At FDA, TVs now turned to Fox News and can't be switched

[Seedersandleechers]

Source: CBS news

Attention viewers at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Televisions will now be tuned to Fox News.

CBS News has confirmed an email was sent to researchers at the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research responding to apparent efforts to change the channel on internal television screens. The email from "[White Oak] Digital Display" sent on Wednesday, May 3, was sent to inform the researchers of the "reason for the change from CNN to Fox." White Oak is the name of the FDA's campus.

The email goes on to inform employees that the decision came from the Trump administration.

"The reason for the change is that a decision from the current administration administrative officials has requested that all monitors, under our control, on the White Oak Campus, display FOX news," the email reads.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/at-fda-tvs-now-turned-to-fox-news-and-cant-be-switched/

[tenorly]

1. I've seen this in other countries with right-wing leaders (even supposedly 'democratic' ones)

In Argentina, for instance, the current president, Mauricio Macri, keeps the head of restaurant workers' union on his side by bribing him.

Consequently, any bar or restaurant staffed with members of his union will almost always have the tv set tuned in to TN - the right-wing cable news outlet similar to Fox.

Fascism 101.

[sharedvalues]

6. Fascism 101. Same thing Chavez and Putin did.

[tenorly]

8. It's common practice, no doubt about it.

Many of us just never really thought we'd see it in the U.S.

Then again, for those of us who lived in the Deep South for at least a few years, it should come as no surprise.

[calimary]

19. There's a restaurant at the municipal airport in Camarillo CA that's like that.

The owner has issued a standing order that the big flat screen TV in the entryway is on Pox Noise. ALL THE TIME.

I know because I ate there once and I asked. I ALWAYS ask - whenever I'm in any business that has a TV on that's tuned to Pox Noise. As a paying customer, I use my status as such to take a smack at Pox Noise. I did that at my bank. I kept doing that til they changed it. But I failed at that restaurant. The young woman at the reception desk told me it was a flat-out order from the owner. I told her I intend to remember that.

[tenorly]

25. That was always the intent behind Faux News, and of ending Net Neutrality now.

The consolidation of all news sources into one, state-approved mouthpiece - but not a mouthpiece of the state as much as of the elites.

Winning the Net Neutrality fight will be crucial to thwarting these designs of theirs.

And good on you for letting them know, calimary. Frankly, I doubt I would have had the courage to do so.

[dhill926]

45. love going there for the air shows...

will not patronize the restaurant knowing this.....thanks.

[dixiegrrrrl]

40. There is talk among some of the left to let Trump finish his term.

and to just try to keep him blocked.
Bad bad bad idea, and dangerous.

All waiting room tvs in our local hospital are tuned to Fox. A lot of them are too high to be channel switched or turned off. So staff have to/can listen to the propaganda all day long.

damn...this latest is very scary. Please share this everywhere.

[tenorly]

43. Thank you for sharing that. These cretins play for keeps.

I don't doubt your anecdote in the least. I lived in your neighboring state, Mississippi, for a few years. Suffice it to say, the right-wing governing clique there has zero respect for the idea of a free press - and if you're white and they don't know that you're a liberal, they'll gladly share that with you to your face.

[byronius]

2. Clearly illegal and immoral. Plus, didn't they just claim they never ordered this?

[Gothmog]

3. That is so stupid that it sounds like trump

[sharedvalues]

4. Scientists will stop this.

Scientists are smart and know that Fox News lies.

Fox news will stay on in the offices of simpleminded GOP like Burr and Grassley.

[Historic NY]

5. TVbgone.com

http://www.tvbgone.com/using-your-tv-b-gone/

[rurallib]

10. was kind of wondering if shutting it off would be a resistance move?

A dead tv would be better than one spewing shit.

that looks like a handy little device for those p;aces you have to wait and they have FUX on the tube.

[47of74]

20. yeah

I remember the first gym I was a member of, and they insisted on having Faux Spews on one of the TVs there. I finally sent a message to management asking if they could switch it to something else and they actually did for a while until some snowflake reich winger complained that he couldn't get his helping of propaganda while working out. Then they changed it back. I go to the Y now and if it's on one of the overhead TVs I change it right away. I have my response all ready to go each time. As in go the FUCK home if you want to watch that shit that badly.

[mitch96]

52. +1

[dixiegrrrrl]

56. A definite resistance move.

Can hardly wait for my next hospital visit.!

[COLGATE4]

27. I found a similar one on Amazon for $2.98 w/ free shipping.

Let you know how it works out. Can't wait to try it at my Dr's office and a favorite bar!

[dixiegrrrrl]

41. You deserve a reward for that.

I had no idea these existed.
Now when I go to the local hospital I can quietly turn off the waiting room tvs.
thank you!

[mdbl]

7. this country is just too weird

to allow this moron to dictate media that people watch is just weird.

