They never did, in the way you are thinking. Woodward and Bernstein were given the information they were by someone in the power structure, so they were absolutely controlled by powerful people. We currently have many many honest journalists out there telling us open stories, Assange and O'Keefe being two prototypes. Their treatment as opposed to the treatment of Woodward and Bernstein tells us all we need to know about how "rebellious" the Watergate story was. In Watergate, one power faction toppled another power faction using their press lapdogs. In our current environment, the journalists pointing out that both power factions are completely divorced from public opinion are being silenced, up to and including "eliminated" (see Michael Hastings). What's happening today is far more profound than Watergate ever was.