Watergate. A nightmare for Nixon. A decisive victory for the field of journalism. Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward blew the lid off the scandal and quickly became legends in their own time.

Have we seen any piece of journalism as effective or hard-hitting since then?

No. Sure, Dan Rather attempted to prove that President Bush dodged National Guard service – but it got him fired and disgraced the CBS network. “Journalism” today means something quite different than it once did. If one flips on C-SPAN and catches the daily White House Press Conference, it’s clear that the Press Corps cares more about throwing Tony Snow softballs than asking the hard questions. It makes one long for the glory days of Edward R. Murrow — who showed us that we occasionally have to find our inner strength, look corrupt politicians in the eye, and proclaim once and for all — “Have you no decency, Sir?”

The situation is dire. “News” is what we are told in Press Conferences, what comes down the AP wire, and the mush that spews forth from Public Relations ilk. But today, I’m proud to say that after a lot of digging, I’ve found a fine example of journalism.

The UFO subject has largely been ignored by the mainstream press, the academic world, and a good portion of Americans. Any serious inquiry into this phenomena is either half-assed or summarily dismissed. This week’s video shines as a welcome beacon of journalistic and documentary integrity — and should serve as a sterling example to those who would copy or detract from it.

And perhaps, after watching the clip, you may recall a certain quote from another Deep Throat — The one who wasn’t at the Watergate Hotel that fateful night.

“Mr. Mulder, They’ve been here for a long, long time.”

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