Tet Offensive Influence

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War was brought to homes all around the U.S. the very first time in history with the Vietnam War. The general public watched houses being demolished, kids being burned to death, and american dead bodies being sent home. Although early reports usually gave support to U.S involvement, newscast modified the war majorly once the Tet Offensive happened. The anti-war movement was gaining lots of media attention. Reports of this war and its ensuing shock on people 's opinions has been considered for several years by students and journalists. Editors primarily in Saigon daily gave reportable details regarding battles that took place and casualty numbers. Television and the Tet offensive brought an unreal experience to the folks at home by showing them first hand accounts, raising numbers in support for the war and televisions purchased, and how much of an impact T.V. can make on the public 's opinion war.
T.V. was thought as a vital supply of reports for the general population, and could have been the foremost compelling influence on the war itself in the mid 1960s. During the korean war television only had a small audience. Solely 9% of homes in 1950 had owned a television. This number had gone up to 93 % in 1966 ( Kolly, p.18). Televisions started to become very well-liked in households. People received
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Before Tet, journalists showed that 62 % of their stories the U.S. was victorious, defeats were labeled at 28%, and 2 % were uncertain. Now After Tet, 44 % of battles were shown as victories, defeats still low at 32% , and yet again 24 % uncertain (Hallin, p.161-162). You can see how these numbers changed before and after. Encounter cuts were additionally more graphic. They had clips of civilian casualties that enhanced from a before Tet average of 0.85 times per week to 3.9 times per week. Other clips of military casualties additionally went from 2.4 to 6.8 times per week (Hallin,

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