Harry Rosenfeld still remembers the date: Oct. 25, 1972. In the middle of reporting on the Watergate scandal, one colossal, front-page error led to a breaking point for The Washington Post.

Rosenfeld was metro editor at the time, when two journalists reported that Hugh Sloan, former treasurer of the Committee to Re-elect the President, testified before a grand jury that Bob Haldeman, President Richard Nixon’s chief of staff, had access to a secret slush fund for Nixon’s campaign. But Sloan had not testified before the grand jury.

“Our total credibility was on the line,” Rosenfeld said, “and if we couldn’t prove it, all our reporting, I think, would have been devalued.”

It was the error that opened the newspaper up to staunch criticism by the Nixon administration. It was the largest misstep in investigative journalism work of the Watergate scandal in the history of the U.S. press, done by young city reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, who handled the story that changed the world.

Rosenfeld, a 1952 Syracuse University alumnus, was their direct editor and was one of the editors who oversaw all of their reporting.

Sunday marks 40 years since five burglars were caught breaking into the Democratic National Convention headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. Woodward and Bernstein’s work exposed the burglars as working for Nixon, eventually leading to his resignation from office. Rosenfeld sat at ground zero of the investigation.

“We can talk endlessly about Watergate because it is such a seminal event,” Rosenfeld said. “It is a signal about the need for a vigilant people and vigilant citizenry, which is spurred by a vigilant press, by whatever form.”

Now 82, Rosenfeld has spent his life in the newspaper industry. After leaving The Washington Post, he was the executive editor of the Times Union in Albany from 1978-96. He is now an editor at large for the same newspaper.

Rosenfeld is also writing a memoir titled “From Kristallnacht to Watergate.” SUNY Press will publish the book, which he has worked on for a couple of years.

Rosenfeld is not taking part in any special events in honor of the 40th anniversary Sunday, but he is still entrenched and interested in the future of the press’s role as a watchdog of those in power.

The First Amendment, he said, exists to tell the truth to power, not to provide “the bowling scores and the movie listings,” as important as those might be.

“It exists to provide the information about the operation of the people of power, who if they are not held in check, would run wild,” he said.

Woodward and Bernstein worked tirelessly once they realized the magnitude of their story because it was also a ticket for them to work up from the city beat.

As their editor, Rosenfeld’s duty was to make sure their work stayed pristine.

He encountered some difficult decisions, including the handling of “Deep Throat,” an important source to the two reporters. Woodward told Rosenfeld he made a solemn pledge not to reveal Deep Throat’s identity to anyone, and Rosenfeld did not press his reporter on the topic.

In 2005, Deep Throat was revealed to be Mark Felt, former FBI associate director. Rosenfeld suspected Deep Throat was Felt, but did not know for certain until the revelation.

Rosenfeld said Watergate influenced a couple of generations of people to enter the newspaper business –– people who otherwise would not have considered it as a career.

Now, Rosenfeld works on his memoir every day. SU has expressed an interest in collecting Rosenfeld’s archives, he said.

He will not make a final decision on whether his archives will go to SU until he finishes his memoir.

“I looked them over, and they expressed interest,” Rosenfeld said. “I’m very gratified because it was on my mind what would happen –– would I have to shred them?”

Published on June 16, 2012 at 12:00 am

Contact Mark: mcooperj@syr.edu | @mark_cooperjr