The period during the Vietnam War was in many ways a turning point. After the Tet Offensive of 1968 the photographs produced from the American media no longer supported heroic, patriotic values. Instead the photo's were tragic, and graphic in their depiction of the brutal violence of the Vietnam war, and proved effective in shaking the public's convictions on the righteousness of the war and of the American cause.

To many the Vietnam War was a 'Living room War' - the lack of official censorship allowed many kinds of images to filter through the media, many of which evoked horror through the unapologetic display of different forms of death. These images were shocking, and for once war wasn't celebrated - it was condemned. It started a chain of moral questioning that, some would argue, eventually led to the end of the war and to the United States' 'loss'.

Many iamges from this period in partcular have "become personal icons, involuntarily remembered when a particular war is menioned." (Rothstein) They often depict the imminence of death.

"During the Spanish-American War, war photographs played up the heroism of troops, and overlooked the gross mismanagement of the conflict. During the Korean War the press disapproved of the offficial conduct of war, but did continue to champion the fortitutde of the soldiers." Up until the Vietnam war, images of war were usually always propagandistic in nature.Indeed, "photographs of battle reflect and influence the current interpretation of American culture." (Rothstein) Due to the kind of coverage it had, hte 1898 Spanish-American war was seemed heroic; the Vietnam War, by comparison, was seen as an example of American Imperialism. As published photographs became more and more candid, people began to realize the folly of war and that it was wrong.

Nixon said of the media:

"This was the first war in history during which our media were more friendly to our enemies than to our allies... The dishonest, double standard coverage of the Vietnam War was not one of the American Media's finer hours. It powerfully distorted public perceptions, and these were reflected in Congress."

Nixon in large part blamed the "liberal bias" of the American media's war correspondents.