As I was working on Johnson, Nixon, and the Doves, a study of the impact of the antiwar movement on decisionmakers, I realized that one important part of the story that had not been told, which I simply could not incorporate in that book, concerned the relationship between the media and the movement. Indeed, that relationship was central to the question of how antiwarriors influenced policy because their effectiveness depended on the way the media brought their activities to the attention of the public and the people in power. After all, if no one had been impressed with their marches, rallies, and speeches, Presidents Johnson and Nixon would have enjoyed a much freer hand in Southeast Asia.
After completing Johnson, Nixon, and the Doves, I turned to this related study, on which I have worked off and on since 1988. I have received a good deal of essential assistance from many people and institutions over the past few years. Aside from series editor Barbara L. Tischler, who was one of the very helpful readers for Rutgers University Press, Natalie Atkin, Charles Chatfield, George Herring, Chris Johnson, Ralph Levering, and Lynn Parsons have commented on all or large portions of the manuscript.
The Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation once again generously supported my work at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texas, where David Humphrey and Regina Greenwell guided me through the materials. Byron Parham was helpful during my visit to the Richard M. Nixon Presidential Materials Project in Alexandria, Virginia. Michael Gibson at Vanderbilt University's Television News Archive assisted in preparing taped materials used for the illustrations. Bill Klein of CBS helped me gain access to his company's news archives in New York City.
Wayne State University's Graduate School and History Department provided grants to help defray expenses for photographs and permissions and the university awarded me sabbaticals in 1988 and 1992 during which time I worked on this project. The photography unit at the university, under the able direction of Deborah Kingery, produced most of the photographs that illustrate the volume. Gerry Dervish, an old antiwarrior who now owns Troy Video, took some of the video shots, Judith Legosky of the Royal Oak Public Library permitted some of her valuable microfilm to leave the building, and the Wayne State History Department's excellent office staff of Ginny Corbin . . .