2001), publisher of The Washington Post, and Ben Bradlee (1921-2014), the paper's executive editor, leave U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., in 1971, after receiving the go-ahead to print the Pentagon Papers. (AP Images)" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - Katharine Graham (1917-2001), publisher of The Washington Post, and Ben Bradlee (1921-2014), the paper's executive editor, leave U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., in 1971, after receiving the go-ahead to print the Pentagon Papers. (AP Images)">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/bradlee-Feature-Image.jpg" data-image-caption="Katharine Graham (1917-2001), publisher of The Washington Post, and Ben Bradlee (1921-2014), the paper's executive editor, leave U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., in 1971, after receiving the go-ahead to print the Pentagon Papers. (AP Images)" data-image-copyright="bradlee-Feature-Image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/bradlee-Feature-Image-380x152.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/03/bradlee-Feature-Image-760x304.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.4" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/2003-journalists.jpg" data-image-caption="<i>ABC News</i> correspondent Sam Donaldson, investigative reporter Bob Woodward, <i>CBS News</i> correspondent Mike Wallace and longtime <i>Washington Post</i> editor Ben Bradlee in a panel discussion on the influence of the news media. (© Academy of Achievement)" data-image-copyright="2003-journalists" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/2003-journalists-380x152.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2015/12/2003-journalists-760x304.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.8" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/nixonresigns.jpg" data-image-caption="August 9, 1974: This headline is one of the most iconic in journalism history, with a front page banner reading: "Nixon Resigns" and a one-line, six-column subhead: "Ford Assumes Presidency Today." The front page photo is captioned: "President Nixon and daughter Julie embracing Wednesday after the president's decision to resign."" data-image-copyright="nixonresigns" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/nixonresigns-380x304.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/nixonresigns.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.80131578947368" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-GettyImages-451308379.jpg" data-image-caption="November 20, 2013: President Barack Obama shakes hands after awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Ben Bradlee in the East Room of the White House. (Photo by Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images)" data-image-copyright="President Barack Obama awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Ben Bradlee, among others, in Washington, DC." data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-GettyImages-451308379-380x304.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-GettyImages-451308379-760x609.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.8" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-GettyImages-95668722.jpg" data-image-caption="May 9, 2002: Ben Bradlee. (Photo by Bill O'Leary/Washington Post/Getty Images)" data-image-copyright="Ben Bradlee, studio portrait to update files." data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-GettyImages-95668722-380x304.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-GettyImages-95668722-760x608.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66578947368421" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-nixon-E3392-07.jpg" data-image-caption="August 9, 1974: President Nixon announces his resignation as the 37th President of the United States to Cabinet members, White House staff and employees, and family members." data-image-copyright="wp-nixon-e3392-07" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-nixon-E3392-07-380x253.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-nixon-E3392-07-760x506.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.5079365079365" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-book-Ben-Bradlee-1-002.jpg" data-image-caption="Ben Bradlee's 1995 memoir, “A Good Life: Newspapering and Other Adventures.”" data-image-copyright="wp-book-ben-bradlee-1-002" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-book-Ben-Bradlee-1-002-252x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-book-Ben-Bradlee-1-002-504x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1.8138424821002" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-highschool-Ben-Bradlee-2-002.jpg" data-image-caption="Ben Bradlee as a senior at St. Mark's School, where he played varsity baseball." data-image-copyright="Ben Bradlee as a senior at St. Mark's School, where he played varsity baseball." data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-highschool-Ben-Bradlee-2-002-210x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-highschool-Ben-Bradlee-2-002-419x760.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66710526315789" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-IMG_5220.jpg" data-image-caption="Ben Bradlee and <i>ABC News</i> correspondent Sam Donaldson at the 2003 Achievement Summit in Washington, D.C. (© Academy of Achievement)" data-image-copyright="wp-img_5220" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-IMG_5220-380x253.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-IMG_5220-760x507.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66710526315789" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-IMG_5242.jpg" data-image-caption="Ben Bradlee and <i>CBS News</i> correspondent Mike Wallace at the 2003 Achievement Summit in Washington, D.C. (© Academy of Achievement)" data-image-copyright="wp-img_5242" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-IMG_5242-380x253.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-IMG_5242-760x507.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="0.66184210526316" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-Cameron-James-and-other-Academy-members-Lucas-and-Woodward-participating-in-a-Summit-panel-discussion.jpg" data-image-caption="George Lucas moderating a Summit panel discussion with Bob Woodward, James Cameron, Rita Dove and Ben Bradlee." data-image-copyright="wp-cameron-james-and-other-academy-members-lucas-and-woodward-participating-in-a-summit-panel-discussion" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-Cameron-James-and-other-Academy-members-Lucas-and-Woodward-participating-in-a-Summit-panel-discussion-380x252.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wp-Cameron-James-and-other-Academy-members-Lucas-and-Woodward-participating-in-a-Summit-panel-discussion-760x503.jpg"></div>  </figure> <figure class="isotope-item ratio-container--gallery photo" data-category="photo" data-ratio="1" title="" data-gtm-category="photo" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Achiever - ">   <div class="lazyload ratio-container__image" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#imageModal" data-image-src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Bradlee-Benjamin-recieving-Golden-Plate-award-from-Paul-Nitze.jpg" data-image-caption="Awards Council member and statesman Paul H. Nitze presents the Golden Plate Award to Ben Bradlee during the 1988 Achievement Summit in Nashville, Tennessee." data-image-copyright="Bradlee Benjamin recieving Golden Plate award from Paul Nitze" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Bradlee-Benjamin-recieving-Golden-Plate-award-from-Paul-Nitze-380x380.