Even with social media’s growing influence on politics, Bob Woodward, associate editor of The Washington Post and arguably the greatest journalist of this generation, is fighting for journalistic integrity amidst a murky climate of doubt and denial through his lectures.

Woodward is famously known for his work with Carl Bernstein in 1972 on the Watergate Scandal during Richard Nixon’s presidency. Although he was fresh on the journalism scene at the time, he proved to have exemplary investigative skills. As of 2018, Woodward has co-authored 19 books and has been a recipient of several major American journalism awards.

For this year’s Daniel Pearl Memorial Lecture, Woodward was introduced by Los Angeles’s very own Mayor Eric Garcetti. Having spoken on April 4, Woodward has become the newest of speakers to enter this annually held event in University of California Los Angeles’ (UCLA) Korn Convocation Hall. Other introductions in regards to Daniel Pearl himself were given by Dr. Judea Pearl and Mayor Garcetti.

“We both seek to see the world that which connected him (Daniel Pearl) with journalism, connected me with public service,” Mayor Garcetti said. “A few years after his passing, when you came to visit me when I was serving as the city council president. We (Dr. Judea Pearl and Mayor Garcetti) talked about a new effort to rename a part of Birmingham High School in your son’s alma mater as Daniel Pearl Magnet High School with a focus on journalism and communications to continue those beautiful and urgent stories that Daniel once did.”

During his speech, Woodward spoke about the style of journalism that Daniel Pearl employed and how it is withering away. He claimed that we need more people with Pearl’s style of journalism because people are writing off journalism as another form of politics.

“We cannot get in a defensive posture, we have to drain the emotions out of what’s going on and take the Danny Pearl lesson,” Woodward said. “Go back to the reporting and bring people closer and closer.”

Woodward went on to discuss the possible democratic nominee of the 2020 presidential election with moderator Kal Raustiala, director of the UCLA Ronald W. Burkle Center for International Relations, he mentioned that the Democrats can often be their own worst enemies because they haven’t figured out how to mobilize yet.

“Somebody wins the presidency when they convince a majority of the voters that they will use the power of the presidency to fix things for them,” Woodward said.