Reporting Vietnam, by William M. Hammond

Reporting Vietnam: Media & Military at War, by William M. Hammond
University Press of Kansas, 1998
296 pages, plus photos, notes, and index
Library: 959.70438 HAM

Description
For many Americans during the Vietnam era, the war on the home front seemed nearly as wrenching and hardfought as the one in Southeast Asia. Its primary battlefield was the news media, its primary casualty the truth. But as William Hammond reveals, animosity between government and media wasn't always the rule; what happened between the two during the Vietnam War was symptomatic of the nation's experience in general. As the "light at the end of the tunnel" dimmed, relations between them grew ever darker.

Based on classified and recently declassified government documents-including Nixon's national security files-as well as on extensive interviews and surveys of press war coverage, Reporting Vietnam tells how government and media first shared a common vision of American involvement in Vietnam.

It then reveals how, as the war dragged on, upbeat government press releases were consistently challenged by journalists' reports from the field and finally how, as public sentiment shifted against the war; Presidents Johnson and Nixon each tried to manage the news media, sparking a heated exchange of recriminations.

Hammond strongly challenges the assertions of many military leaders that the media lost the war by swaying public opinion. He takes readers through the twists and turns of official public affairs policy as it tries to respond to a worsening domestic political environment and recurring adverse "media episodes." Along the way, he makes important observations about the penchant of American officials for placing appearance ahead of substance and about policy making in general.

Although Richard Nixon once said of the Vietnam War,"Our worst enemy seems to be the press," Hammond clearly shows that his real enemies were the contradictions and flawed assumptions that he and LBJ had created. Reporting Vietnam brings a critical study to a wider audience and is both a major contribution to an ongoing debate and a cautionary guide for future conflicts.

Table of Contents
Preface
1. Taking Sides
2. Maximum Candor
3. Keeping the Options Open
4. The Ground WAr
5. Keeping a Low Profile
6. The South Vietnamese Dimension
7. Claims of Progress-and Counterclaims
8. The Tet Offensive
9. "War in a Goldfish Bowl"
10. "I Will Not Warn Again"
11. Keeping Control
12. Questioning Begins
13. My Lai and Other Atrocities
14. Incursion into CAmbodia
15. A Change of Direction
16. Incursion into Laos
17. SAving Face
18. The Easter Offensive
19. Endgame
Conclusion
Notes
Index



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