Vietnam War Propaganda Essay

The Vietnam War was the first war to be televised in the history of American wars. The coverage in the media was depicted differently than usual. This was due to the fact that the violent actions in Vietnam and America was happening unnoticed by the rest of the world, therefore television, which was becoming the most popular form of a source for news, was the only outlet to show the rest of the world what was occurring in these countries. Television was also used as a form of propaganda to influence the audience on the reporter’s point of view. This was done using visual elements, which allowed the audience the feel as they were part of the war and to sympathise with the citizens that were dying or were being brutally hurt. The audience began

Journalists were now able to shoot new photographs and video materials. This caused problems, because the uncensored footage shot by these journalists were published and this went against the government’s strict policy, the “information czar”, which entailed censorship in the media.

Music also had an important impact in the Vietnam War. Rock ‘n’ Roll music had an impact on the troops, because it reminded them of their homes. The broadcast of music was censored and songs of protest were restricted from playing on the “Armed Forces Radio”. In response, soldiers rebelled and brought their own music which was comprised of many anti-war songs, since it was popular at the time in the U.S. An example of a popular anti-war song includes Edwin Starr’s “War”.

The Soldiers became involved in influencing others through the media, by being interviewed by a journalist, Morley Safer. This CBS Journalist had made reports about these soldiers by portraying their lives outside of the battlefield. She showed them writing letters concerning private thoughts that they had. Many journalists also included footage of soldiers after battles had taken place, including the event in which NBC reported on a leg wound of a marine colonel which resulted in the amputation of the leg. These stories had very emotional impacts on the