The Washington Post

Shortly after the Watergate break-in, two young reporters named Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were assigned to cover the trial of those involved.  What initially seemed to be a routine assignment for two inexperienced reporters turned into one of the biggest stories of this century, as Woodward and Bernstein gradually uncovered more and more facts.  While other major newspapers at the time overlooked the "third rate burglary attempt," the two reporters broke the story wide open, setting a new precedent for investigative journalism in this country.  Woodward and Bernstein relied heavily on a deep background source, dubbed "Deep Throat" by one of the Post's editors, after a popular porn film at the time.  Deep Throat gave the reporters leads and confirmed or denied stories from other sources.  Even today, the identity of Deep Throat has not been revealed and the only people who know his identity are Woodward, Bernstein, Washington Post Editor Ben Bradlee, and Deep Throat himself.  The two reporters did give some clues to Deep Throat's identity: he is a male, he is still living, he smoked cigarettes, and enjoyed drinking Scotch.  The most cited Deep Throat suspects include Nixon Administration members Henry Kissinger and Alexander Haig; CIA officials Cord Meyer and William E. Colby; and FBI officials L. Patrick Gray, W. Mark Felt, Charles W. Bates, and Robert Kunkel.  There is speculation that Deep Throat's true identity will be revealed upon his death.