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Fearful of possible retribution from the President's men, sources began avoiding the reporters and new leads dried up. For five weeks after the Haldeman story, the reporters were unable to provide another Page One expose. In desperation Woodward and Bernstein tried to reach Watergate grand jury members for information, a rash move that outraged Federal Judge John Sirica and nearly landed the pair in jail for violating the secrecy of grand jury proceedings. A warning from Deep Throat that the two might be targets of Government surveillance—or worse—plunged them into fears for their safety. Both suspected their phones might be tapped, their lives in danger. They never found evidence to support either fear.
Hard Work. It was only in March 1973 that Watergate Burglar James Mc-Cord confirmed much of Woodward and Bernstein's reporting, when he implied to Judge Sirica in his celebrated letter that the case had wider ramifications. Up till then, other publications—with the exception of TIME and the New York Times—had been slow to respond to the Post team's lead, perhaps because neither reporter enjoyed national prestige. After McCord's bombshell, the rest of the press turned more aggressive. By then, Woodward and Bernstein, dubbed "Woodstein" by their colleagues, were hard at work on their book—a tale which grippingly suggests how close Americans came to remaining blinkered from Watergate's true dimensions.
For Bernstein and Woodward, the rewards have been substantial. Before they began reporting on Watergate, the two earned together less than $30,000 a year. Now, from raises and book advances, magazine, paperback and movie rights (Robert Redford wants to play Woodward), each reporter stands to earn more than $500,000 before taxes from the book, a sum that could surpass President Nixon's net worth—after he pays all his back taxes.