That 's the title of this piece at Newsweek. The author certainly has some credentials to bring Watergate into the conversation - it is Carl Bernstein. And the piece is worth a read.
A couple of things stand out. For example,
Between the Post, Fox News, and the Journal, it’s hard to think of any other individual who has had a greater impact on American political and media culture in the past half century.
But now the empire is shaking, and there’s no telling when it will stop. My conversations with British journalists and politicians—all of them insistent on speaking anonymously to protect themselves from retribution by the still-enormously powerful mogul—make evident that the shuttering of News of the World, and the official inquiries announced by the British government, are the beginning, not the end, of the seismic event.
Bernstein goes through the facts of the case, and then writes
For this reporter, it is impossible not to consider these facts through the prism of Watergate. When Bob Woodward and I came up against difficult ethical questions, such as whether to approach grand jurors for information (which we did, and perhaps shouldn’t have), we sought executive editor Ben Bradlee’s counsel, and he in turn called in the company lawyers, who gave the go-ahead and outlined the legal issues in full. Publisher Katharine Graham was informed. Likewise, Bradlee was aware when I obtained private telephone and credit-card records of one of the Watergate figures.
All institutions have lapses, even great ones, especially by individual rogue employees—famously in recent years at The Washington Post, The New York Times, and the three original TV networks. But can anyone who knows and understands the journalistic process imagine the kind of tactics regularly employed by the Murdoch press, especially at News of the World, being condoned at the Post or the Times?
There is also something very important to keep in mind:
Bernstein has talked with a number of people who have been close to Murdoch and/or at upper levels of his organization. It is inconceivable that he was oblivious to what was going on. To put it bluntly, the organization operated in an environment whose tone and tenor was established by its head, Rupert Murdoch.
While Bernstein does not explicitly discuss it, another parallel with Watergate is that what brought Nixon down was his involvement with the coverup. Part of what is hurting Murdoch's organization now is the clear evidence that when the story of phone hacking first broke several years ago that there was a clear effort to cover up, to limit damage to those already known.
Now it has gone well beyond that. With the arrest of Andrew Coulson, the political nature of the scandal is greatly magnified, given his role with David Cameron, who has now had to condemn the long-time targeting by Murdoch forces of former PM Gordon Brown.
Bernstein worries that the British response to this may be to so ratchet up controls on the media in a way that may undermine the free press. In the meantime, tabloid journalism, both in the UK and here in the US, has undoubtedly been changed by these events.
Richard Nixon lost his presidency because of Watergate. He would have been impeached had he not resigned.
Murdoch is already cutting his losses - News of the World is now no more. He may be shedding other interests in the UK in an attempt to protect his other assets. His days as one who could effectively command political leaders of both parties to appear at his digs in Kensington also seems a thing of the past.
There are legal implications for his operations in the US, although it is not clear thatour current administration would pursue them. In theory he could be forced to give up his FCC issued licenses. Fox News could continue, but only as a cable-only operator, without owning any tv stations such as that here in Washington DC.
Bernstein's piece offers some interesting texture to the picture of the phone-hacking - and more - scandal still unfolding.
Oh, and for what it's worth? Carl and I are not related, although both had mothers named Sylvia who worked in the Office of Price Administration at the same time as Richard Nixon.
Go figure.
Peace.