Media Influence On Vietnam War

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The United States involvement in Vietnam started when the Vietnamese were fighting the French for independence. From the year 1945 up until 1975 the United States had a role in lives of many Vietnamese and Americans. This war was consisted North Vietnam, South Vietnam and the Americans after the French decided to give up to Vietnam. According to the United States we decided to go to war to stop communism from taking over Asia, also known as the "Domino Theory" and its freedom from attack. The Vietnamese had another reason to continue fighting the United States. First, the people were nationalists and they loved their country and believed in independence. This is what allowed them to win the war with strong confidence. Today many people still…show more content…
Walter Cronkite known as the anchorman was an American journalist for CNN News. His role of recording actions in Vietnam made him become the most "trusted man in America" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Cronkite). "It is generally agreed that American media coverage of the Vietnam War had a major impact on public attitudes toward the conflict" said, (Walter Cronkite). Televisions were primary sources for the public receiving their news. Televisions were considered to be anti-war influences because the media showed horrible things happening in Vietnam that cause the public to give less support. The media not only affected the nature of the war to the public but it also changes the minds of Americans on their own people. "Critics in the government, the military, and elsewhere claim that the media was dominated by the antiwar journalists who poisoned the American public against the war by delivering superficial and negative coverage of the conflict. (pg 177 Walter). This shows how Walter noticed that people attentions were grabbed by the over coverage the news released. Walter Cronkite also had an effect on the war and changed many peoples opinions as well. "When Cronkite traveled to Vietnam to cover the Tet Offensive in February 1968, he was shocked by the military and political situation in the South. Cronkite realized that North Vietnam remained a strong and dangerous foe. Armed with this knowledge, the trusted broadcast journalist decided to air grim editorial detailing his own impressions of the war in Vietnam" (pg 120, 121) When he did this editorial his understanding of the war got the public to feel they were being lied to because they had believed we were winning. Even President Richard Nixon believed that the television was something harmful to Americans. In 1971, Nixon even stated that "aside from the communists, our worse enemy seems to be the press." With this understand we
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