Research Partners Study Media’s Role in the Vietnam War

Huntington sophomores Chloe Donovan and Madyn Kalb joined together to create an award winning website for this year’s National History Day contest. The project titled, “The Media’s Role in the Vietnam War” garnered the Outstanding Entry on the History of Sciences and Technology Award.

“The process of creating our National History Day project for the theme of ‘Rights and Responsibilities’ was multi-layered and interesting,” the research partners wrote in their accompanying process paper. “We were drawn to war topics initially because of their complex dynamics and significant impact on global history. In particular, the Vietnam War stood out as it not only encapsulated the events of the battlefield but also what was happening back home. Issues of social justice and the citizens’ increased demand for transparency created a unique dynamic that we knew we wanted to dive into.:

The teenagers devoted an enormous amount of time to the project, performing research, editing written and photographic content and developing the finished website.

“The media’s role in the Vietnam War demonstrates the interplay of rights and responsibilities,” wrote the research partners in their process paper. “Journalists exercised their right to freedom of the press, which brought uncensored reports and images directly into the homes of Americans. For the first time, the public was exposed to the harsh realities of war. This brought vivid footage from the front lines, unlike previous wars where newspapers and radio had been the primary sources of information. We were intrigued by how this evolution in media changed the way people engaged with and understood global conflicts.”

Ms. Donovan and Ms. Kalb are very involved around the high school. Ms. Donavan dances with the Huntington Highsteppers, plays on the varsity golf team, is a member of numerous academic honor societies and participates in the Key Club, Grandfriends Club, A World of Difference Club and The Dispatch student newspaper. Ms. Kalb is also involved in the club program as well as playing on the varsity soccer, lacrosse and basketball teams. She played on the high school’s initial flag football team as an eighth grader.

“To explore our topic, we began by researching the historical context of the Vietnam War and its place in U.S. history,” the teenagers wrote in their process paper. “Using online databases, we gathered primary and secondary sources, and once we found credible sources, we discovered facts that piqued our interest and led us to dig deeper. For instance, a journalist’s report on the Pentagon Papers led us to explore the Supreme Court case New York Times v. United States, which highlighted the ability of the media to expose the truth under their right to free press and prevent unlawful government censorship.”

The duo said the result of their research “increased our understanding of how the media operated during the Vietnam War and its profound impact on public opinion. Court cases, journalist reports, and government records provided multiple perspectives on the role of rights and responsibilities in the media.”

The research partners decided to present their findings in the Group Website contest category

“because it allowed us to organize our research into distinct sections that effectively conveyed the complexity of our topic,” they wrote in their process paper. “By dividing the site the way we did, with sections for rights, responsibilities, historical context, recognized journalists, and outcomes, we were able to structure the information in a way that highlighted key elements of the war. Creating this project helped us understand how the theme extended beyond the journalists to the public and the government.”

Journalists’ responsibility to report ethically while exercising their right to inform citizens in a democratic society remains relevant today. Fortunately, we live in a country with free speech and freedom of the press and the media not only serves as a truth teller (in most cases), but also a system of checks and balances, informing the public of not just important topics, but what they should be paying attention to in order to preserve our precious democracy. Journalists not only have these constitutional rights, but also the ethical responsibility to serve their professional creed and uphold the standards of their important position in society and morality.