THE TET OFFENSIVE: THE EMBASSY ATTACK (JAN.31, 1968)
The attack came down at around 3am Saigon time but there was no live video capability in 1968 from Vietnam. The films of the attack were put on airplanes and sent to locations like Hong Kong or Tokyo where they could be sent via satellite earth stations back to the United States.
At 1130pm both CBS and NBC aired "Special Reports" on the Communist offensive in Saigon and around Vietnam, bringing viewers the drama orchestrated by the enemy to gain a propaganda victory.
The Tet Offensive would be a propaganda victory beyond their wildest imaginations.
Media bias and the Tet Offensive was detailed out in Peter Braestrup's "Big Story" book published in the 1970's.
Public anger and angst over biased news reporting boiled over into the ranks of television news itself in 1970 when ABC anchor and commentator Howard K. Smith, a man with socialist, anti-religious and pro-gun control views, told "TV Guide" that there indeed was a liberal bias in television news that showed itself in coverage related to the Vietnam War.
Meanwhile, the NBC co-anchor Chet Huntley left his job in the summer of 1970 lamenting the political divisions caused in part by the Vietnam War and also decrying the increase in government bureaucracy. Wow, would he be shocked if he lived to see this day.
Many believed he was headed back to his native Montana to pursue a career in politics as a Republican candidate for US Senate. CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite even chuckled at the notion of a Huntley political career, probably chuckling at his conservative libertarian ideas that caused Huntley to cross a picket line when the TV network people went on strike in 1967 while Uncle Walter walked with a picket sign.
Links to videos of "Special Reports" below.
NBC NEWS SPECIAL REPORT (EMBASSY ATTACK AT 4:00)
CBS SPECIAL REPORT (EMBASSY ATTACK AT 1:25)
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