How Media Coverage of the Vietnam War Changed America, Journalism

Reporters and photographers went through a big change in the Vietnam War and changed the style of reporting the war for future journalists. They went from reporting directly off of press releases and forming happy, enthusiastic stories to investigative reporting and writing cold, hard truthful stories. The stories coming from Vietnam and the photos coming from the front line did more than sway public opinion, they helped end the war.

The Vietnam War was fought between 1957 and 1975 on the ground in South Vietnam and bordering areas of Cambodia and Laos and in bombing runs over North Vietnam. The Vietnam War is often called the most unpopular American war of the twentieth century. It resulted in nearly 60,000 American deaths and an estimated 2 to 4 million Vietnamese deaths (Digital). Estimating the number killed in the conflict is extremely difficult, the true death count will probably never be known (Vietnam War).

Early on in the Vietnam War, many of the correspondents supported the war effort. They did not question the right of the United States to be there (Kahrs). Before the Vietnam War, the media's job was to keep the American listeners and readers optimistic and panic free. During the Korean War, U.S. actions were always presented in a positive light. But soon in the Vietnam War, reporters began to show skepticism of the government's presence and their intentions The correspondents' reports began to reflect the popular doubts that had been rising among the American public, primarily because of the increasing numbers of casualties. The reporters and photographers did not have as much enthusiasm as they had when they were first went to Vietnam; they were finding sad stories and painful pictures.