A Study Of American Female War Correspondents In Vietnam War

Vietnam war is very significant in the history of war reporting. And it was an especially important time for female war correspondents. The objects of this research are those American women journalists who reported the Vietnam war during 1950 to 1975. These ladies made prominent contributions to Vietnam war reporting. Their works, stories of which covered angles of politics, culture, history, and the impacts of Vietnam war on Vietnamese, were broadcasted or published on many cable news, net works, radios, news papers, and magazines. This article will analyze this group of female war journalists from the three aspects below.The first part is background description. Compared to earlier wars, the censorship of Vietnam war reporting was much more moderate. Although the American government set numerous obstacles, the American press in those years still enjoyed freedom to a large extent which their ancestors could not imagined. Even the freelancers could get access admits easily. And in 1960's, the America society was in the process of revolution. During that time, American women's education level and self-awareness were both highly raised, which led to the women liberation movement. This trend spread to the news industry very quickly. And women in news room began to fight for their rights and opportunities, which created conditions for their adventures to Vietnam.The second part aims to discuss this group's practical reporting activities. These ladies went to Vietnam carrying varies dreams, such as achieving professional dreams, bringing changes to their careers, and discovering the real face of the war. They focused on depicting the disasters and harms this war brought to Vietnamese and American soldiers, telling how the war forced people to leave the motnerland, destroyed the Vietnam society, culture, and economical systems, and analyzing the origins, development, and influences of this tragedy from different angles. All these made up for the shortfalls of Vietnam war reporting. What's more, the political positions reflected on their works, such as anti-war, anti-communism, supporting the war, and neutral, is also discussed in this article. The plight this group facing up in that time was the theme of part three. American female war correspondents in Vietnam confronted three main difficulties, death threat and physical challenges, dilemma between journalistic professionalism and national interests, and obstructs caused by gender. The last one mainly came from military and the manager class in news room. Those ladies overcame all the troubles and obtained remarkable achievements.