[Blue Idaho]

9. Can't be switched...

But could be broken...

[warmfeet]

11. This will backfire.

This will totally piss off anyone with a functioning brain.

[jack69]

12. Fox news can also be ignored, ridiculed, etc.

[sarcasmo]

13. Fox News is the United States version of Russia's, RT.

[bluevoter4life]

14. Unplug all of 'em. eom

[bucolic_frolic]

15. It used to be like that at the Doctor's Office - Fox only

I always turned down the sound to zero.

[turbinetree]

16. I went to mine and demanded that they change the channel until I left

and asked that it be placed on Free Speech TV

[SCVDem]

17. Any smart phone can get an app

TV remote also works great in bars and anywhere else there is an obnoxious TV.

I have had good results with Peel.

Resist!

[Tactical Peek]

18. Message deleted by DU the Administrators

[47of74]

21. I wonder if employees could file a complaint

https://osc.gov/pages/file-complaint.aspx

[2naSalit]

29. I would file a complaint...

simply working for the government doesn't make you a slave to the president.

[BumRushDaShow]

37. It would have most likely been a violation

and notably because it was put in writing. Sounds like the email may have been from a WO media support email address.

There was an update to the article though -

"The reason for the change is that a decision from the current administration administrative officials has requested that all monitors, under our control, on the White Oak Campus, display FOX news," the email reads.

Then, White Oak apologizes for the "inconvenience," adding, "I am unable to change any of the monitors to any other news source at this time."

An FDA spokesperson got back to CBS News after our deadline, telling us, "There was no directive or memorandum from the Administration that went out to employees about broadcast news channels displaying on monitors in common areas throughout the FDA's White Oak campus."

The spokesperson explained that a variety of news stations run on the monitors in the common areas on campus, including CNN, MSNBC and FOX News, and that the email referenced had been sent by a customer service representative from the FDA's Office of Facilities in response to a group of employees.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/at-fda-tvs-now-turned-to-fox-news-and-cant-be-switched/

I wouldn't be surprised if some "beach head" directed that the CSR send that out.

[dixiegrrrrl]

42. Actual copy of the email below at #38 post. n/t

[BumRushDaShow]

47. Yeah CBS update had a copy (not screencap)... nt

[dembotoz]

48. damn good idea of the day

[IronLionZion]

22. This happens in the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea too

So it's all perfectly normal. People are too undeserving of a choice, and CNN is fake news. Soon we'll have mandatory Breitbart and have to listen to Rush.

[7962]

50. I've heard that NK sets will only receive the govt channel & nothing else is even possible

heard that for yrs, dont know if its true or not though

[AllaN01Bear]

23. id get me a device called tvbgone

these can switch off any tv.

[Rhiannon12866]

24. Great, state run TV... no news for you!

[Amaryllis]

26. It's sounding more and more like 1984. THe book, I mean.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

28. The real issue is the proliferation of TVs everywhere.

Every single waiting place: doctor office, the wait room at the dealership, in retail stores, in banks.

What the fuck is wrong with people that they can't read a book or a magazine or talk to someone?

Since I don't have a TV at home I especially bothered by this. Some years back at a dentist office I complained about the recently installed TV, which was on some quite innocuous channel like Animal Planet. I suggested they install an aquarium, or failing that, simply tune into a broadcast of an aquarium.

I've been known to turn of TVs in public places. I truly despise them, no matter what they are tuned to.

[2naSalit]

30. Same here...

the teevees give me headaches, they make a really high pitched tone that I can hear and it's like a smoke detector squeal only constant, some security systems in store have that and I walk out immediately when I hear that sound. It gives me a headache after a couple moments and hurts my ears.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

34. Lucky me, I am not sensitive to that high pitched tone.

You absolutely get my sympathy for that.

I will assure you, that even without that sensibility, the prevalence of TVs is beyond odious.

I always carry a book (sometimes two) with me, just in case I need to wait for a while, I'll have something to read. I do get it that not everyone is a reader, but that's not a reason to have television sets everywhere. If you don't read, bring your crocheting or your whittling with you, or engage in conversation with others. DON'T spend all your waking hours glued to the correctly named idiot box.

As a related aside, I honestly believe that Sesame Street is one of the worst things that ever happened to early childhood education. Yeah, so it taught numbers and the alphabet. Big fucking deal. It also strongly encouraged a very short attention span, which is one of the banes of modern life.

I NEVER turned on Sesame Street for my kids. I strictly limited what and how much TV they could watch, perhaps more so than was needed. But guess what? They both wound up with a much longer attention span than most of their peers.

Oh, and when my oldest was in kindergarten, I recall the teachers commenting that they'd NEVER had kids doing karate moves on each other until the Ninja Mutant Turtles (if I even have the name correct) came out. The teachers were crazed by that fad.

