War Photojournalism and Vietnam
An Internet Study

Introduction:  

    Photography is a subject that has always fascinated me. I am intriqued by other photographer’s work, as well as, enjoy taking pictures on my own. I have taken two black and white photo courses, one at UNC and the other in Florence, Italy. While I am comfortable with the technical aspects of this subject, I want to learn more about applying this talent to journalism. In an effort to narrow my research choice I turned to war photography and Vietnam specifically. Vietnam was the first televised war, which shocked the nation with its realities.

    In the past decade, several bills have been passed by the United States Congress in an attempt to censor the Internet. The Supreme Court has already declared the Communications Decency Act and the Child Online Protection Act unconstitutional and other acts are under review. While U.S. citizens have the protection of their First Amendment right, others are not as fortunate. In countries such as Vietnam, dissenters opposing communism, who voice these views on the Internet, are silenced daily.

    Initially, the Vietnamese government tried to squelch anti-communist Web sites at the source by blocking citizen access through government filters. However, people quickly learned to evade the filters through proxies. (1) As a result, Phan An Sa, deputy chief inspector at the Ministry of Culture and Information, intends to attack the medium, computers. In Vietnam, most Internet patrons must access the Web through public Internet cafés. Café owners are now being held responsible for the information their customers access. From a population of 79 million, there were 175,000 people registered on the Internet as of June of 2002, but that number is expected to grow to 600,000. (1)

    Despite numerous arrests, people continue to try to spread the hope of democracy. Pham Ngoc runs an anti-communist Web site from California. It is called Thong Luan, or “information debate.” Ngoc compares trying to prevent the discovery of his site to a game, but it’s only a matter of time before his site is shut down. (2)

    Though minimal, the U.S. is making an effort to disseminate information to censored citizens. The government-sponsored Voice of America has developed a few techniques to slow government filters, such as duplicating Web sites on different networks. Even so, the success of VOA’s attempts rests with funding. In 2001 Congress allocated only $10 million to the cause. Without help, Internet censorship in Vietnam will continue undaunted. (2)

(1) Anick Jesdanun. “Governments, Technologists Battle Over Internet Censorship.” In
Lexis-Nexis [database online]. Associated Press, 1 September 2002 [updated 1
September 2002; cited 29 January 2003]. <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/>.
Available from UNC-CH Libraries.

(2) “Vietnam Mulling Tightening of Internet Access.” In Lexis-Nexis [database online].
Agence France Presse, 16 August 2002 [updated 17 August 2002; cited 29
January 2003]. <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/>. Available from UNC-CH
Libraries.

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Web Sources:

Title of Web Page: Newseum
Web Address: www.newseum.org
Brief Description: This is an informational Web site promoting the Newseum, a journalism museum in Washington, D.C. It also contains interactive “cyber exhibits” which provide information on National Geographic women photographers, the children on Kosovo, the Holocaust and stories of war correspondents. This link highlights interviews and the influence of advances in technology. This site is useful for general information and shows interested people where they can learn more.
Source of Web site: Newseum and Freedom Forum

Title of Web page: Reportage: The Online Magazine of Photojournalism
Web Address: http://www.reportage.org/index.html
Brief Description: This Web site is the online version of a print magazine. It tells the stories of photos taken from all over the world, including several war-torn countries. The site covers not only the background of these photos, but also issues and concerns with photojournalism. This is a useful Web site; not only for its interesting articles, but for the amazing photos which accompany them.
Source of Web site: Editors Colin Jacobson and Menno van de Koppel

Title of Web page: International Combat Camera Association, Inc.
Web Address: www.combatcamera.org
Brief Description: This Web site is to provide information on an association in Los Angeles that supports all combat photographers. The site is well organized and informational. While it may contain some bias and have membership motivations, it contains several interesting links to Web sites related to Vietnam and veterans.
Source of Web Site: International Combat Camera Association, Inc. is the indirect source. I was not able to find a direct source.

Title of Web page: The Digital Journalist
Web Address: http://digitaljournalist.org
Brief Description: This site is a “multimedia magazine for photojournalism in a digital age.” The amount of information within this Web page is astounding and, at times, overwhelming. Even so, it has a helpful search engine to weed through the current and historical information provided. This site is useful for finding ideas to narrow ones’ research.
Source of Web site: Hewlett Packard

Title of Web page: Vietnam: Yesterday and Today
Web Address: http://servercc.oakton.edu/~wittman/index.htm
Brief Description: This is an Oakton Community College Web page designed by a professor. It provides a useful and extensive overview of the Vietnam War, the events leading up to war, and the aftermath. Additionally, the Web site includes suggested books and about 20 other sites with supporting information. The site is divided into simple sub-headings leading to information on virtually any area of Vietnam.
Source of Web site: Sandra Wittman

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Non-Internet Sources:

Print Sources-

Brothers, Caroline. War and Photography: A Cultural History. London; New York:
Routledge, 1997. Davis TR820.6.B76.
Moeller, Susan D. Shooting War: Photography and the American Experience of Combat.
New York: Basic Books, 1989. Davis TR820.5.M63.

Non-Paper Source-

CBS Incorporated. Vietnam: Chronicle of a War. Pro. By Russ Bensley and Lesley
Midgley. 88 min. MGM/CBS Home Video, 1981. Videocassette. UL Media
Resources 65-V209.

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Electronic Indexes and Datatbase Sources:

Burmaster, Alex. “Shooting Both Sides.” In Infotrac [database online]. London, England:
New Statesman, 16, July 2001 [updated 16 July 2001; cited 28 January 2003].
<http://www.nclive.org/cgi-bin/nclsm?rsrc=113.> Available from UNC-CH
Libraries.

Burrows, Larry. “The Unflinching Eye: Geoff Dyer Looks Through a Collection that
Defines the Art of Photojournalism.” In Lexis-Nexis [database online]. Albany,
N.Y.: The Guardian, 18 January 2003 [updated 18 January 2003, cited 28 January
2003]. < http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/ >. Available from UNC-CH
Libraries.

Freudenheim, Susan. “Photography.” In Lexis-Nexis [database online]. Los Angeles,
C.A.: Los Angeles Times, 8 December 2002 [updated 8 December 2002; cited
28 January 2003]. <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/> Available from UNC-
CH Libraries.

Hellmuth, Ann. “Women at War: Female Journalists Write About Covering Vietnam.” In
Lexis-Nexis [database online]. Albany, N.Y.: The Times Union, 19 January 2003
[updated 20 January 2003; cited 28 January 2003].
<http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/>. Available from UNC-CH Libraries.

Kleiner, Carolyn. “ The Enemy’s Face.” In EBSCOHost [database online]. Washington,
D.C.: US News & World Report, 14 January 2002 [updated 14 January 2002;
Cited 28 January 2003]. <http://nclive.org/cgi-bin/nclsm?vend=1>. Available
UNC-CH Libraries.

Rife, Jerry. “Witnesses; ‘Shooting Under Fire’ Gathers the Experiences, and Work, of 10
War Photographers.” In Lexis-Nexis [database online]. San Diego, C.A.: The
San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 December 2002 [updated 30 December 2002; cited
28 January 2003]. <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/>. Available from UNC-
CH Libraries.