JAMM 445 History of Mass Media Coverage of

JAMM 445 History of Mass Media Coverage of War: Vietnam

Thank-you card n Please sign card for Prof. Joseph Campbell for speaking to our class about Murrow & Mc. Carthy

Schedule update n Today: Vietnam – Voices, pp. 450 -456; GIW, ch. 4: Cronkite n Monday: Persian Gulf Wars – Voices, 528 -530; GIW, ch. 9: Jessica Lynch n Wednesday: Advertising’s Golden Age – Guest speaker: Jim Clark n n Friday, April 28: Exam 2 (2 nd half of sem. ) Week of May 2: Oral-history presentations

Schedule Update n Today: Study guide for 2 nd exam – E-mailed to class roster n Saturday: Lecture outlines posted on website: www. class. uidaho. edu/jamm 444

Student Course Evaluations n On-line at: http: //www. webs. uidaho. edu/studentevals/ n Last day to participate: Sunday, May 8 n Please answer open-ended questions – Assess guest speakers, oral-history project JAMM 100 5

Discussion questions Please write down on a half-sheet 1. 2. 3. What memories (people, images, songs, movies) do you have of the Vietnam era? How was this war different from previous U. S. wars? What parallels do you see between Vietnam and the current war in Iraq?

Vietnam images

Vietnam in popular culture

U. S. and Vietnam “It became a war like no other, a war with no front line, no easily identifiable enemy, no simply explained cause, no clearly designated villain on whom to focus the nation’s hate, no menace to the homeland, no need for general sacrifice, and therefore, no nationwide fervor of patriotism. ” --Philip Knightley, Author, The First Casualty

Contrast to World War II n American consensus on justification for war – Germany, Japan widely seen as threats to world security n n n U. S. political leaders unified U. S. media supported war effort with reporting, photos, editorials War lasted only 3½ years

The Media in Vietnam “Vietnam was a new kind of war and required a new kind of war correspondent. It was an interdisciplinary war, where complex political issues intruded on the military aspects, where battle success was necessary but where battle success alone was insufficient, a war where unwarranted optimism, propaganda, and news management could deeply obscure the issue. ” --Philip Knightley

U. S. and Vietnam n n 1964: Gulf of Tonkin resolution 1965: Massive bombing of North Vietnam 1967: 486, 000 U. S. troops in Vietnam 1968: TET offensive – Video: Vietnam, a Television History

TET offensive n n January 1968 (Lunar New Year) N. Vietnam, Viet Cong attack targets throughout S. Vietnam Attacks briefly threatened U. S. Embassy U. S. reporters based in Saigon covered events close to their bureaus

TET casualties n n n Jan. 29 -March 31, 1968 4, 009 - United States and allies 4, 954 - South Vietnamese troops 58, 373 - North Vietnam and Viet Cong 14, 300 - South Vietnamese civilians

TET offensive n n U. S. Gen. Westmoreland claimed military victory. . . …But TV showed strength of Viet Cong, North Vietnamese army Pentagon asked for 200, 000 more troops War became campaign issue in 1968 election

TET analysis “For the American press, the combination of high drama and low national understanding created a monumental challenge in Vietnam – and the press, like the government, was ill-equipped to meet it…” --Don Oberdorfer, Washington Post Tet: The Turning Point in the Vietnam War

Walter Cronkite n n Anchor, CBS Evening News Feb. 11, 1968: went to Vietnam for one week Feb. 27: half-hour special Report From Vietnam Ended with commentary: “To say we are mired in stalemate seems the only realistic… conclusion. ”

Cronkite’s conclusion “It is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out, then, will be to negotiate -- not as victors, but as an honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy and did the best they could. ” --Walter Cronkite, 1968

The myth “If I’ve lost Walter Cronkite, I’ve lost the American people. ” --Lyndon B. Johnson, 1968, before deciding not to run for re-election* *Source of quote ? ? ? VIDEO: Cronkite looks back http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=z. DNJL 0 m. THWI

Campbell’s view n n n LBJ not at the White House on night of CBS broadcast (Feb. 27, 1968) American public opinion had already turned against the war (before TET) LBJ’s advisors convinced him U. S. military venture had failed, new strategy needed

Campbell’s view n “The evidence … demonstrates that the ‘Cronkite moment’ is a media-driven myth. It was … not a moment when a single newscast changed the course of history. … Not unlike the Murrow-Mc. Carthy myth, the ‘Cronkite moment’ parlayed coincidental but propitious timing into enduring recognition. ”

Media and Public Opinion “The later years of Vietnam are a remarkable testimony to the restraining power of routine and ideology of objectivism. . Most television coverage was dispassionate; ‘advocacy journalism’ made no real inroads into network television. ” --Daniel Hallin, historian

U. S. and Vietnam n n 1968: Nixon elected president 1973: Cease-fire signed 1974: Most U. S. troops withdraw 1975: South Vietnam’s government falls to North Vietnam; country reunified

Possible essay questions n How did coverage of the Vietnam War influence public opinion? – How did TV coverage make this different than previous wars? n What lessons did the media learn from this war? – What lessons did the Pentagon learn?

Quote of the Day n “I see a very close parallel [between Iraq and Vietnam]. … I'm not saying Iraq is hopeless, but we are facing an intensifying guerrilla war, and it is taking a great deal of our people and treasury. ” --Walter Cronkite, Feb. 12, 2004

Reading for next week n Monday: Persian Gulf Wars – Voices, 528 -530; GIW, ch. 9: Jessica Lynch Look for study guide via e-mail today n Please sign thank-you card for Joseph Campbell n Turn in half-sheets about Vietnam n