VIETNAM WAR
The Vietnam War altered the substance of television news, and television news moved public opinion of the Vietnam War. Historians offer CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite as a watershed moment for both. On February 27, CBS News aired a prime-time special entitled “Report from Vietnam: Who, What, When, Where, Why?” Cronkite—a respected newsman and former Houstonian—had returned from his personal investigation of the Vietnam offensive and was prepared to pass judgement. “We have been too often disappointed by the optimism of the American leaders, both in Vietnam and Washington, to have faith any longer in the silver linings they find in the darkest clouds,” he told million of television viewers. “It seems now more certain than ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate.” As one of the most trusted voices in news, Cronkite’s departure from reporting official accounts to delivering his own grim pronouncement undeniably bore considerable impact. Disillusioned Americans found expression for their narrowing popular support, while other broadcasters gradually infused news coverage with personal commentary.
On-the-ground reporting, however, was not limited to network coverage. KPRC-TV sent news cameras to Vietnam in December 1966, more than a year before Cronkite, and produced two television documentaries: A Christmas Card from Vietnam and The Vietnam Diary.
The following collection of local television and official White House news coverage chronicles both military and diplomatic developments as well as the growing national debate surrounding anti-war demonstrations. As troop deployment and casualities peaked in 1968, so too did opposition protests.
The Vietnam War altered the substance of television news, and television news moved public opinion of the Vietnam War. Historians offer CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite as a watershed moment for both. On February 27, CBS News aired a prime-time special entitled “Report from Vietnam: Who, What, When, Where, Why?” The respected newsman—a former World War II correspondent—had returned from an on-the-ground investigation of the Vietnam offensive and was prepared to pass judgement. “We have been too often disappointed by the optimism of the American leaders, both in Vietnam and Washington, to have faith any longer in the silver linings they find in the darkest clouds,” he told million of television viewers. “It seems now more certain than ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate.” As one of the most trusted voices in news, Cronkite’s departure from reporting official accounts to delivering his own grim pronouncement bore considerable impact. Disillusioned Americans found expression for their narrowing popular support, while other broadcasters gradually infused news coverage with personal commentary. The Johnson administration disparaged critical press coverage of the Vietnam War, with some government officials arguing that purported media bias subverted public approval and depressed troop morale.
The following collection of local television and official White House news coverage chronicles both military and diplomatic developments as well as the growing national debate surrounding anti-war demonstrations. As troop deployment and casualities peaked in 1968, so too did opposition protests.
