"It's the first war we've ever fought on the television screen and the first war that our country ever fought where the media had full reign"
- William Westmoreland
About this Quote
This quote by William Westmoreland is describing the Vietnam War, which was the initial battle to be televised as well as covered by the media. This quote highlights the effect of the media on the war, as it was the very first battle to be transmitted on tv and to be covered by the media. This quote additionally implies that the media had a terrific impact on the war, as it was the very first battle to be battled with the media having full reign. This quote is a tip of the power of the media and also how it can form public opinion and affect the result of a battle. It additionally serves as an advising to future generations of the prospective consequences of enabling the media to have too much power.
"Television brought the brutality of war into the comfort of the living room. Vietnam was lost in the living rooms of America - not on the battlefields of Vietnam"
"The printed page conveys information and commitment, and requires active involvement. Television conveys emotion and experience, and it's very limited in what it can do logically. It's an existential experience - there and then gone"
"Television news is like a lightning flash. It makes a loud noise, lights up everything around it, leaves everything else in darkness and then is suddenly gone"
"Television sounded really different than the Ramones sounded really different than us sounded really different than Blondie sounded really different than the Sex Pistols"
"I can think of nothing more boring for the American people than to have to sit in their living rooms for a whole half hour looking at my face on their television screens"
"Janet Reno, during her confirmation hearings, said she would come down harder on porno, and lately she's talked about how violence on television has an effect on violence in the real world"
"I think it's brought the world a lot closer together, and will continue to do that. There are downsides to everything; there are unintended consequences to everything. The most corrosive piece of technology that I've ever seen is called television - but then, again, television, at its best, is magnificent"
