The Vietnam War was a cold war that occurred in Vietnam from November 1, 1955 to April 30th 1975. The war immensely affected Reporters and photographers who went through a big change in their style of reporting.The American media began to take into account the true horror of the war and the political affairs behind it to the American public and the entire world.
This move made the government face opposition from the public who begun to lose hope in the battle and the government.The reliability of the American government experienced their major loss when the Pentagon Papers information was displayed to the public. The paper enclosed numbers from the war that was much higher than reported by the administration. It pointed out high figures of American soldiers’ fatalities and few victorious battles.This move made the other media outlets to get to the truth of the matter.
Photos of dead wounded soldiers were broadcasted in televisions daily since the analysis began. The Vietnam War was the first televised war with the government saying it showed brutality and sparked fear among the citizens (Karnow, 1997).The US government made no authorized effort to censor reporting. The media houses kept on producing films and pictures that brought shock to the people’s living room daily. The majority of the photos not only traumatized the public but enabled them to change their opinion against the Vietnam War.
As they say, a photo says a thousand words, many photos were displayed where Americans were being put to death , women being raped, houses being burnt and children without clothes and food led to many churches and civil groups to protest and ask the American government to withdraw from Vietnam.The Americans assume to date the Vietnam War was fought through photos and stories which led to the governments’ decision to withdraw from the war. On January, 15, 1973, President Nixon declared the suspension of war in North Vietnam and the removal of the troops from Vietnam (Karnow, 1997).In conclusion, the withdrawal from the war was largely influenced by the media and photos from the war which had a great affect on the American public in general.
To date, most of these photos are shown in museums and media houses to remind people of the inhumanity and brutality of the Vietnam War.ReferencesKarnow, Stanley. (1997). Vietnam; a History. USA: Penguin.
