How Media Coverage of the Vietnam War Changed America

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 referred to as the most unpopular American war of the twentieth century. "It concluded with nearly 60,000 American deaths and an estimated 2 to 4 million Vietnamese deaths." Finding out the exact number of life's lost during the conflict is very difficult, the true death toll will probably never be known. During the War reporters and photographers went through a huge change, which changed the style of reporting the war for future journalists. They went  from reporting directly off of press releases and forming happy, optimistic stories to investigative reporting and writing cold, hard truthful stories. The reports coming from Vietnam and the images coming from the front lines did more than just sway public opinion. These images helped bring around the end of the war.

Vietnam: Bringing the Battlefieled into the American Living Room

In chapter twelve of Rodger Streitmatter's book Mightier than the Sword, the topic falls upon The Vietnam War. What Streitmatter focused on was not the war its self but what the affect of a televised war has on the fighting spirit of a country. The Vietnam War was the first American war to ever be televised, and according to some critic's, that was one of the major reason why it ended in shambles. Throughout the war countless news agencies sent correspondence to spectate and report back on events as they happend. These reports and interviews were then brodcast straight into every american home that had a TV. this ended up causing a great rifft between the people and the government.

A surprise revolution

In 1942, a popular song about a patriotic female defense worker called "Rosie the Riveter" provided the name that became synonymous with this new kind of feminist American woman.
Rosie the Riveter is a cultural icon of the United States, representing the six million women who entered the workforce for the first time during World War II, many of whom worked in the manufacturing plants that produced munitions and material. These women took the places of the male workers who were absent fighting in the Pacific and European theaters. The character is now considered a feminist icon in the US, and a herald of women's economic power to come. Rosie and her slogan "We Can Do It!" were featured on posters, magazines, and more. In the case of the New York Times though journalists "opted" not to just tell woman to go work into the factories but instead show them how working woman have been making a difference in the war effort and the economy.  The interesting thing was that African American women were some of those most affected by the mass push for women workers. It can be said that it was the fact that whites working along blacks during the time had encouraged a breaking down of social barriers and a healthy recognition of diversity. African-Americans working in the factories were able to lay the groundwork for the pre civil rights revolution by equating segregation with Nazi white supremacist ideology.