Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist/Author & Political Analyst
Carl Bernstein
Speaking Fee: $20,000 to $30,000
Travels From:
Carl Bernstein At A Glance:
In the early 1970s, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward broke the Watergate story for The Washington Post, leading to the resignation of President Richard Nixon and setting the standard for modern investigative reporting, for which they and The Post were awarded the Pulitzer Prize.
Few journalists in America’s history have had the impact on their era and their craft as Carl Bernstein.
For forty years, from All the President’s Men to A Woman-In- Charge: The Life of Hillary Clinton,
Bernstein’s books, reporting, and commentary have revealed the inner-workings of government,
politics, and the hidden stories of Washington and its leaders.
In the early 1970s, Bernstein and Bob Woodward broke the Watergate story for The Washington Post,
leading to the resignation of President Richard Nixon and setting the standard for modern investigative
reporting, for which they and The Post were awarded the Pulitzer Prize.
Since then, Bernstein has continued to build on the theme he and Woodward first explored in the Nixon
years – the use and abuse of power: political, media, financial, cultural and spiritual power. Renowned
as a prose stylist, he has also written a classic biography of Pope John Paul II, served as the founding
editor of the first major political website, and been a rock critic.
The author of five best-selling books, Bernstein is currently also at work on several multi-media projects,
including a memoir about growing up at a Washington newspaper, The Evening Star, during the Kennedy
era; and a dramatic political TV series with David Simon of ‘The Wire’ for HBO. He is also an on-air
contributor for CNN and a contributing editor of Vanity Fair magazine.
His most recent book was the national bestseller A Woman In Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham
Clinton, acclaimed as the definitive biography of its subject, published by Knopf.
With Woodward, Bernstein wrote All the President’s Men (also a movie starring Robert Redford and
Dustin Hoffman), about their coverage of the Watergate story; and The Final Days, about the
denouement of the Nixon presidency.
His next book, a masterful memoir of his family’s experience in the McCarthy era, is titled Loyalties: A
Son’s Memoir. He is also the co-author of the definitive papal biography, His Holiness: John Paul II and
the History of Our Time, which detailed the Pope’s pivotal and often clandestine role in the fall of
communism.
In 1977-78, Bernstein spent a year investigating the CIA’s secret relationship with the American press
during the Cold War. The resulting 25,000-word article for Rolling Stone, entitled “The CIA and the
Media,” was the first to examine a subject long suppressed by both American newspapers and the
intelligence community.
Since his famous essay, “The Triumph of Idiot Culture,” a 1992 cover story for The New Republic about
increasing sensationalism, gossip and manufactured controversy as staples of the American press, he
has proved a prescient critic of his own profession.
A lesser-known part of Bernstein’s journalistic career is his tenure as a rock-critic at The Washington
Post while a metro reporter before Watergate; he continues to write (very) occasionally about rock and
classical music.
Bernstein was born and raised in Washington, DC and began his journalism career at age 16 as a
copyboy for The Washington Evening Star, becoming a reporter at 19.
He lives in New York with his wife and is the father of two sons, one a journalist and the other a rock
musician.
If you’d like to bring in Carl Bernstein to perform at your event, please fill out the “Request More Information” form on the right.
-
The Use and Abuse of Power: The American Presidency from Nixon to Trump
-
The Broken Branch and Future of America: Can the United States Congress be Repaired?
-
Rock and Roll, Pope John Paul II, Ronald Regan, and the Fall of Communism
-
The Triumphant End to an American Century: Three Remarkable Presidents - Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, and the Problem of Their Successors
-
The Problem of Washington: It's Not Just the Politicians. We the People Sent Them There; We the Press are Complicit.
-
The Lessons of Watergate: A Behind the Scenes Look at the Reporting and Political Drama that Led to the Resignation of President Richard Nixon and Continues to Affect the Course of American History
-
The Spiritual and Political Legacy of Pope John Paul II
-
"The best obtainable version of the truth"
Bernstein's definition of real reporting and the only basis for an informed debate about the American condition, whether the debate is in congress or family dinner tables across the country. While critical of the performance of the press, Bernstein notes a decreasing willingness by ordinary citizens to be open to the best obtainable version of the truth, while searching out news and information to reinforce their already held political, cultural, and religious beliefs. -
An Evening with Carl Bernstein: The System Can Work.
From his time as a copyboy at age 16 in the Kennedy era, through Donald Trump's presidency, Bernstein reflects on the power of journalism and the concept of the common good as keystones of American democracy.
Related Speakers
Bob Woodward
Legendary Pulitzer Prize-Winning Investigative Journalist; Associate Editor, The Washington Post; and Author, 21 Bestsellers
Bob Woodward gained international attention when he and Carl Bernstein uncovered the Watergate scandal in 1973. Since then, he’s worked to shine a light on the inner-workings of secret government. Woodward’s factual, non-partisan revelations to readers and speech audiences provide a view of Washington they’ll never get elsewhere. Woodward has written about the last nine U.S. presidents and chronicled how the power of the presidency has evolved. He is author of 20 bestselling books – 14 went to #1 – more than any contemporary nonfiction writer.
Michael Steele
MSNBC Political Analyst & Former Chair of the Republican National Committee
Michael Steele examines the crux of business, politics and race. Steele draws from his unique combination of experience to deliver a relevant and insightful perspective on the day’s most important issues affecting individuals and businesses across the country.
