cristobal_huet
The Vietnam War was a defining moment in journalism. Many historians and military leaders blamed the media as one of the major factors for the United State's failure in Southeast Asian. With the advancement in technology, it made news stories more accessible and harder to censor. In the book, "The Influencing Machine", the author Brook Gladstone outlines the way different types of media biases are purposefully implemented for underlying reasons. An in-depth analysis of each media bias and their presence during the Vietnam War will provide a better understanding on the affects of media biases.
According to American journalist and media analyst Brooke Gladstone, a visual bias acts as a "visual hook" to catch the attention of readers with hopes of drawing a wider audience. During the Vietnam War, the media had no shortage of visual biases to select from, but nothing screamed "visual hook" more than the infamous moment when a South Vietnamese police chief publicly executed a communist prisoner. This was captured on camera by photographer and journalist Eddie Adams. The photo taken was a contributing factor in shaping the public's opinion on what was already a polarizing war. To summarize, Eddie Adams would win a Pulitzer Prize in 1969 for this coverage, and not only was it an iconic moment during the Vietnam War, but for the history of journalism as well.
