The Media and Vietnam - 1820 Words

â€Å"For the first time in modern history the outcome of a war was determined not on the battlefield but on the printed page and, above all, on the television screen† -Robert Elegant Robert Elegant’s quote explains the significant role the media played in the Vietnam War. This essay will argue that the media’s effect was one dominant aspect of why the United States lost the war in Vietnam. Looking in detail at the heavily televised ‘Tet Offensive’, this essay will suggest that this series of battles was the beginning of the decisive part the media played in influencing public opinion. It is worth nothing that there are several factors involved in why the United States lost the Vietnam War, but this essay will focus on just one. Overall, it†¦show more content†¦It was just the beginning, in the years that followed the media’s coverage continued to shift the American publics view against the Vietnam War. The ‘Tet Offensive’ showed the first signs of the effect the media had in Vietnam, which led to the the question of â€Å"why did the audience see what they saw?† Firstly, unlike previous wars journalists had â€Å"extraordinary† freedom to cover Vietnam without any direct government intervention. Overtime this noticeably created a problem where the harsh brutal accounts from journalists differed from the positive optimism that United States Officials portrayed. The media was simply the messenger to the American people. But this was the first instance where technological advances had allowed a war to be played out on your own television screen every night of the week. The journalists reacted in the same way as the American public; they too were shocked beyond belief at the constant scenes of burning villages, bloody soldiers and lifeless bodies. These feelings came across in the broadcasts and like the ‘media effects theory’ explains, naturally Americans took up that same belief. This was the first time that the American public showed collective beliefs opposing to the war. To further push public opinion against the war, Hallin suggested that there was a â€Å"†¦declining morale among American troops in the field†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . The thirty-minute nightlyShow MoreRelatedThe Media and Vietnam1832 Words   |  8 Pagesthe significant role the media played in the Vietnam War. This essay will argue that the media’s effect was one dominant aspect of why the United States lost the war in Vietnam. Looking in detail at the heavily televised ‘Tet Offensive’, this essay will suggest that this series of battles was the beginning of the decisive part the media played in influencing public opinion. It is worth nothing that there are several factors involved in why the United States lost the Vietnam War, but this essay willRead MoreThe Media and the Military in the Vietnam War1593 Words   |  6 PagesThe med ia and Military The War in Vietnam was the first real â€Å"television† war, meaning it was the first conflict where the U.S. military found itself attempting to control a media which was not fully supportive of the country’s involvement. (79) It was also the first â€Å"open† conflict where the media was deployed in force without restriction. (79) The media saw a need to cater to those who opposed the war for the first time. The conflict was taking place in a remote area, and apart from conscriptionRead MoreMedia Coverage On The Vietnam War1549 Words   |  7 PagesThe Vietnam War introduced many new forms of technology on and off of the battlefield. 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This was mainly due the mass media at the time, one integral part of the mass media that often swayed public opinion was television, it proved to be such an effectiveRead More The Impact of the Media on the Vietnam War Essay1710 Words   |  7 PagesThe Impact of the Media on the Vietnam War This essay will discuss to what degree the media can be blamed for the United States’ loss in the Vietnam conflict ending 1975. It will be based predominantly on key written resources on the subject, but it will also contain - by means of an interview - certain first-hand observations from a Vietnam War veteran. For the sake of conciseness, and in order to focus the bulk of the content on the main topic, this essay will make certain assumptionsRead MoreVietnam War Outcome Influenced by the Media1510 Words   |  7 PagesTerm 3 Paper: The Media and Vietnam War The Vietnam War was a war of mass destruction, leaving Vietnam to become bitterly divided and claiming the many lives of Vietnamese civilians as well as American soldiers. Out of all the wars in American history, the Vietnam War was the first war to be broadly televised and covered by the media. It came to be known as the first â€Å"Television War†. Journalists began to pour into Vietnam from all over the nation, to cover the lives of the American Soldiers asRead MoreMedia Coverage of the Vietnam War Essay952 Words   |  4 PagesVietnam and the Medias Coverage of It Vietnam is unlike any war ever fought, unlike other war that we fought none before that brought so much controversy as to how it was covered by the media, it forever changed the way we the public looked at war. As technology evolved so did the ability to cover news. In the years prior to Vietnam there was only radio and television was not yet in every household, not to mention there wasnt no color televisions and very few color