MSCM 4950 - Vietnam War in the Media

Peter Arnett's presentation at Dodging the Memory Hole 2016: Saving Digital News, in which he discusses how he saved the AP's Saigon bureau archives.

Reporting America at War explores the role of American journalists in the pivotal conflicts of the 20th century and beyond. From San Juan Hill to the beaches of Normandy, from the jungles of Vietnam to the Persian Gulf.

"One of the reasons the war was so controversial was the images that were broadcast across the United States on TV or in newspapers and magazines."

On June 27, 1969, Life magazine published an issue that resonated across the nation.

On the cover was the face of a young man from upstate New York. His name was William Gearing. The headline over his face read, "The Faces of the American Dead in Vietnam: One Week's Toll." Inside the magazine were the names and photos of more than 200 young men who had been killed in the war in just one week of combat.

How Vietnam Changed Journalism
By Andrew Pearson
New York Times

The editorials about four Vietnam War news events that appeared in five newspapers were examined for content, tone, page placement, and length to discover what trends in editorial coverage occurred. The 131 editorials that were examined appeared in the "New York Times," the "Los Angeles Times," the "Wall Street Journal," the "Chicago Tribune," and the "Washington Post" within 21 days of the following news events: the Tonkin Gulf incident, the 1968 Tet Offensive, President Nixon's 1969 "Vietnamization" announcement, and the fall of Saigon.

National and international news