Excerpted from “Mary McGrory” by John Norris
Watergate was changing journalism in ways too numerous to count. Not only had the Washington Post gotten the scoop of the century; it had established itself as the second most important paper in America, behind only the New York Times. The Star lagged badly behind. Watergate also produced a new zeal for investigative journalism, pushing reporters and politicians into ever more wary and antagonistic relationships.
In the fall of 1973, a television crew filming a documentary on the media and Watergate caught up with Mary McGrory as she sat in the hearing room. The young interviewer asked why the reporters covering the hearings were not out scouring for new evidence and allegations.
The above excerpt was originally published in Salon.
Click here to view the full article.