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Ben Bradlee
	1921-2014
Former editor of The  Washington Post Ben Bradlee, who oversaw reporting on the Watergate scandal that brought down US president Richard Nixon, has died. He was 93.
Bradlee, who died of natural causes at his Washington home, leaves a lasting legacy at the Post and in the wider media, and has been hailed for having "the courage of an army".

President Barack Obama, who awarded Bradlee the Presidential Medal of Freedom last year, led the tributes, saying that for the newspaper man, "journalism was more than a profession - it was a public good vital to our democracy".
During Bradlee's leadership of the Post from 1968 to 1991, he inspired reporters who "told stories that needed to be told - stories that helped us understand our world and one another a little bit better", the president added.
His wife, former Post reporter Sally Quinn, revealed last month Bradlee had been diagnosed with dementia.

Donald Graham, a former publisher of the paper and member of the family that owned the Post during Watergate, said: "Ben Bradlee was the best American newspaper editor of his time and had the greatest impact on his newspaper of any modern editor."
It was Graham's mother, Katharine Graham, who was publisher of the Post when Bradlee charged young reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein with investigating the Watergate burglary.

The reporting uncovered a vast scheme of surveillance and dirty tricks, and the resulting coverage led to the impeachment and resignation of Nixon in 1974, and the prosecution of dozens of administration officials.
"Ben was a true friend and genius leader in journalism," Bernstein and Woodward said in a joint statement on the Post website as news of Bradlee's death emerged.
"His one unbending principle was the quest for the truth and the necessity of that pursuit. He had the courage of an army."
Bradlee's reign as editor saw the Post win the Pulitzer Prize for its Watergate stories.

The Watergate coverage transformed the notion of political investigative journalism, and became the topic of a best-selling book and later a film, All the President's Men.
Bradlee, who retired from his editorial job in 1991, acknowledged the unusual turn of events that led to his notoriety.
"It would be ungrateful of me not to pause here and acknowledge the role of Richard Milhous Nixon in furthering my career," he wrote.
"It is wonderfully ironical that a man who so disliked - and never understood - the press did so much to further the reputation of the press, and particularly The  Washington Post.
"In his darkest hour, Richard Nixon gave the press its finest hour."


Washington Post's legendary Watergate editor Ben Bradlee dies

President Barack Obama awards Ben Bradlee with the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a ceremony at the White House in 2013. Photo: AP

Ben Bradlee, pictured at his home in Washington in 2012, was executive editor of The Washington Post from 1968 to 1991. Photo: The Washington Post

Ben Bradlee (left) with Bob Woodward in 2011. Photo: Reuters

Ben Bradlee attends an event commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Watergate scandal that led to the impeachment of then-president Richard Nixon. Photo: AP

Ben Bradlee (left) with Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham. Photo: AP

Former US president Bill Clinton (left) arriving with Ben Bradlee for the Presidential Medal of Freedom presentation ceremony at the White House in 2013. Photo: AFP

Ben Bradlee (left) with Bob Woodward, a former Washington Post reporter in 2011. Photo: Reuters

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Ben Bradlee's Washington Post won Pulitzer for its Watergate coverage


Former editor of The Washington Post Ben Bradlee, who oversaw reporting on the Watergate scandal that brought down US president Richard Nixon, has died. He was 93.


Washington Post's legendary Watergate editor Ben Bradlee dies

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Ben Bradlee's Washington Post won Pulitzer for its Watergate coverage

Ben Bradlee's Washington Post won Pulitzer for its Watergate coverage