The United States dispatched combat troops and large amounts of war materiel to South Vietnam in March 1965 to fight the Communists of North Vietnam. The Vietnam War ended with the Communist takeover of the entire country. The role of the American news media in reporting the events of the war has been examined by scholars ever since. The manner in which the media reported the Tet Offensive of January to August 1968 has been of particular interest, as some argue that the media contributed to defeat in the war and helped unseat an American president.

Antiwar sentiments were first expressed in "teachins" held at the University of Michigan in March 1965, and other student bodies soon followed suit. Many parents of draft-age students also opposed the war. By late 1967, the United States had over 500,000 military personnel in South Vietnam and the immediate vicinity. Many Americans who...