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Public affairs : the military and the media, 1968-1973 / by William M. Hammond.

by Hammond, William M.

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Washington, D.C. : Center of Military History, United States Army, 1996.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Press coverage.

Armed Forces and mass media -- United States -- History.

Electronic Resource

http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015038546555

0160485428 (hardback)

9780160485428 (hardback)

United States Army in Vietnam.

xix, 659 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm

1."War in a Goldfish Bowl". Fighting while negotiating; News embargo: Operation Delaware; A change in command; The enemy attacks; May 1968; Press coverage; concern for civilian losses; Abrams' approach to Public Affairs Policy; American forces withdraw from Khe Sanh; The enemy attacks again: August 1968 -- 2. The November bombing halt. Doubts continue; Political realities take precedence; The South Vietnamese object -- 3."I will not warn again". Secretary Laird takes control; Nixon considers air attacks on Cambodia; The Tet Offensive of 1969; Bombing begins in Cambodia -- 4. Contradictions. The American dilemma; The effort to curtail American casualties; Tentative reductions begin; The Battle of Hamburger Hill; The American withdrawal begins; The Battle of Ben Het; Further restrictions on information -- 5. Vietnamization. The attitude of the press; The Nixon administration's perceptions; Improving the South Vietnamese image -- 6. Keeping Control: South Vietnam. The South Vietnamese image; The South Vietnamese attitude; South Vietnamese sensitivities; A new statement of mission for MACV; The Green Beret affair; The attempt to limit further damage -- 7. The mood in the United States. Public Affairs initiative; September-October 1969; The 3 November speech; The President moves to retain the initiative; The news media covers the March on Washington -- 8. Race and drugs. Morale declines; Race relations; Drug abuse -- 9. Discipline and dissent. The Club scandal; The Alpha Company Affair; Allegations of censorship -- 10. My Lai and other atrocities. The incidents of 3 November; Atrocity at My Lai; The effort to contain the damage; The White House and the media react -- 11. The My Lai controversy broadens. The incidents of 3 November resurface; My Lai remains an issue; The Calley trial and its aftermath -- 12. Improving official credibility: Laos. Pressures grow for a change of policy; Nixon compromises; New disclosures force a reappraisal; A new public affairs policy for Laos; Reporters converge on Vientiane.

13. Cambodia becomes an issue. Questions arise about Cambodia; Managing relations with the news media; The President weighs his options, April 1970; The idea of a combined operation takes shape; Countering the opposition -- 14. Incursion into Cambodia. The press; Public Affairs Policy in the field; The situation in the United States; Mixed signals; Difficulties with the press; The attempt to establish success; The news media react; The administration attempts to regroup; American forces withdraw -- 15. A change of direction. Institutional debility; The Saigon correspondents; A case study in change -- 16. Morale becomes an issue. Signs of crisis appear; Herbicides; Combat refusals; Problems with race relations and fragging; Drug abuse; The South Vietnamese connection -- 17. Embargo, Dewey Canyon II. The idea for a raid into Laos takes shape; Handling the press; "Speculation is rampant' -- 18. Lam Son 719. Public relations scenarios; Confusing the issues; Arrangements in the field; Public and editorial opinion; Information policy bends; Helicopter losses and other controversies; The operation falters -- 19. Saving face. Questioning continues; Withdrawal begins; An attempt at image preservation; Assessments -- 20. Holding the line,1971. The Herbert and Hackworth Affairs; Deepening malaise; A single bad day of publicity; Face-off in Vietnam; The South Vietnamese election of 1971 -- 21. Easter offensive. Covering a backwater war; Warnings of a Spring offensive; The offensive begins, April 1972; Handling the press; Problems with the Saigon correspondents; The air war escalates -- 22. Ultimatum: "Settle or else!" General Abrams intervenes; Mining and bombing North Vietnam; Controversy with the press continues; The situation in South Vietnam -- 23. The realities of power. A peace offensive; The negotiations break down; The Christmas bombing; The end of American involvement.

Public Affairs: The Military and the Media, 1968-1973, the sequel volume to William M. Hammond's Public Affairs: The Military and the Media, 1962-1968, continues the history and analysis of the relationship between the press and the military during the final years of the Vietnam conflict. Relying on official records and histories, news media sources and interviews, and significant secondary works, Hammond has carefully and capably traced the many turns that public affairs policies and campaigns took to protect military secrets without diminishing the independence of news correspondents. Massive amounts of information were forthcoming without endangering U.S. forces, but neither the press nor the government was totally satisfied with the system. Doubts and criticisms loomed large, giving rise to tensions and disagreements. With some exceptions, the military and the news media became enemies. What happened in Vietnam between the military and the news media was symptomatic of what had occurred in the United States as a whole. Hammond's well-written account raises the issues and problems that can confront an open society at war, documenting events and precedents that will continue to affect military-media relations during future operations. It offers important lessons for Soldiers, newsmen, policymakers, and the public at large.

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