Date of Award

2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Hicks, Barbara

Keywords

Vietnam, Public Opinion, Media

Area of Concentration

Political Science

Abstract

The Tet Offensive was a surprise military campaign conduced by the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army in early 1968 that resulted in simultaneous battles stretching from towns to cities to 27 U.S. military installations. It was a military victory for the U.S. and a political victory for the communist opposition. The media's role in framing the battle was substantial. Despite winning the battle, the U.S. military saw support for the war weaken, and the U.S. lost the war. Antiwar democratic presidential candidates Senators Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy were strengthened by the Tet Offensive, and President Johnson announced at the end of March that he would not run for reelection in 1968. Media mismanagement by the U.S. government resulted in a political victory for Hanoi. While many journalistic errors were beyond the control of individual journalists, many flaws were avoidable. The widespread journalistic errors show a virtual abandonment by the press in its role as the fourth estate. The distorted reporting on the Tet Offensive harmed U.S. support for the war and helped hasten U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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