A few years ago I was teaching journalism to a class of college seniors and mentioned the Watergate scandal. Blank looks. A story they'd never heard of–and my first big one.

Almost by accident, my early at-bats were in journalism's major leagues. My first job out of school in Montana was news correspondent with the Voice of America in Washington, DC. Watergate. Kissinger's secret Paris talks. Nixon's resignation. Then to Chicago: Gulf hurricanes...