He conveys that, “Cronkite questioned the credibility of American officials who saw “silver linings” in the “darkest clouds.” Yet he cautioned against yielding to “unreasonable pessimism,” settling instead for “the only realistic, yet unsatisfactory conclusion.” The war was stalemated and “the only rational way out” was through negotiation.” (Pach, Online, 2008). The significance of Cronkite’s reading of the editorial piece was not that it shifted the American public’s attitude towards the War, for there was already a resistance to Lyndon B. Johnson’s policy. It Cronkite chose to reflect on the public’s discontent with the war, which resulted to giving a public a voice. The war ended shortly thereafter, and viewers saw that television news had the power to express displeasure on a national platform. With results of Vietnam War ending, the public learned that can trust television news, thus leading them to adopt television as new medium moving …show more content…
Kennedy as it reflects social and political changes in American history, for it showcased television news ability to provide the public the ability to mourn and help the nation to move on. In 1960’s we saw heavy news coverage of the assassinations of King and JFK, which affected social and political movements. All of this was happening within the timeframe of Vietnam War. This proved to be a turbulent era in American History as there was despair and conflict in the Homefront and at the battlefront internationally. Television news was able to provide updated information to viewers in times they wanted answers. The broadcasting of the influential men memorial and funeral gave the American public the opportunity to mourn and to reflect on the virtue’s the men lived by. Moreover for King, Television news coverage of the wrongful murder captured powerful images of nation mourning the death of civil right leader, protesting the unjust murder, and strengthening their fight in equality for all races. The broadcast of the shooting of JFK brought the nation to a standstill, yet the television news coverage was able to provide the news to the entire nation in a sober tone in order for the nation to reflect on what had happen in political realm of the country. The television news coverage of the State funeral of John F. Kennedy provided images that promote the mourning