Petaluma soldier, on leave, doesn't like Fox news

[One_of_8]

My local paper this morning had a couple of Memorial Day stories, including a brief, fairly positive without being "rah rah" story about one young soldier, on home for 2-week leave from Iraq.

http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050531/NEWS/505310324/1033/NEWS01

...

Army Pfc. Sean Bjornstrom of Petaluma arrived at SFO at 1:30 p.m. on Memorial Day after a three-day flight from Iraq. Bjornstrom said his first 15-day leave in seven months is a much-welcomed break from the intense heat, wilted salads and scalding showers.
<snip>

What won't he miss in Iraq?

Well, he's tired of FOX News shown on base, particularly since the broadcasts tend to focus on one topic.

"It just seems like every time I see Fox News it's about terrorism. In Iraq, the last thing I want is news on terrorism. I'd rather know what's going on at home, and in the world," he said. That's why he clicks onto the BBC Web site for world news.

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I found it interesting that even with a captive audience, Fox News still loses viewers, and that Bjornstrom's news provider of choice (for now) is the BBC website.

[David__77]

1. So who turned the channel to Fox?

We should first bear in mind that the military is more rightist than it was in Vietnam, because it's volunteer and not conscripted. But there's still a progressive base among enlisteds of color. I can certainly imagine that many of the white soldiers are "gung ho" and, along with the officers corps, propagate Fox-type material. I would hope that the progressives within the military would challenge this at every turn.

The solution in part involves progressives becoming a part of the officers corp and joining the military in order to influence its conduct.

[One_of_8]

2. I don't know

The way the article was written, it is ambiguous. You could read that the only TV news channel available to this particular soldier is Fox News; or it could be that the majority of his division have voted for Fox News so that's what is on. The article doesn't say one way or the other.

Also, I don't know if the majority of white soldiers are gung ho for this war or not, but this soldier happens to be white.

After reading the article, I was left with the impression that there isn't much choice as to the TV news channel, but I was glad to hear that at least this soldier was tuning in to the BBC news on-line. Hopefully, lots of other soldiers are too, so that they can keep informed, if they want to, about what real news sources are reporting, not just Faux News.

[Ernesto]

3. Reminds me of Nam

Once in a while we would get a "treat". They'd set up the projector & show us a "movie". Turns out the "movie" was episodes of the old TV series "Combat"....... Just what we Marines were trying to forget about.

[cascadiance]

4. I recall reading about this a while back....

I'll look for another article I found where soldiers were complaining that all of the TV sets in public areas were tuned to Fox News. I think someone else found out that CNN and other networks are "available" to those who have their own rooms and TV sets, etc., but everywhere you go in public, it is always Faux News, so for a good portion of the soldiers out there that don't have their own space and TV sets, all they get is Faux News every place.

Kind of like Rush Limbaugh having a virtual monopoly on talk radio shows out there too.