Simons '51 was a key player during Watergate scandal
The man who coined the nickname of the 20th century – Deep Throat – for the story of the century – Watergate – was a Union College graduate whose influences on journalism remain legendary.
The late Howard A. Simons '51 played a pivotal role in the rise of The Washington Post to national prominence as a result of his involvement in the unprecedented political scandal. Managing editor of the Post from 1971 to 1984, Simons received the first phone call in the newsroom with word of the Watergate break-in. Under his leadership, reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein broke many of the stories that led to President Nixon's downfall.
Woodward and Bernstein have credited Simons with naming their key source after the title of top pornographic movie of the time. That source, 91-year-old former FBI official W. Mark Felt, recently revealed his identity, adding further intrigue to the decades-old story and sparking journalistic debates about the integrity of confidential sources.
Simons, who received a B.A. in English from Union, started at The Post as a science reporter. As an editor, he was responsible for running the newsroom's daily operations. Known for his wit, flair and restless intellect, he was once described by Woodward as “the day-to-day agitator, the one who ran around … inspiring, shouting, directing, insisting that we not abandon our inquiry, whatever the level of denials or denunciations.”
In the movie about the scandal, “All The President's Men,” Simons' part was played by Martin Balsam.
The recipient of a number of recognition awards, Simons was picked by Time magazine in 1974 as one of the 200 men and women “likely to provide the U.S. with a new generation of leaders.”
His leadership skills were never more apparent than when working with young people. Passionate about inspiring and encouraging talented young journalists, he started a second career, in 1984, as curator of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University.
Particularly interested in helping Native Americans and other minorities, he also helped establish a fellowship program for Third World journalists at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where he earned his M.S. in 1952.
A Depression baby who grew up in Albany, N.Y., Simons worked his way through high school, college and grad school. During his first year at Union, he washed dishes, sold ice cream, cleaned floors in a beauty salon and worked in the College library.
While employed nearly 40 hours a week in addition to taking a full course load, he still found the time and energy to be president of his senior class, editor of the Idol, Union's annual literary and arts magazine, and a member of Montebanks, the student drama organization. He was also a member of the Union College Publications Board and the college reporter for the Schenectady Gazette and Union-Star.
In the summer of 1949, with the help of a Union College grant, he went to Ejido el Porvenir, Mexico to help rebuild a schoolhouse with the Unitarian Service Committee.
Twice after graduating he returned to campus to speak to students. In 1973, he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters and spoke at Commencement on “The Founding Fathers, the Free Press and the Republic: Don't Shred on Me.” As the Minerva Speaker in 1985, he addressed the topic, “The Freer the Press, The Freer the Society.
He was not the only Simons family member to earn a Union degree. Others include his brother, Sanford Martin Simons '46; Sanford's two children, Scott Simons '72 and Jamie Sue Simons '74; and a cousin, the late Marvin Miller '38.
Following Simons' death from pancreatic cancer in 1989 at the age of 60, Post Executive Editor Benjamin C. Bradlee said, “For 15 years, Howard Simons played an absolutely vital role in all the historic events in which the Post was involved. His eclectic, original mind was brought to bear with great originality and humor.”