Bob Woodward on 'Deep Throat' Story to the End

By: Joe Strupp Even in the end, Bob Woodward was involved in reporting related to W. Mark Felt, his most famous Watergate source known to many as "Deep Throat."

Woodward, who along with former Washington Post colleague Carl Bernstein broke the Watergate story in the early 1970's, helped confirm Felt's death early this morning and actually shared a byline on his obituary. But his name was removed from online versions at his request, according to the obituary department.

"In the printed edition, it has Woodward's name added to the byline and it was on the Web," said Patricia Sullivan, a Post obituary writer who wrote the Felt obituary back in 2005 when he revealed his identity. "He called in to the editors this morning and said his name shouldn't be on it, so it was removed. He is extremely generous and always has been to his colleagues."

Woodward was not immediately available this morning.

Sullivan, a seven-year Post staffer, said Woodward was offered the chance to write Felt's obit in 2005 after his identity was revealed, but turned it down. "He said he had had his say and it was okay if I wrote it," Sullivan recalled. "I started writing it then, it was in our advance file, ready to go."

She said the Post actually got first word of Felt's death via a New York Times e-mail alert at about 12:15 a.m. The Times owns the Santa Rosa (Calif.) Press-Democrat, which is located in the city where Felt passed away.

This marked the second time the Post was beaten on a "Deep Throat" story, following Vanity Fair's 2005 story that revealed Felt's identity as the most famous anonymous source.

When word came in, Sullivan's 60-inch obituary of Felt -- which had been updated in recent years since it was first written -- was finalized again with the details of his death. Woodward was called by a Post overnight staffer and confirmed the time and place of Felt's death with his daughter, Sullivan said.

The first Post Felt obituary went on the paper's Web site at 3:05 a.m., while a shorter version appeared in print in some editions, Sullivan said. Due to the late timing, it had to be placed on Page A-2, instead of A-1.

"We were scrambling just to get something in," said Deputy Managing Editor Milton Coleman. The Times also was limited by the late hour, noting on its Web site that Felt's obit appeared only in some print editions of the paper.

Even with Woodward's help, and that of two overnight staffers, the Felt obituary had at least one error, according to an online correction, which noted Felt had died at home, not at a hospice as the first version had reported.