AIM blames TV for Viet loss

This just in: America lost the war in Vietnam because of WalterCronkite. That was very naughty of you, Walter. Naughty, naughty,naughty. Film at 9 p.m.

And what you will see at 9 tonight on WTTW-Channel 11 is aone-hour report on the alleged Cronkite Conspiracy when PBS and"Point of View" present "Television's Vietnam: The Impact of theMedia." Is any of this true?

Charlton Heston tells us so, and any man who can part the Red Seaand make his way through "The Colbys" with a straight face can't beignored.

Funded and produced by Accuracy in Media (AIM), a right-wingmedia watchdog group, "Television's Vietnam" is a sequel of sorts to"Television's Vietnam: The Real Story," which aired on manypublic-television stations last year in response to the 1983 PBSseries, "Vietnam: A Television History."

The underlying assumptions in both specials suggest the originalaward-winning "Vietnam: A Television History" was handicapped by aliberal media bias and that the documentary series never really dealtwith the true reason for the U.S. defeat in Vietnam: namely that theCronkite cabal and the rest of the American media undermined thenation's willingness to support the war.

Thus, the U.S. news media, aided by the peace movement, fellinto the clutches of the North Vietnamese to weaken our resolve infighting communism.

Using the authoritative tones of Heston, "Television'sVietnam: The Impact of Media" attempts to put forth a thesis of mediaduplicity in formulating the root cause of America's defeat inSoutheast Asia.

Tonight's special latches onto two events of the Vietnam War toargue its point: the 1968 Tet Offensive and the 1967-68 siege of KheSanh.

Heston argues that the Tet Offensive was horribly andinaccurately reported on the scene by print and electronic mediareporters, who asserted that the U.S. Embassy in Saigon had beenoverrun by the Viet Cong, when in fact the intruders on the embassygrounds never made it to the front door before being gunned down.

By reporting otherwise, Heston argues, the public was led tobelieve that Tet was a more effective maneuver than it really was,fueling the impression that the North Vietnamese were turning thetide of the war in their favor.

Regarding Khe Sanh, Heston berates the American media forfocusing on the wreckages on the few American aircraft actually shotdown during the siege and ignoring the fact that while 199 U.S.troops died while defending Khe Sanh, 9,000 to 14,000 NorthVietnamese soldiers were killed.

"Television's Vietnam" attacks the media for ignoring a NorthVietnamese massacre of 3,000 citizens at Hue, but refers to the MyLai murders of innocent villagers by U.S. troops as an unfortunatecase of "overzealousness."

Were there excesses in reporting the war? Sure. Were thereinaccuracies? Absolutely. But for Heston and AIM to suggest thatthe media was responsible for chipping away at this nation's resolveto fight in Vietnam borders on lunacy.

Heston never once considers the effect that more than 50,000body bags may have had on America's resolve. He never muses on thedifficulty of fighting a war in which troops could not launchoffensives into North Vietnam. And he never addresses the fact thatcovering a war, with all its complexities, is sometimes like tryingto capture wind in a bottle.

Almost as ludicrous is Heston's assertion that reporterscovering the war never spent more than a well-shielded day or so atthe front of any battle. Perhaps he's confusing the media with hisown USO tours.

Heston needs to brush up on his own history beyond chariotraces, as he dismisses the 1954 French defeat at Dien Bien Phu, where15,000 troops were killed or wounded, as a "symbolic" victory for theNorth Vietnamese. Some symbol.

AIM certainly has a right to air its views on PBS, which isfunded by public money. Television is full of all sorts of claptrap,so what difference does it make to add a bit more from Heston andAIM?

In the final analysis, whatever legitimate points this specialpursues are lost in a sea of lapses of accuracy and fairness. Butthat's the trouble when you tend to fly on only one wing. Whetherit's the left one or the right one, you still travel around incircles, never getting anywhere.

Rating: (STAR) `The American Promise'

It's always a dicey proposition to try to understand Americawithin the limited confines of television. But America remains achallenge for journalists, historians and observers, including themost recent effort launched by John Chancellor and NBC. "The AmericanPromise," the first of a series of periodic reports airing during thenext 18 months, will begin at 9 tonight on WMAQ-Channel 5.

"The American Promise" explores the nation's most precioushallmarks of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness among itspeople.

The Statue of Liberty centennial celebrations inspired newthoughts about freedom, liberty and opportunity. Those words,Chancellor suggests, seem to be abstractions taken for granted in ourday-to-day lives as we go to work, struggle with bills and fighttraffic.

"The American Promise" draws those abstractions into sharperfocus. Tonight's one-hour premiere installment ponders the lives offour different Americans.

The NBC series will try to provide some points to ponder aboutthe country. This is not a flashy series, but it is a rarity onnetwork television today: a contemplative effort to slow down thepace a bit and simply think about ourselves and our country. That'sa bold notion: people sitting around in prime time, discussing themost valuable commodity on television - ideas.

Rating: (STAR) (STAR) (STAR)