Watching TV News and Supporting the Military:A Surprising Impact of the News Media
Abstract
Watching TV News and Supporting the Military A SURPRISING IMPACT OF THE NEWS MEDIA C. RICHARD HOFSTETTER San Diego State University DAVID W. MOORE University of New Hampshire wo propositions are often expressed about public attitudes toward the military during the Vietnam period; first, that public di- vision over the war and eventual opposition to it translated into low public esteem for the military, and second, that television helped foster this low esteem by its live coverage, its pictures of fighting and killing influencing people's attitudes primarily against the war and then against the military as well.' Segal and Blair have argued persuasively against part of the first proposition by demonstrating that increased opposition to the war did not translate into lower public confidence in the military as an institution, although it did apparently translate into lower confidence in military leaders and to greater opposition to defense expenditures.2 Here we will examine the second proposition, that television exerts a negative influence on public attitudes toward the military. Even if, as Segal argues, the military as a whole did not suffer in public confi- dence due to the Vietnam War, television could still have influenced viewers to be less