Television followed public opinion in its revulsion of the war, while being mildly critical of the

government and at the same time giving support to the common soldier. Television became the right
hand of media in America, news had evolved from black and white print to sensationalized and vivid
facts. Though initial coverage generally supported the United States involvement in the war, the media
became the most powerful influence on the American peoples perception of the war and this power
changed the medias attitude. The motive of broadcasts gravitated to the public opinion which the
media used to strengthen their influence, they were the lenses through which America saw the war and
whatever tint they choose steered the thoughts of the common man. A strong argument can be made
on how the American media chose the villains of the Vietnam War.
The American media no longer supported the governments position based on the mutual
understanding that the public needed to be kept in dark for the preservation of the nation as in WWII.
This absurd lapse of federal oversight was further compounded since the United States government was
not in a position of control to exercise any restrictions on what the media published. The Vietnam War
was quite literally broadcast uncensored into Americas schools each day and living rooms every
evening. Unable to defend their position or restrict the sensational headlines, the American government
was losing the sphere of influence when its people were ashamed of their own boys overseas.
As the seeming endless campaign raged on with no end in sight, Americans began to feel that
the ends did not justify the means. Many anti-war activists were simply enraged by the atrocities and
irrationally targeted the American soldiers who had little or no say in the matter. Ultimately soldiers
were blamed for atrocities that public simply did not have the capacity to understand nor the will.
However typical, this dissent ballooned into alarming figure as slowly but surely the media coverage of
the Vietnam War turned public support away from American government, her soldiers and the war.
Media was simply a business, there was no antiwar agenda; simply the pursuit of profit and power and
negative coverage was more sensational.
The Tet Offensive marked a turning point in the unofficial Vietnam War that would see the
United States involvement in Vietnam come to an end. Communist forces launched a nationwide assault
on South Vietnamese positions under the Tet holiday ceasefire. The resulting battle was a commanding
victory against North Vietnam in which the Vietcong was utterly destroyed and the United States and
her allies suffered far fewer casualties. On the propaganda level, this colossal victory had the opposite
effect as American media were caught off guard and misunderstood the situation. They focused on the
fact that Communist forces could launch coordinated attacks all over Vietnam and by doing so made US
politicians and generals look like fools. The activist antiwar media reported the Tet Offensive as a
decisive victory for Communist forces and proof that the US was fighting an insurmountable war. What
little public support remained rapidly faltered, as negative publicity weakened the nerve of American
politicians even though they had practically won the war.