Personal Thoughts On The Media's Involvement In The Vietnam War

     In all of my blog posts, I've tried to link the events I've studied to events going on right now. After reading the chapter about television's involvement in the Vietnam War, I can't help but think of the war going on right now in Iraq. At the start of the Vietnam War, most Americans were in favor of the country's involvement, but through time, support started to dwindle, until opposition outnumbered supporters. Television had a huge role in that shift. Americans were getting tired of seeing brutal images on their tv sets night after night, with no resolve. Much like America's support of the Iraq War quickly turned sour once weapons of mass destruction were not found.
     Respected, trusted journalists like Walter Cronkite were picking sides. Americans looked at in the sense that, if someone as unbiased, impartial, and trustworthy as Cronkite felt they had to risk their reputation to speak out about the war, then they knew something we didn't, and we should follow their judgement.
      It was the first and last war televised without censorship, and judging by the outcome, we can understand why it was the last. The media drastically changed America's involvement in the war. Their portrayal that Americans were fighting a losing battle was enough to push the public to oppose the war altogether.
      Now, obviously, this is what war is. It's one side of human beings killing another side, until one party caves in. We all know that; Americans back then knew that, but being aware of what happens in times of war, and actually seeing it for yourself are two different things. People don't want to turn on their tv sets and see their own being killed every night. I don't think that is unique to the Vietnam War but rather war overall. Like I said before, this was the first time Americans were able to get this much insight into what was going on. They weren't used to such brutality, so naturally, they were going to be shocked. The media took this, rightly or wrongly, as an opportunity to put America on their side and fight for what they thought was right, which was ending the U.S. involvement in this war. If that meant they had to portray the Tet Offensive as a major win for the Viet Cong, when most military officials said, if anything, it was actually a failure, then so be it. Americans didn't need much convincing. You turn your tv on every night and see people from your country getting killed, and trusted members of the media are saying we should pull out; you're more than likely going to agree with that sentiment.
      The role the media had in this war changed the outcome of the war. Who's to say the war doesn't end differently if they spin the story differently? If they show the war effort as a success, do Americans continue to support it? Do we keep our troops in Vietnam longer? Does the war end up being considered a success? You never know. Never underestimate the power of the media. They have more pull than most people realize.