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Stars & Stripes - letters to the editor; Too much FOX News on AFN
Stars & Stripes ^ | 8/06/04 | F.J. Kirby

Posted on 08/09/2004 5:18:34 PM PDT by Libloather

Letters to the editor for Friday, August 6, 2004
European and Mideast editions

Too much FOX News

Which network was covering the Democratic National Convention on the AFN News channel but FOX News, with nothing but how bad the Democrats are performing. FOX News should be called the Republican News Channel.

Not only did we have to put up with FOX critiquing every speaker at the convention, but we had three hours nearly every evening condemning the Democrats for any proposal they presented.

Has anyone seriously examined the AFN News channel to determine how much time is devoted to FOX? Does anyone seriously believe this is fair and balanced? Is the purpose of American Forces Radio and Television Service to try and brainwash the military audience? It sure looks like it.

(Ret.) Chief Warrant Officer 3 F.J. Kirby

Pordenone, Italy


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government
KEYWORDS: afn; editor; foxnews; letters; lte; much; stars; stripes; too
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(Ret.) Chief Warrant Officer 3 F.J. Kirby

Retired - and this dood can't afford satellite reception?

The very same letter was printed Monday, August 9, 2004 - http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=23702

1 posted on 08/09/2004 5:18:34 PM PDT by Libloather
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To: Libloather
Has anyone seriously examined the AFN News channel to determine how much time is devoted to FOX? Does anyone seriously believe this is fair and balanced? Is the purpose of American Forces Radio and Television Service to try and brainwash the military audience? It sure looks like it.

(Ret.) Lt. John F. Kerry

Paris, France

2 posted on 08/09/2004 5:21:42 PM PDT by Argus
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To: Libloather
That is tough to believe that this note is legitimate.

Does this writer believe that his own interests would be better served by the inexcusable bias of reporters from CNN and the other radical lefty so called news outlets?
3 posted on 08/09/2004 5:23:53 PM PDT by Radix (I would like to thank everyone here for playing this home version of Free Republic.)
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To: Libloather
He's probably like other libs who tune into Al-Jazeera to get "the other side". Wonder if they would have applauded "Tokio Rose", "Axis Sally", and Lord Haw Haw during WWII for giving them the TRUTHS that FDR wouldn't tolerate in the American media.

These libs ARE aware that media and mail was censored during WWII, right?

We aren't even prohibiting such expression this time around (or even prosecuting for treason as with the above broadcasters or people who filled those roles when those were only nicknames for broadcasters, much like "Baghdad Bob" was not the man's professional/stage name).

4 posted on 08/09/2004 5:29:25 PM PDT by weegee (YOU could have been aborted, and you wouldn't have had a CHOICE about it.)
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To: Libloather
(Ret.) Chief Warrant Officer 3 F.J. Kirby

Pordenone, ItalyM

Italy! Sweet duty Chief. Did you retire there? Maybe you should watch a little more Foxnews yourself. Do you think there's much of it in Pordenone? I'd expect the members of our armed services aren't dumb enough to be "brainwashed" as you suggest. But then, I don't know how it was when you served?

5 posted on 08/09/2004 5:35:08 PM PDT by rhombus
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To: Libloather

Why not take a poll of the Armed Forces, and let them decide what they want to watch for news -- CNN or Fox?


6 posted on 08/09/2004 5:35:21 PM PDT by TommyDale
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To: Argus

How childish can you be?


7 posted on 08/09/2004 5:37:00 PM PDT by familyofman (and the first animal is jettisoned - legs furiously pumping)
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To: Libloather
I've flipped around during the day when Fox News was the only network covering a Kerry speech. No, Fox News didn't have a panel of all liberals like MSNBC or CNN. That's because they were trying to be balanced. It's a testament to how biased CNN is that Fox looks so biased to these people.
8 posted on 08/09/2004 5:41:32 PM PDT by Question_Assumptions
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To: Libloather
condemning the Democrats for any proposal they presented

I didn't see this part. Did this come before or after all the stuff on Vietnam? Were there proposals?

9 posted on 08/09/2004 5:49:13 PM PDT by cinnathepoet (Directly, I am going to Caesar's funeral)
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To: rhombus

In this case, might the "(Ret.)" signify "Retarded"?


10 posted on 08/09/2004 5:51:07 PM PDT by Dawgmeister
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To: Libloather

A retired Chief Warrant Officer would have signed himself,

F. J. Kirby
CWO3 (Ret)

Or CWO2, or whatever his rank was.

This is a phoney. Probably some lice-ridden, dope-huffing, same-sex attracted commie scum who never served a day in his life. Stars and Stripes doesn't vet the authenticity of the letters they get, and anybody can write them.


