'Reporting Vietnam' a gritty look at reporting the war - Did the press "lose the war"?

SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. — Tue, 26 May 2015 09:45:26 -0400

The answer was "no" for Neil Lakdawala, a student at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

"The media was not always just trying to portrait what the government wants," he said. "I think they did a good deal of work to bring the truth to the light."

http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/2015/05/23/vietnam-war-reporting-newseum/27801123/

'Reporting Vietnam' a gritty look at reporting the war

"Reporting Vietnam," showcases historic photos, news footage, newspapers and magazines, evocative music and more than 90 artifacts that characterized the war era.

Response by Cpl Dennis F. made May 26 at 2015 9:58 AM

Cpl Dennis F. — Tue, 26 May 2015 09:58:54 -0400

The Truth....you cant handle the truth!
Most of the press wrote their stories from the rooftop bar of the Continental hotel in Saigon.

Response by Cpl Dennis F. made May 26 at 2015 10:03 AM

Cpl Dennis F. — Tue, 26 May 2015 10:03:35 -0400

A few exceptions were: Michael Herr, Dana Stone, Sean Flynn (Errol's son) and Tim Page. Stone and Flynn were captured and later killed in Cambodia. Page received a head wound from a mortar round. Herr and Hasford went on to write the screen play for Full Metal jacket

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made May 26 at 2015 11:18 AM

Capt Seid Waddell — Tue, 26 May 2015 11:18:45 -0400

I disagree with Mr. Lakdawala. The media took the enemy's view to a large extent, and their reporting seemed aimed at demoralizing the nation.

The Tet offensive for example was an absolute disaster for the North Vietnamese, and the Viet Cong were destroyed as a fighting force, yet the media portrayed it as an American defeat. And we often saw communist propaganda reported as fact in the press.

And it was not just the media. Many of the Democrat politicians were just as bad. Sen. Fulbright for instance was briefed on a new defensive system we had just deployed, and he came back home and read it into the Congressional record - how it worked and how it could be defeated.

When we had congressional VIPs visiting our command center we had to scrub the status boards and post false but realistic appearing data for the visit. We could not show them anything we were not willing to show the NVA.

It was a different time then. It is difficult to imagine a country turned so strongly against itself yet surviving the experience. Let us hope that we never return to the internal strife of those days.

Response by SFC David Reid, M.S, PHR, SHRM-CP, DTM made Aug 30 at 2022 6:32 PM

SFC David Reid, M.S, PHR, SHRM-CP, DTM — Tue, 30 Aug 2022 18:32:52 -0400

The press did not lose the war,but they surely influenced the general publiv,because they were reporting about a vastly different picture from the Presidents Kennedy and LBJ. The administration were tell and giving glorious accounts based on their perception and body counts that were overstated because they included innocent people such as those that were not the enemy and children.The Americans ability to see the real deal changed the nation's support of Vietnam. Also both Presidents did not want lose face because we were in to deep. We should have learned from from the French who could win in Vietnan before us. I blame advisors,because deep down inside, they could handle thr truth.