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Bradlee-Benjamin-recieving-Golden-Plate-award-from-Paul-Nitze.jpg"></div>  </figure>    </div> </section> </div> </div> <div class="container"> <footer class="editorial-article__footer col-md-8 col-md-offset-4"> <div class="editorial-article__next-link sans-3"> <a href="#"><strong>What's next:</strong> <span class="editorial-article__next-link-title">profile</span></a> </div> <ul class="social list-unstyled list-inline ssk-group m-b-0"> <li class="list-inline-item"><a href="" class="ssk ssk-facebook" data-gtm-category="social" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Shared Achiever on Facebook"><i class="icon-icon_facebook-circle"></i></a></li> <li class="list-inline-item"><a href="" class="ssk ssk-twitter" data-gtm-category="social" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Shared Achiever on Twitter"><i class="icon-icon_twitter-circle"></i></a></li>  <li class="list-inline-item"><a href="" class="ssk ssk-email" data-gtm-category="social" data-gtm-action="click" data-gtm-label="Shared Achiever via Email"><i class="icon-icon_email-circle"></i></a></li> </ul> <time class="editorial-article__last-updated sans-6">This page last revised on November 20, 2017</time> <div class="sans-4"><a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/how-to-cite" target="_blank">How to cite this page</a></div> </footer> </div> <div class="container interview-related-achievers"> <hr class="m-t-3 m-b-3"/> <footer class="clearfix small-blocks text-xs-center"> <h3 class="m-b-3 serif-3">If you are inspired by this achiever’s story, you might also enjoy:</h3> <div class="centered-blocks"> <div class="isotope-achiever the-arts public-service ambitious curious resourceful write teach-others " data-year-inducted="1996" data-achiever-name="Goodwin"> <div class="achiever-block view-grid"> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/doris-kearns-goodwin/"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <div class="lazyload box achiever-block__image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/goodwin_760_ac-190x190.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/03/goodwin_760_ac-380x380.jpg"></div> <div class="achiever-block__overlay"></div> <figcaption class="text-xs-center achiever-block__text"> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <div class="achiever-block__text--center"> <div class="achiever-block__name text-brand-primary">Doris Kearns Goodwin, Ph.D.</div> <div class="achiever-block__known-as text-white sans-6">Pulitzer Prize for History</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="text-white achiever-block__text--bottom"> <div class="achiever-block__year sans-4">Inducted in <span class="year-inducted">1996</span></div> </div> </figcaption> </figure> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="centered-blocks"> <div class="isotope-achiever public-service small-town-rural-upbringing curious explore-the-world write help-mankind " data-year-inducted="2008" data-achiever-name="Kristof"> <div class="achiever-block view-grid"> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/nicholas-d-kristof/"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <div class="lazyload box achiever-block__image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/kristof-Achiever-Profile-Square-760-190x190.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/05/kristof-Achiever-Profile-Square-760-380x380.jpg"></div> <div class="achiever-block__overlay"></div> <figcaption class="text-xs-center achiever-block__text"> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <div class="achiever-block__text--center"> <div class="achiever-block__name text-brand-primary">Nicholas D. Kristof</div> <div class="achiever-block__known-as text-white sans-6">Journalist, Author and Columnist</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="text-white achiever-block__text--bottom"> <div class="achiever-block__year sans-4">Inducted in <span class="year-inducted">2008</span></div> </div> </figcaption> </figure> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="centered-blocks"> <div class="isotope-achiever the-arts public-service ambitious curious resourceful write " data-year-inducted="1985" data-achiever-name="McCullough"> <div class="achiever-block view-grid"> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/david-mccullough/"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <div class="lazyload box achiever-block__image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/mccullough_760_ac-190x190.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/04/mccullough_760_ac-380x380.jpg"></div> <div class="achiever-block__overlay"></div> <figcaption class="text-xs-center achiever-block__text"> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <div class="achiever-block__text--center"> <div class="achiever-block__name text-brand-primary">David McCullough</div> <div class="achiever-block__known-as text-white sans-6">Two Pulitzer Prizes for Biography</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="text-white achiever-block__text--bottom"> <div class="achiever-block__year sans-4">Inducted in <span class="year-inducted">1985</span></div> </div> </figcaption> </figure> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="centered-blocks"> <div class="isotope-achiever public-service experienced-war-firsthand racism-discrimination ambitious join-the-military pursue-public-office spiritual-religious " data-year-inducted="1988" data-achiever-name="Powell"> <div class="achiever-block view-grid"> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/general-colin-l-powell/"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <div class="lazyload box achiever-block__image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/powell_760_SQUARE-190x190.