Back then, people watched images of combat in movie theaters by way of newsreels. That honor belongs to World War I, long before television was invented. However, Vietnam was not the first American war to be extensively reported using moving images. The Vietnam War was the first in American history to feature television news as the primary way Americans received news about an ongoing war. One reason this belief about news coverage makes sense is because this was the first time images of war were broadcast into most people’s living rooms. He spoke with News Bureau social sciences editor Craig Chamberlain. But little of that is true, says Scott Althaus, the director of the Cline Center for Democracy at the University of Illinois, based on his extensive study of war coverage and public support. One common belief has been that news coverage of the conflict, especially through television, was more negative, more graphic and more focused on casualties, and that the coverage drove the loss of popular support for the war. The Vietnam War was near its height 50 years ago and is getting renewed attention, in part through a PBS series this month.

Man of war vietnam editor