By Jennifer Marino
The lecture was followed by a question and answer period. The cameras were filming for C-SPAN 2's Book TV. The program should air within a few weeks.
Steinman was the bureau chief for NBC news in Saigon from April 1966 to July 1968. His book is about broadcast journalism and how the coverage of Vietnam changed journalism. Covering a war on the front lines with television cameras was a brand new phenomenon and the journalists learned from experience.
"Stay alive. Report the story. Tell the truth as you know it and see it," said Steinman of the job of the correspondent. Living in an apartment over his office, he was always on call.
It was a dangerous time. Steinman recalls that a group of reporters were killed going through a checkpoint about 20 minutes before he went through it.
Reporters bought flak jackets and steel helmets on the black-market and hitched rides with military helicopters. He remembered being inside a helicopter that was being hit by enemy rounds. Flak jackets lining the belly of the aircraft kept the passengers safe.
Besides learning about military culture, Steinman and other reporters also had to familiarize themselves with Vietnamese culture, something that Steinman says the U.S. government took little interest in. He calls Vietnam "ever enigmatic," with a variety of languages and odors assaulting him as soon as he stepped off the plane in 1966. Also greeting him was Josephine Tu Ngoc Suong, who would one day be his wife.
During the Vietnam War, correspondents had almost complete access to military movements, an access that Steinman sees as sorely lacking today. The coverage of Vietnam was "without restrictions," said Steinman. He cites the Gulf War as one in which access disappeared because it was not in the best interest of the military. Americans have lost out because of it, he said.
He also believes that today's television executives "give up too easily" when it comes to fighting for access. Probably they are afraid of being shut out if they are too tough, Steinman said.
Audience members questioned Steinman about his take on today's wars, including the war on terrorism and the possible war in Iraq. He feels that the war on terrorism is not going well. He also mentioned that there aren't many stories on the re-building in Afghanistan because they are seen as dull and it's too expensive to send correspondents. As for Iraq, Steinman thinks the U.S. should be prepared to stay a long time if there is war.
In 1973, after serving as a correspondent in Hong Kong and London, Steinman and his family moved to Rockville Centre. All three of his children graduated from South Side High School. Steinman has written two other books, "The Soldier's Story: Vietnam in Their Own Words" and "Women in Vietnam: The Oral History." A five-time Emmy nominee and winner of a Peabody Award and a National Press Club Award, he currently works as partner, producer, director and writer at Douglas/Steinman Productions in New York City.
Check www.booktv.org to see when Ron Steinman's lecture will air on C-SPAN 2.