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/04/powell_760_SQUARE-380x380.jpg"></div> <div class="achiever-block__overlay"></div> <figcaption class="text-xs-center achiever-block__text"> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <div class="achiever-block__text--center"> <div class="achiever-block__name text-brand-primary">General Colin L. Powell, USA</div> <div class="achiever-block__known-as text-white sans-6">Congressional Gold Medal</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="text-white achiever-block__text--bottom"> <div class="achiever-block__year sans-4">Inducted in <span class="year-inducted">1988</span></div> </div> </figcaption> </figure> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="centered-blocks"> <div class="isotope-achiever public-service illness-or-disability experienced-war-firsthand small-town-rural-upbringing ambitious curious write explore-the-world " data-year-inducted="1990" data-achiever-name="Sheehan"> <div class="achiever-block view-grid"> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/neil-sheehan/"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <div class="lazyload box achiever-block__image" data-sizes="auto" data-bgset="/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/sheehan4-008a-190x190.jpg [(max-width:576px)] | /wp-content/uploads/2016/06/sheehan4-008a-380x380.jpg"></div> <div class="achiever-block__overlay"></div> <figcaption class="text-xs-center achiever-block__text"> <div class="display--table"> <div class="display--table-cell"> <div class="achiever-block__text--center"> <div class="achiever-block__name text-brand-primary">Neil Sheehan</div> <div class="achiever-block__known-as text-white sans-6">Pulitzer Prize-winning Journalist</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="text-white achiever-block__text--bottom"> <div class="achiever-block__year sans-4">Inducted in <span class="year-inducted">1990</span></div> </div> </figcaption> </figure> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="centered-blocks"> <div class="isotope-achiever public-service ambitious curious write " data-year-inducted="1995" data-achiever-name="Woodward"> <div class="achiever-block view-grid"> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/bob-woodward/"> <figure class="ratio-container ratio-container--square bg-black"> <div class="lazyload box achiever-block__image" 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Ellison</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/nora-ephron/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Nora Ephron</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/julius-erving/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Julius Erving</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/tony-fadell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Tony Fadell</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/paul-farmer/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Paul Farmer, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/suzanne-farrell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Suzanne Farrell</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/anthony-s-fauci-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/sally-field/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sally Field</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/lord-norman-foster/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lord Norman Foster</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/aretha-franklin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Aretha Franklin</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/milton-friedman-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Milton Friedman, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/carlos-fuentes/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carlos Fuentes</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/athol-fugard/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Athol Fugard</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/ernest-j-gaines/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ernest J. Gaines</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/william-h-gates-iii/"><span class="achiever-list-name">William H. Gates III</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/leymah-gbowee/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Leymah Gbowee</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/frank-gehry/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frank O. Gehry</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/murray-gell-mann-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Murray Gell-Mann, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/carlos-ghosn/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carlos Ghosn</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/vince-gill/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Vince Gill</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/ruth-bader-ginsburg/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ruth Bader Ginsburg</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/louise-gluck/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Louise Glück</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/whoopi-goldberg/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Whoopi Goldberg</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/jane-goodall/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dame Jane Goodall</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/doris-kearns-goodwin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Doris Kearns Goodwin, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/mikhail-s-gorbachev/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Mikhail S. Gorbachev</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/nadine-gordimer/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Nadine Gordimer</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/stephen-jay-gould/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Stephen Jay Gould, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/carol-greider-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carol Greider, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/john-grisham/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Grisham</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/sir-john-gurdon/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir John Gurdon</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/dorothy-hamill/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dorothy Hamill</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/demis-hassabis-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Demis Hassabis, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/lauryn-hill/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lauryn Hill</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/sir-edmund-hillary/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Edmund Hillary</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/reid-hoffman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Reid Hoffman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/khaled-hosseini/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Khaled Hosseini, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/ron-howard/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ron Howard</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/john-hume/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Hume</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/louis-ignarro-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Louis Ignarro, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/daniel-inouye/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Daniel K. Inouye</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/jeremy-irons/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jeremy Irons</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/john-irving/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John Irving</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/kazuo-ishiguro/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Kazuo Ishiguro</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/sir-peter-jackson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sir Peter Jackson</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/donald-c-johanson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Donald C. Johanson, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/frank-m-johnson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frank M. Johnson, Jr.