The uncensored war
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What were the initial American perceptions of the Vietnam War?
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This is America in Pursuit, a limited-run series from NPR and ThruLine. I'm Randa Abdelfattah. Each week, we bring you stories about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in the U.S. that began 250 years ago. Since these words were first penned, the vision of America has been determined by people testing these ideals against the realities of everyday life. And in the mid to late 20th century, the Vietnam War put those ideals to the test. The war forced Americans to confront questions about governmental power, the realities of warfare, and what happens to democracy when citizens disagree with their leadership.
This is what the war in Vietnam is all about. American soldiers hiking their way through the sweaty jungles of South Vietnam, searching for an elusive enemy.
And of course, by 1967, 1968 is a staple of the nightly news on television.
How did the Gulf of Tonkin incident escalate U.S. involvement in Vietnam?
The war entered the homes of Americans through televisions, newspapers, and radio. Images of what was actually happening in Vietnam changed the way Americans thought of and engaged with the war. And it changed the way the story of war was told.
We might see Vietnamese peasants in obvious anguish, distressed, grieving. But mostly the Vietnamese who featured in American news broadcasts were silent.
Today on the show, the Vietnam War. What happened in Vietnam and how it changed America's relationship with war and the responsibility of journalists on the ground. That's coming up after a quick break.
War in South Vietnam. An ugly war in a far-off place to which the United States is deeply committed. It's 1964. U.S. military advisors have already been in Vietnam for over a decade. By the spring of 1964, the Viet Cong had reached the strength of an estimated 60,000 troops and controlled nearly 68% of South Vietnam's villages and embassies. — Successive U.S.
What role did media play in shaping public opinion during the Vietnam War?
administrations said they were in Vietnam to prevent communism from spreading throughout Southeast Asia. And things weren't going well. But most Americans weren't paying much attention to the conflict.
— This is a war that begins in a very sort of slow way that initially was largely ignored.
— This is Susan Carruthers, historian at the University of Warwick and author of the book The Media at War.
Jim Crow, political assassinations, voting rights, those domestic issues were much more top of mind. But then... On the night of August 4th, 1964, President Johnson appeared on national television. Renewed hostile actions against United States ships on the high seas in the Gulf of Tonkin... Following a disputed incident in the Gulf of Tonkin involving an exchange of fire between U.S. and North Vietnamese ships, Congress, with near-unanimous support in the House and Senate, then passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which authorized President Lyndon Johnson to escalate military involvement in Vietnam without a formal declaration of war. And suddenly, the draft was ramped up.
And more and more thousands of American men are sent there.
which led more Americans to ask questions about the war. And news outlets responded. This is what the war in Vietnam is all about.
How did journalists report on the realities of warfare in Vietnam?
American soldiers hiking their way through the sweaty jungles of South Vietnam, searching for an elusive enemy.
And of course, by 1967, 1968 is a staple of the nightly news on television.
It first appeared that the Marines had been sniped at and that a few houses were made to pay. Film reels would be flown to Tokyo for quick editing and developing, and then flown to the U.S. There were three main networks broadcasting news from Vietnam, ABC, NBC, and CBS. And the big publications like the New York Times and Time magazine also sent their reporters there.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What were the initial American perceptions of the Vietnam War?
0:00–1:27
2
How did the Gulf of Tonkin incident escalate U.S. involvement in Vietnam?
1:27–3:04
3
What role did media play in shaping public opinion during the Vietnam War?
3:04–4:29
4
How did journalists report on the realities of warfare in Vietnam?
4:29–5:59
5
What challenges did journalists face while covering the Vietnam War?
5:59–7:13
6
How did the Tet Offensive change American perspectives on the war?
7:13–8:51
7
What impact did Frankie's reporting have on the anti-war movement?
8:51–9:51
8
How did the Vietnam War influence the future of war reporting?
9:51–18:02