ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Bob Woodward, one of the legendary Washington Post journalists who broke Watergate — the same Watergate that’s now being invoked to slam President Donald Trump — said reporters ought to tread carefully, or face the risk of tripping over their own smug attitudes.

That’s a pretty apt summary of the nastiness and snark that passes as Investigative Reporting, and Hard Journalism these days.

A watchdog press should be for the people. It should be all about reporting those stories and issues that are important to the little guy, the average Jane and Joe, no matter what corporate, political, special interest and otherwise bigwig noses are bruised in the process. But nowadays?

It’s all about the hunt — the takedown of Trump, the destruction of the Republican Party, the no-holds-barred attacks on conservative principles and particularly, White House policies and agendas. Truth? Concern for impact to little ‘ol Jane and Joe?

Doesn’t even enter the equation in most media cases.

“I worry,” Woodward said, at a recent forum hosted by Axios, Mediaite reported. “I worry for the business, for the perception of the business, not just Trump supporters, they see that smugness. I think you can ride both horses, intensive inquiry, investigation, not letting up … at the same time, realize that it’s not our job to do an editorial on this.”

Woodward blamed television more than print. But that’s probably ‘cause he’s a print guy and has a tougher time judging his own.

But on TV, he is right.

“On television, particularly, you will see a White House correspondent deliver a report and then say, ‘The Trump White House said,’ and then there’s a kind of smug smile — which is the correspondent undermining what the White House said. And there may be grounds for that. But it should be reported. It should be straight,” he said.

Are you listening, Anderson Cooper?

Cooper, just a couple weeks ago, made national headlines when he gave an eyeroll to guest and Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, as she was trying to answer a question about James Comey’s dismissal.

Smug. Such a great word to describe today’s media. Another? Revengeful — and bent on making sure the country pays for letting Trump, not Hillary Clinton, in the White House.

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