How did media coverage of the Tet Offensive impact American policy regarding the Vietnam War?Part A: Investigation PlanThe investigation evaluates media coverage of the Tet Offensive and its impact on American policy regarding the Vietnam War from 1968 to 1969. The survey evaluates the contrast between media broadcasts and government reports on the war, the effect of the media on American public and the effect of American public opinion on President Lyndon B. Johnson's course of action. Two of the sources are examined, Vietnam and America: A Documented History by Marvin E. Gettleman, Jane Franklin, Marilyn Young, and H. Bruce Franklin, and The “Uncensored War”: The Media and Vietnam by Daniel C. Hallin. Part B: Summary of Evidence: The Vietnam War was the first war to enter Americans' living rooms. From 1965 to 1968, 86 percent of CBS and NBC evening newscasts covered the Vietnam War. This coverage was generally favorable to US involvement as the media portrayed the conflict as “good guys fighting communism,” fitting into the ongoing story of the Cold War. The “Five O'clock Follies,” daily press conferences in Saigon, gave a strong sense of progress and American courage. During this period, the number of troops stationed in Vietnam steadily increased without much concern, but as the number of Americans killed in action rose from a monthly average of 172 in 1965 to 770 in 1967, criticism of the Johnson administration grew . in November 1967, the administration launched a “public relations” campaign intended to direct the press to show “the light at the end of the tunnel” in Vietnam. General William Westmoreland, commander of... middle of paper... Vietnam War and Vietnam veteran." The Warbird Forum. Daniel Ford, July 2008. Web. May 18, 2011. .Morelock, Jerry. “Media Coverage turns Tet into a defeat.” History and headlines. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 18 May 2011. .Roleff, Tamara L. The Vietnam War. San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2002 .Print.Simon, Dennis M. “The Vietnam War, 1965-1968.” NP, August 2002. Web. 18 May 2011. .Willbanks, James K. The Tet Offensive: A Concise History . New York: Columbia University Press, 2007. Print.Wyatt, Clarence R. Paper Soldiers The American Press and the Vietnam War. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1993. Print.