Carl Bernstein Biography
Carl Milton Bernstein is an American journalist and author who was born on February 14, 1944. In 1972, Bernstein was a young reporter for The Washington Post, when he and Bob Woodward handled a large portion of the initial news coverage of the Watergate scandal.
President Richard Nixon’s resignation was ultimately brought about by these scandals, which also led to numerous federal probes. Gene Roberts, a veteran journalist, called Woodward and Bernstein’s reporting “possibly the single greatest reporting effort of all time.”
Early Years
On February 14, 1944, Carl Bernstein was born in Washington, D.C. He started off as a copy boy for the Washington Star when he was 16 years old, but he soon enrolled in the University of Maryland. However, Bernstein’s academic career was brief because his desire to become a reporter overcame him, and he dropped out to pursue a full-time career in journalism with the Star. Bernstein found himself in a difficult situation since, while not wanting to go back to school, he needed a bachelor’s degree to pursue his intended career as a journalist.
After keeping in touch with the city editor at the Star, Bernstein followed him to the Daily Journal in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, a few years later. He quickly built a name for himself there, receiving recognition from the New Jersey Press Association for articles he had written on the 1965 blackout and the issues with youthful drinking.
Washington Post and Watergate
When Bernstein joined the Washington Post in 1966 as a member of the metro staff, no one could have predicted the impact he would have in just a few short years.
A number of guys were detained in the summer of 1972 when they broke into the Watergate building, an apartment complex in Washington, D.C. there actuality, they were taking away wiretap equipment they had previously put there to allow listening in on the head of the Democratic National Committee. Reporters rapidly looked into the connection between the White House and the burglars after E. Howard Hunt’s phone number, a member of President Richard Nixon’s Special Investigations Group, was found in one of the burglars’ address books.
To put the puzzle pieces together, Bernstein and his colleague Bob Woodward turned to a Woodward White House associate who went under the alias Deep Throat. Woodward and Bernstein discovered from Deep Throat that Nixon’s advisors had bribed the burglars in an effort to obtain damaging information on Nixon’s political adversaries. The Democratic Party campaign headquarters had wiretaps planted as well, and Nixon’s advisors had arranged for the burglars to receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in hush money.
When Nixon himself was implicated in the plot a year later, the house of cards finally fell. On August 9, 1974, Nixon resigned from office for the first time as a result of overwhelming evidence and pressure. The Washington Post received the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for journalism and was widely credited for bringing down the presidency together with Bernstein and Woodward.
All the President’s Men (1974) and The Final Days (1976), two novels by Bernstein and Woodward, were written in the wake of the Watergate incident. Robert Redford played Woodward, while Dustin Hoffman played Bernstein in the 1976 Hollywood blockbuster All the President’s Men, which won four Academy Awards.
Later Career
At the conclusion of 1976, Bernstein worked as an investigative reporter for ABC after quitting the Washington Post. He contributed to publications like Time, New Republic, the New York Times, and Rolling Stone while writing on global intrigue. Additionally, he published more books, including the Hillary Rodham Clinton biography A Woman in Charge (2007) and His Holiness: John Paul II and the Hidden History of Our Time (1996).
QUICK FACTS
- Name: Carl Bernstein
- Birth Year: 1944
- Birth date: February 14, 1944
- Birth State: D.C.
- Birth City: Washington
- Birth Country: United States
- Gender: Male
- Best Known For: Carl Bernstein is an investigative reporter who, along with Bob Woodward, is known for breaking the 1970s Watergate scandal, which led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
- Industries
- Writing and Publishing
- Astrological Sign: Aquarius
- Schools
- University of Maryland
Who is Carl Bernstein?
Bernstein, the son of Sylvia (Walker) and Alfred Bernstein, was born into a secular Jewish family in Washington, D.C. His parents were both Communist Party USA members and civil rights workers in the 1940s. When he was in high school, he attended Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, where he managed the circulation and exchange of the Silver Chips student newspaper. At the age of 16, he started working as a copyboy for The Washington Star and “quickly through the ranks.” Conversely, The Star unofficially required a college degree in order for a writer to contribute to the Daily.
He worked as a reporter for The Diamondback, an independent newspaper published at the University of Maryland, College Park. Contrarily, Bernstein was dismissed from the university after the fall 1964 semester due to subpar academic progress.
How old is Carl Bernstein?
Carl Milton Bernstein will turn 78 in 2022. Records show that Carl Bernstein was born on February 14, 1944, in Washington, DC.
What’s Carl Bernstein’s height and weight?
He is 5.8 feet (1.73 meters) tall and 158 pounds.
What nationality is Carl Bernstein?
American citizenship is held by Carl Bernstein.
What’s Carl Bernstein’s profession?
To work as a full-time journalist for the Elizabeth Daily Journal in New Jersey, Bernstein left the Star in 1965. While there, he won first prize in the New Jersey Press Association for breaking news on a deadline, feature writing, and investigative reporting.
In order to work for The Washington Post, Bernstein left New Jersey in 1966. There, he covered all facets of local news and rose to the position of one of the paper’s top writers.
Bernstein and Bob Woodward were tasked with covering a break-in at the Watergate office complex that had taken place earlier that morning on a Saturday in June 1972. At the complex where the DNC’s headquarters were located, five burglars were caught; four of them turned out to be former CIA agents who worked security for the Republicans.
In a string of stories that followed, Bernstein and Woodward eventually connected the criminals to a sizable slush fund and a dishonest attorney general. First to suspect Nixon was involved, Bernstein found a laundered check that linked Nixon to the crime.
Additional inquiries into Nixon were launched as a result of the revelations made by Bernstein and Woodward, and on August 9, 1974, during hearings before the House Judiciary Committee, Nixon resigned to avoid being impeached.
Who is Carl Bernstein’s wife?
According to his dating history, Carl has been married three times. Before being hitched to author Nora Ephron, Carl Bernstein was previously married to Washington Post reporter Carol Honsa.
Christine Kuehbeck is Carl’s wife right now.
Does Carl Bernstein have any children?
Two children from the famed journalist’s second marriage exist.