11 posted on 08/09/2004 5:58:31 PM PDT by dsc
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To: dsc
Stars and Stripes doesn't vet the authenticity of the letters they get, and anybody can write them.

It maybe said that the left-leaning Stars & Stripes has a slight problem with AFN. I witnessed it back in the 80's...

12 posted on 08/09/2004 6:01:28 PM PDT by Libloather (What did Bergler stow - and when did he stow it?)
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To: Libloather

Typical of a socialist - can't even live in the USA he despises our freedoms so much.

It must be terrible to hate yourself as much as he must.


13 posted on 08/09/2004 6:07:22 PM PDT by steplock ( www.spadata.com)
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To: dsc
1. You can sign yourself using correct military titles, but Stars and Stripes will use the AP Style Manual, which is different.

2. I have called on the phone by an editor to verify all of the letters (4 or 5) I have written that have been published.

This is because of an incident that occurred on a ship I was on at the time. Someone wrote a letter to the editor about a recent article on Boy George. The letter writer was raving about Boy George and how great he was (it must have been a slow news day for it even to get published). The letter was signed by a crusty old CWO3 on our ship. I remember reading it at the time and thinking "Wow, CWO X said this?" Well, he hadn't, and the sh*t hit the fan. Stars and Stripes had to publicly apologize, admitted that they did not verify the identity of letter writers and stated they would now verify each letter that they published.
14 posted on 08/09/2004 6:17:18 PM PDT by GATOR NAVY
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To: Libloather

"It maybe said that the left-leaning Stars & Stripes has a slight problem with AFN. I witnessed it back in the 80's..."

Too bad I didn't keep the communications I received from their "ombudsman" when I called them on their leftward slant.

He was a doozy.


15 posted on 08/09/2004 6:18:37 PM PDT by dsc
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To: Libloather

Too much FOX News on AFN, eh? Well, I believe there is too much CNN in airports.


16 posted on 08/09/2004 6:23:38 PM PDT by Keeper of the Turf (Fore!!!)
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To: GATOR NAVY

"1. You can sign yourself using correct military titles, but Stars and Stripes will use the AP Style Manual, which is different."

I cannot from memory confirm or refute that, but I have to admit that the possibility exists.

"2. I have called on the phone by an editor to verify all of the letters (4 or 5) I have written that have been published. This is because of an incident that occurred on a ship I was on at the time."

I don't think that's SOP. Sounds like they were making a special effort because they got burned.

"admitted that they did not verify the identity of letter writers"

Okay, well, there you are.

"and stated they would now verify each letter that they published."

I'd be really surprised if they were doing that faithfully.


17 posted on 08/09/2004 6:25:54 PM PDT by dsc
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To: Libloather

I noticed he is retired and is in Italy.

Sounds like part of the dem minority that exists in the military. Must suck to know that people respect Sgt. Majors more.


18 posted on 08/09/2004 6:27:52 PM PDT by ArmyBratproud
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To: steplock
Typical of a socialist - can't even live in the USA he despises our freedoms so much.

That's one of the problems - the Stars & Stripes so-called reporters LIVE in the area of reporting. AFN is there to provide info to the troops - despite the S&S.

19 posted on 08/09/2004 6:30:46 PM PDT by Libloather (What did Bergler stow - and when did he stow it?)
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To: Libloather

"brainwash the military audience"

Back in the early 80s, before the Reagan Revolution really took off, before the Internet, before Rush Limbaugh, back when "national news media" meant NBC, ABC, CBS, Time, Newsweek, and the NT Times and Wash Post (if you could get them) I was a junior officer on sea duty, and I used to get that "deer in the headlights" look when I'd claim media bias.

"No, no, it's just sensationalism," the rest of the wardroom would say.

Well, not when they pass on "sensational" stories that make the left look bad, and if they have to invent stories that make the right look bad, it's not.

But nobody would believe the media were doing that.

So, to that extent, the military audience was "brainwashed" along with the rest of the country. It is very gratifying to me that so many more people "get it" now than did in 1981.

However...the military audience is still brainwashed to some extent by all the CNN and other trash they are exposed to. S&S appears to have backed off their hard-left stance a little in the last decade. You used to see a lot of editorials by the usual suspects--Broder, Dowd, and that unspeakable scoundrel Dionne--and a Buckley column only when he was calling for the legalization of medical marijuana again.

I rarely buy it any more, so that's just an impression. Here's another: the Sunday S&S always used to sell out, and it doesn't any more. I'd really like to see figures on changes in their circulation and their target audience.


20 posted on 08/09/2004 6:40:56 PM PDT by dsc
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