How the Watergate scandal forever changed the coverage of American politics

Fifty years ago, the sentencing of Gordon Liddy and James McCord Jr., both helping hands of President Richard Nixon, sparked the media frenzy known as the “Watergate Scandal.”

CIA FBI Agent Liddy and McCord were convicted of conspiracy, burglary and eavesdropping on the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate hotel in Washington.

They were part of the group of seven men who broke into Democratic election offices to get firsthand information about Nixon’s rival George McGovern.

Former White House legal counsel John Dean said the media has never been the same since Watergate.

He was charged with helping to cover up the scandal and then became a star witness in the investigations that followed.

“In the bigger picture, what happened dramatically and forever changed media coverage of a US president,” he said.

“Pre-Watergate presidents were given the benefit of the doubt. Post-Watergate presidents were not given the benefit of the doubt as before.

“They really had to prove their innocence virtually.”

For more information, watch Euronews’ report in the video above.