Peter Braestrup
Encyclopedia
Peter Braestrup was a correspondent for the New York Times and the Washington Post, founding editor of the Wilson Quarterly
, and later senior editor and director of communications for the Library of Congress
. Retiring from journalism in 1973, he founded the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
' Wilson Quarterly, and in 1989 moved to the Library of Congress.
Braestrup's 1977 Freedom House
-sponsored book, the two-volume Big Story, criticised US media coverage of the Vietnam War
's 1968 Tet Offensive. The book, which argued that the media coverage of the offensive was excessively negative and helped lose the war, "is regularly cited by historians, without qualification, as the standard work on media reporting of the Tet offensive". Noam Chomsky
and Edward S. Herman
devoted Appendix 3 of their book Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media to an analysis of Big Story.
, the son of Carl Bjorn Braestrup, a physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project
. He graduated from Yale University
in 1951, and served six months in the Korean War
, being discharged in 1953 after being seriously wounded in action.
magazine, as contributing editor and then as a reporter. He moved to the New York Herald Tribune
in 1957, and after being Nieman Fellow at Harvard University
(1959–60) moved to the New York Times. He worked for the Times initially in Washington, then in Paris, North Africa (including the Algerian War), and Thailand. He resigned in 1968 to join the Washington Post, being its Saigon bureau chief until 1973.
At the end of the Vietnam War
Braestrup retired from journalism, moving to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
, and founding its Wilson Quarterly in 1976. In 1989 he became senior editor and director of communications for the Library of Congress
.
Wilson Quarterly
The Wilson Quarterly is a magazine published by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. The magazine was founded in 1976 by Peter Braestrup and James H. Billington. The Quarterly is noted for its nonpartisan, nonideological approach to current issues, with articles...
, and later senior editor and director of communications for the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
. Retiring from journalism in 1973, he founded the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars , located in Washington, D.C., is a United States Presidential Memorial that was established as part of the Smithsonian Institution by an act of Congress in 1968...
' Wilson Quarterly, and in 1989 moved to the Library of Congress.
Braestrup's 1977 Freedom House
Freedom House
Freedom House is an international non-governmental organization based in Washington, D.C. that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights...
-sponsored book, the two-volume Big Story, criticised US media coverage of the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
's 1968 Tet Offensive. The book, which argued that the media coverage of the offensive was excessively negative and helped lose the war, "is regularly cited by historians, without qualification, as the standard work on media reporting of the Tet offensive". Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
and Edward S. Herman
Edward S. Herman
Edward S. Herman is an American economist and media analyst with a specialty in corporate and regulatory issues as well as political economy and the media. He is Professor Emeritus of Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He also teaches at Annenberg School for...
devoted Appendix 3 of their book Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media to an analysis of Big Story.
Background
Braestrup was born in ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, the son of Carl Bjorn Braestrup, a physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
. He graduated from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1951, and served six months in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, being discharged in 1953 after being seriously wounded in action.
Career
From 1953 to 1957 Braestrup worked for TIMETime
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
magazine, as contributing editor and then as a reporter. He moved to the New York Herald Tribune
New York Herald Tribune
The New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...
in 1957, and after being Nieman Fellow at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
(1959–60) moved to the New York Times. He worked for the Times initially in Washington, then in Paris, North Africa (including the Algerian War), and Thailand. He resigned in 1968 to join the Washington Post, being its Saigon bureau chief until 1973.
At the end of the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
Braestrup retired from journalism, moving to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars , located in Washington, D.C., is a United States Presidential Memorial that was established as part of the Smithsonian Institution by an act of Congress in 1968...
, and founding its Wilson Quarterly in 1976. In 1989 he became senior editor and director of communications for the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
.
Books
- Big Story: How the American Press and Television Reported and Interpreted the Crisis of Tet 1968 in Vietnam and Washington, Boulder, Colorado: Westview PressWestview PressWestview Press is an American publishing house. It publishes textbooks and scholarly works for an academic audience.Westview was founded in 1975 in Boulder, Colorado by Fred Praeger. The press was sold in 1991 to SCS Communications. HarperCollins acquired the company in 1995. Since 1998, it has...
, 1977