Vietnam - The Living Room War

How television influenced the public perspective of war.

By Jessica Newberry 

Vietnam was an anomaly in America - it was the 

American family watching nightly news report. 

first war that featured on television, despite America’s involvement in World War Two.  However, following 1945 there was a boom in the television industry; mass production made television sets more affordable and therefore more accessible for the average American family. In 1945 only 10 000 households owned a television, however by 1960 this figure rose to six million. Consequently, the unprecedented horrors of war entered the living rooms of American families for the first time during the Vietnam War. Additionally, by 1964 58% of Americans claimed they obtained their news from television. The visuals and personality through the televised reports created a connection between the viewer and the news footage, which prompted empathy for the Vietnamese and brought a sense of reality to the forefront of the engagement. Subsequently, television became the primary source of news for most Americans during the Vietnam War.

Furthermore, it was LBJ’s fateful mistake not to declare Vietnam a war; as the conflict was only officially declared an ‘Extended Military Engagement,’ the US had little control over what media outlets released to the public, which was unprecedented during a time of war -  journalists had free reign over what they reported. The uncensored reports generally portrayed irrational killings and brutal murders of innocent Vietnamese citizens, unwillingly caught up in the conflict, such as the My 

Devastation of the My Lai Massacre

Lai Massacre, which saw the U.S murder over 400 innocent Vietnamese citizens. Reports following this focused on graphic footage showing the aftermath of the fighting – ravished villages, homeless children and lifeless bodies strewn across the streets. For many, it was a shock seeing the true horrors of war, which turned support away from the war.

The Tet Offensive can be considered as the turning point for the way news reports covered the conflict, as news coverage depicted U.S forces suffering heavy casualties as a result of the Viet Cong-led offensive. This in turn eroded support for the war, as it appeared to be nothing but a bloody stalemate. Coverage of the combat scenes became more frequent and graphic following the campaign, with 3 times more military casualties and 4 times as many combat scenes being broadcast, than before the Tet. Additionally, 600 credited journalists were reporting from Vietnam following the campaign, which dominated 90% of evening news. The escalation of the coverage helps to contextualise how the media influenced public opinion of the war; as television 

Aftermath of the Tet Offensive.

channels were bombarded with news reports from the front line, viewing figures rose, meaning more Americans were subject to the negative news reports than ever before.  Therefore it can be considered that negative reporting shaped the public opinion, which undermined the support for war in the U.S. 

It is evident that the uncensored televised accounts of the war were damaging to the prestige of the U.S army; the televisual reports of the Vietnam War had an unprecedented effect on viewing audiences, as they unveiled the true horrors of war and thrust them in to the living rooms of American's, which led to large-scale public scrutiny. Ultimately, it was the fate of the living room war that lost the public support for the Vietnam conflict.