Media Influence On Vietnam War

Throughout the course of american history, U.S. involvement in foreign affairs has been heavily debated by Americans across the country. But by mid 1900’s, the arise of the Vietnam war and the decision by the US government to aid South Vietnam and stop communist North Vietnam created a controversy in our country like we have never seen before. One difference between this conflict and any other was the crucial role the the media played in turning the public’s opinion against the war. This was also the first war where media had complete freedom of the press which allowed them to publish all uncensored material. The devastating photographs, stories, and footage from across the globe tore at America 's heart strings and triggered an abundance of anti-war marches, protests, and songs and left a huge impact on our country. In the early years of the war, the news coverage was generally supportive of the war as the United States was portrayed as winning the war. Editors on the homefront often downplayed the tragedies and realities that were being reported over seas. The major turning point of American opinion came after the Tet Offensive of 1968, one of the largest military campaigns of the war by forces of the …show more content…
After the television came about in the 1960’s, it became a major news carrier. The Vietnam war was considered the first televised war and coined the nickname the “living room war”. Americans sat in their homes at night and watched graphic air footage from the battlefield and were often horrified by the images they saw. One of the first negative broadcasts was in 1965 when CBS correspondent, Morley Safer, showed American troops burning of the village Cam Ne as women and children stood by and cried. In 1968, Walter Cronkite, CBS news anchor, aired his legendary television editorial where he announced his opinion that the United States could not win this