The Media and Vietnam

“For the first time in modern history the outcome of a war was determined not on the battlefield but on the printed page and, above all, on the television screen”
-Robert Elegant
Robert Elegant’s quote explains the significant role the media played in the Vietnam War. This essay will argue that the media’s effect was one dominant aspect of why the United States lost the war in Vietnam. Looking in detail at the heavily televised ‘Tet Offensive’, this essay will suggest that this series of battles was the beginning of the decisive part the media played in influencing public opinion. It is worth nothing that there are several factors involved in why the United States lost the Vietnam War, but this essay will focus on just one. Overall, it will show how the United States government was unable to overcome public pressure generated by the media.

To understand the role the media played in America’s loss in the Vietnam War, you must first realize the significance of the power the media has. The media was America’s eyes and ears in Vietnam. What America and the world watched, read and heard was the medias’ interpretation. This had a string of implications that can best be understood through the ‘media effects model’. Also known as the ‘hypodermic model’, this concept explains the idea that the media ‘”injects” meaning and ideas into the mass audience. They have an unprecedented level of influence that has the ability to shape the audiences opinions and feelings towards something. In this case, the medias coverage of the Vietnam War shaped the American publics feelings towards it. One key development in the beginning of the Vietnam War contributed to the media’s level of influence on the audience. In September 1963, the two major evening news programs switched to 30 minute broadcasts. As the Vietnam War was the biggest ongoing media event at that time, it received increasing coverage. Resultantly, “Vietnam was America’s first true televised war”. Over the course of the

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