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/philip-johnson/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Philip C. Johnson</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/chuck-jones/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Chuck Jones</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/james-earl-jones/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James Earl Jones</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/quincy-jones/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Quincy Jones</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/beverly-joubert/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Beverly Joubert</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/dereck-joubert/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dereck Joubert</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/paul-kagame/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Paul Kagame</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/thomas-keller-2/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Thomas Keller</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/anthony-m-kennedy/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Anthony M. Kennedy</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/b-b-king/"><span class="achiever-list-name">B.B. King</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/carole-king/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carole King</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/coretta-scott-king/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Coretta Scott King</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/henry-kissinger-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Henry A. Kissinger, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/willem-j-kolff/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Willem J. Kolff, M.D., Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/wendy-kopp/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Wendy Kopp</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/henry-r-kravis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Henry R. Kravis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/nicholas-d-kristof/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Nicholas D. Kristof</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/mike-krzyzewski/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Mike Krzyzewski</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/ray-kurzwell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ray Kurzweil</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/eric-lander-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Eric S. Lander, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/robert-s-langer-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Robert S. Langer, Sc.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/richard-leakey/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Richard E. Leakey</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/leon-lederman-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Leon Lederman, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/robert-lefkowitz-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Robert J. Lefkowitz, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/congressman-john-r-lewis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Congressman John R. Lewis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/maya-lin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Maya Lin</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/george-lucas/"><span class="achiever-list-name">George Lucas</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/norman-mailer/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Norman Mailer</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/peyton-manning/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Peyton Manning</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/wynton-marsalis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Wynton Marsalis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/john-c-mather-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">John C. Mather, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/johnny-mathis/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Johnny Mathis</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/ernst-mayr-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ernst Mayr, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/willie-mays/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Willie Mays</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/frank-mccourt/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frank McCourt</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/david-mccullough/"><span class="achiever-list-name">David McCullough</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/audra-mcdonald/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Audra McDonald</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/admiral-william-h-mcraven/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Admiral William H. McRaven, USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/w-s-merwin/"><span class="achiever-list-name">W. S. Merwin</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/james-a-michener/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James A. Michener</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/marvin-minsky-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Marvin Minsky, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/mario-j-molina-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Mario J. Molina, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/n-scott-momaday-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">N. Scott Momaday, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/story-musgrave/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Story Musgrave, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/ralph-nader/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ralph Nader</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/peggy-noonan/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Peggy Noonan</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/jessye-norman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jessye Norman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/tommy-norris/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lt. Thomas R. Norris, USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/joyce-carol-oates/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Joyce Carol Oates</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/pierre-omidyar/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Pierre