Carl Bernstein (born February 14, 1944) was a Washington Post investigative journalist who, along with Bob Woodward, broke the story of the Watergate break-in and consequently helped bring about the downfall of US president Richard Nixon. For his role in breaking the scandal, Bernstein received many awards, including the Pulitzer Prize in 1973.

Bernstein quit the Washington Post in 1976. He worked as a senior correspondent for the ABC network, taught at New York University, and contributed to Time magazine. In 1981, he returned to the Post as assistant managing editor for investigations.

Bernstein has authored two books with Woodward: All the President's Men, which detailed the successes and failures of the men's journalistic efforts against the backdrop of the unfolding scandal, and The Final Days, a recounting of the concluding months of the Nixon presidency. He co-authored the book His Holiness: John Paul II & the History of Our Time with Marco Politi .

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The media is more powerful than our government institutions, but we are squandering that power. — Carl Bernstein, 1999