Media In The Vietnam War Essay

In the 1970s, the Nixon Administration waged an all-out war on the news media because of their critical coverage. He accused CBS diplomatic correspondent Marvin Kalb of being a communist (Pach 556) and advised his aides against giving useful information to journalists stating “don’t help the bastards ever because they’re trying to stick the knife right in our groin” (Pach 559).

The Vietnam War had no restrictions on what the media could and couldn’t cover, making a very public war. Journalists from big companies and small towns went to Vietnam to cover what was happening. Some went for the excitement and adventure. Others wanted to be on page one and be part of the exclusive combat correspondent club. These journalists were taking any information they could get and were sending it back to for American people to view. These journalists could even go into North Vietnam, if they had the courage too. Some journalists, based of what they saw, believed that the war was unwinnable. The military ended up blaming the media for the loss because the turned the American people against the troops in Vietnam through the information

VIETNAM FACT SHEET The Vietnam war was a long ,costly armed conflict that pitted the communist regime of North Vietnam and its Southern allies,known as the viet cong, against south Vietnam and its principal ally,the United States. It ended with the withdrawal of the U.S. forces in 1973 and the unification of Vietnam under communist control two years later. However it was indeed one of the bloodiest wars and more than 3 million people including 58,000 Americans were killed during the conflict. Ted offensive: was a series of major attacks by communist forces in the vietnam war.

During the period 1960 and 1964 television in America had become extremely familiar to the public. Not only were they able to now be involved in the Vietnam War, but see it on their TV screens at home for the first time ever. In the 1950’s, only 9% of American homes owned a television, however, this figure rose dramatically to 93% during the time of the war in 1966. With inadequate government controls, The American journalists in Vietnam were now able to record video footage and expose the American government of their lies. The government’s failure in maintaining censorship to the public just like they had managed to do in World War 1 had failed. The media was now able to publish uncensored pictures and videos

The Vietnam War was considered to be the first televised war, with many people watching the horrors of the war in the safety of their own homes, but what was the influence of the Media on the Attitudes of the Australian Public and returning troops? The Vietnam War was the first war in which the media was so involved in showing the destruction and devastation of the abilities that war can produce. The types of media during the War was very broad but got the news around very quickly as television, radio and newspapers were the most common source of media coverage, as well as many photographs that were distressing. These photographs showed the public the severity and danger of the war in a more justified way compared to the graphic images the American media used, although there was still some disturbing images that left

war the enemy would be in uniform and it was clear who to kill who not

Before Tet, no one gave press censorship a though. This was due to reporters having trouble getting their stories out of South Vietnam and to the public eye. By the time the Tet Offensive took place, stories could reach the United States in less than 24 hours. Reporters used the W.W.II technique of coverage in the early years by portraying soldiers in a sympathetic manner. “Many people argue that the media began to over emphasize combat coverage and under report the way the war was played out. The camera’s blurred the cultural, social, and historical aspects of the war, therefore, distorting American perception.

Vietnam was a country divided into two by communism in the North and capitalism in the South. The Vietnam War, fought between the years 1959 and 1975, was, in essence, a struggle by nationalists in the north to unify the nation under a communist government. This was a long standing conflict between the two sides that had been occurring for years. It wasn’t until 1959 when the USA, stepped in, on the side of southern Vietnamese, to stop the spread of communism. It was a war that did not capture the hearts and minds of the American people as it was viewed as a war that the US army couldn’t win and so the government lost the peoples support for the war. This ultimately led to the withdrawal of the US army from Vietnam. Some people, like

Media and American Withdrawal From Vietnam The history of Vietnam is characterised by struggles for independence since French rule in 1859 after the French took Saigon, and a great ability in warfare and continual determined resistance to foreign domination. Major military involvement by American armed forces came after events such as Russian communist revolution in 1917 and the Korean War in the 1950's; these events put the America people in a period of moral panic with McCarthyism, and domino theory. After the French defeat and the following Geneva conference in 1954, where only a verbal military truce was agreed.

During the Vietnam War, Americans were greatly influenced by the extensive media coverage of the war. Before the 1960’s and the intensification of the war, public news coverage of military action was constrained heavily by the government and was directed by Government policy. The Vietnam War uniquely altered the perception of war in the eyes of American citizens by bringing the war into their homes. The Vietnam War was the first U.S uncensored war resulting in the release of graphic images and unaltered accounts of horrific events that helped to change public opinion of the war like nothing it had ever been. This depiction by the media led to a separation between the United States government and the press; much of what was reported flouted

Write an essay that offers a critical examination of the concept of the ‘guilty media’ thesis in respect of any war of your choice

The Vietnam War is known as one of the most brutal wars that the U.S. took part in. In Vietnam, the Vietnam war is known as the “American War” or the “Second Indochina War” (Rosen, 2). The war started as a conflict between the Republic of Vietnam, South Vietnam, and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, North Vietnam (Cosmas, 329). The war began in 1957 and ended in the spring of 1975, lasting a total of 18 years (Cosmas, 329). Although the North Vietnamese lost the most people in the Vietnam War, they still won. North Vietnam did have some advantages in weaponry, the M-30 and the RPG-7, but the real reason they won was because of their overpowering desire to win.

In times of War, the media plays a crucial role both in reporting, monitoring and giving updates. During the Vietnam War of 1955-1975, the American press played crucial roles of reporting until it ended up shifting its tone under the influence of occurrence of some events like the Tet Offensive, the My Lai Massacre, the bombing of Cambodia and leaking of Pentagon papers resulting into lack of trust in the press (Knightly 1975). From the beginning of the war up to present times there have been undying debates over the role of media in the war. The have been various criticisms over the American News Media’s actions and influences on the outcome of the war. The debate is embedded on the particular political assumptions perceived across the

This effect does not refer to the sole influence of CNN on policymaking, but rather on the power of global media networks to determine political processes through selective coverage of certain issues. This is particularly important, as most of the public rely on the media for access to foreign policy information (Brown & Vincent, 1995). Gilboa notes that: “The [CNN] concept was initially suggested by politicians and officials haunted by the Vietnam media myth, the confusion of the post'' Cold War era, and the communications revolution. Despite evidence to the contrary (Hallin, 1986), many leaders still believe that critical television coverage caused the American defeat in Vietnam. Since then, many have viewed the media as an adversary to government policies in areas such as humanitarian intervention and international negotiation.” (Gilboa, 2005, p. 37)

In the 1950's, the United States had begun to send troops to Vietnam and during the following 25-year period, the ensuing war would create some of the strongest tensions in US history. Almost 3 million US men and women were sent thousands of miles to fight for what was a questionable cause. In total, it is estimated that over 2 million people on both sides were killed.