History of the United States II / Unit 15 USH2 2145 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Five O'Clock Follies
Captions available
The idea
American journalists in Vietnam, the Yawp says, soon saw the hollowness of official claims of progress, and called the afternoon press briefings in Saigon the Five O'Clock Follies.
In practice
Editors at home toning down their reporters' pessimism, often citing officials' conflicting information, as the Yawp describes.
Where people slip
Tet, in unit fourteen, showed the public what the reporters had seen.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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