Omidyar</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/jimmy-page/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jimmy Page</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/larry-page/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Larry Page</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/arnold-palmer/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Arnold Palmer</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/leon-panetta/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Leon Panetta</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/rosa-parks/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Rosa Parks</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/suzan-lori-parks/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Suzan-Lori Parks</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/linus-pauling/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Linus C. Pauling, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/shimon-peres/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Shimon Peres</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/itzhak-perlman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Itzhak Perlman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/general-david-petraeus/"><span class="achiever-list-name">General David H. Petraeus, USA</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/sidney-poitier/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sidney Poitier</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/general-colin-l-powell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">General Colin L. Powell, USA</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/harold-prince/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Harold Prince</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/venki-ramakrishnan-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Venki Ramakrishnan, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/lord-martin-rees/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lord Martin Rees</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/lloyd-richards/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lloyd Richards</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/sally-ride-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sally K. Ride, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/sonny-rollins/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sonny Rollins</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/anthony-romero/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Anthony Romero</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/james-rosenquist/"><span class="achiever-list-name">James Rosenquist</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/pete-rozelle/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Pete Rozelle</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/bill-russell/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Bill Russell</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/albie-sachs/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Albie Sachs</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/oliver-sacks-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Oliver Sacks, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/jonas-salk-m-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Jonas Salk, M.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/frederick-sanger-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frederick Sanger, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/george-b-schaller-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">George B. Schaller, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/barry-scheck/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Barry Scheck</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/richard-evans-schultes-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Richard Evans Schultes, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/general-h-norman-schwarzkopf/"><span class="achiever-list-name">General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, USA</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/stephen-schwarzman/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Stephen A. Schwarzman</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/glenn-t-seaborg-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Glenn T. Seaborg, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/neil-sheehan/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Neil Sheehan</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/admiral-alan-shepard-jr/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Admiral Alan B. Shepard, Jr., USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/ellen-johnson-sirleaf/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Ellen Johnson Sirleaf</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/carlos-slim/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Carlos Slim Helú</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/frederick-w-smith/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Frederick W. Smith</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/stephen-sondheim/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Stephen Sondheim</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/sonia-sotomayor/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Sonia Sotomayor</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/wole-soyinka/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Wole Soyinka</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/esperanza-spalding/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Esperanza Spalding</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/martha-stewart/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Martha Stewart</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/admiral-james-b-stockdale/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Admiral James B. Stockdale, USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/hilary-swank/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Hilary Swank</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/amy-tan/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Amy Tan</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/dame-kiri-te-kanawa/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Dame Kiri Te Kanawa</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/edward-teller-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Edward Teller, Ph.D.</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/twyla-tharp/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Twyla Tharp</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/wayne-thiebaud/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Wayne Thiebaud</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/lt-michael-e-thornton-usn/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Lt. Michael E. Thornton, USN</span></a> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20181221033929/http://www.achievement.org/achiever/charles-h-townes-ph-d/"><span class="achiever-list-name">Charles H. 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