TV absolutely has its good points. But it has at least as many bad ones, and people need to be a heck of a lot more sensitive to both.

I know people who have the TV on all the time, sometimes because they can't bear to be without sound in their home (really, what's with that?) and other times because someone in residence will be watching whatever. As noted above, I don't own a TV, and when I visit certain people (my sister comes to mind here) I'm driven quite crazy by the fact the TV is on almost all the time. It wouldn't be so bad if it were possible to get away from the TV, but the layout of her house -- and the layout of most homes -- is such that it's not possible to be out of sound of the TV. And it's not whether or not I want to watch a particular network or show. She's not one to watch Fox, but it's the constant presence of the TV that is so awful.

Really. Turn it off once in a while. It will do you good.

Oh, and I am actually at least as well informed as anyone I know without TV. Hmmmm. I wonder why that's the case?

[2naSalit]

39. I haven't had one since 1980...

when I walked away from my spouse, the teevee was theirs. I gladly live w/o such an odious device in my life.

[diva77]

57. If they're using "smart tvs" then it is possible they're being used as spying devices

https://www.theverge.com/2017/2/7/14527360/vizio-smart-tv-tracking-settlement-disable-settings

The data they collect is valuable and can be sold for $$$; and maybe they'll witness something incriminating while they're at it, or scare off dissenters or organizers

[Blue_Tires]

59. You turn off TVs in public spaces?

Do you try to get the jumbotron at the ballpark turned off, too?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

60. I don't go to ballparks.

Are the jumbotrons tuned to Fox News? If so, I'm especially glad I don't go.

To clarify: I'll turn off a TV in a waiting room if I'm the only one there, or the other people seem not to be paying any attention, and I'll ask them before I do.

As I mentioned, I always have a book or two on me to read. Other people can play games on their "smart" phones. People really should know how to entertain themselves when they're waiting for something.

[LanternWaste]

61. No, I think the real issue was addressed in the OP.

No, I think the real issue was addressed in the OP: the lack of choice being offered, rather than a puerile dislike of a particular medium objectively no better nor no worse than any other medium.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

62. You are right, that the issue presented was

no choice of which channel or network to have on. But I still think the fundamental problem is the perceived need to have televisions in every public space.

I don't happen to own a TV, but I do watch a reasonable number of shows because I can get them on the internet. I can also often find live streaming of breaking news of some sort.

It's not a puerile dislike of the medium itself, but a strong dislike of being forced to watch it just because someone thinks there needs to be a TV on all the time in their business or office. It's annoying and disruptive to have it on all the time, no matter what's on. Closed captioning is available, which helps, so the sound can be off. But even the moving pictures on the screen are distracting at best.

[csziggy]

63. It's not that bad here

My doctor and dentist don't have TVs, the post office used to but removed it, none of the bank branches I use have one, the only stores I go do not unless they are selling them.

Yes, the waiting rooms at the service centers I take my vehicles do have TVs but they leave the remotes on the table so if I am the only one there, I turn it off. I only stick around for routine servicing - if I need a lot of work done, I drop off the vehicle and pick it up the next day.

I fired a dentist because he had his waiting room TV turned to Fox and in addition while he was checking my teeth he constantly spewed right wing talking points. I never went back. When looking for a new dentist, I made sure to find one that had no TV and seems to be a liberal from the volunteering he does in the community. We do not talk politics, though, which is fine with me.

[DeminPennswoods]

31. TVs came to gov't offices in the late-1990s or so

We had them all over our DoD office. I wondered why we needed them when we had jobs to do. They were usually tuned to c-span and there weren't any remotes, but they could be turned on and off manually. I think the channels must have been controlled in a central location. I know you can tie multiple TVs into just one cable box so that every set shows the same channel.

For some reason, we did get to watch the women's world cup soccer win over China in 1999, though. The one where Brandi Chastain tore off her jersey after scoring the winning goal. Not much work got done that afternoon...

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

35. It's my opinion that TVs simply don't belong in the workplace.

Unless, perhaps, you work for a network or maybe a cable show.

Otherwise, isn't there work to be done?

Similarly, the ubiquitous presence of TVs in airports makes me want to kill someone.

[DeminPennswoods]

36. Agree about offices

I can see having TVs in lobbies or waiting areas, but in an office setting, you have work to do! No matter what is on, TV in the office can be and is distracting.

[mucifer]

32. ACLU has lots o money now. I wonder if they have a case.

[Cha]

33. Big brother is fucking watching you and you will watch it

[workinclasszero]

38. Fascism...Fox is the state news organ of PEEOTUS

Link to tweet

[briv1016]

44. Just wait till they require telescreens in every room.

[workinclasszero]

46. Like this?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

49. Here's the article in TWSJ. about this, via the author's Twitter feed.

Why did the #FDA change the news feed on its public t.v. monitors from CNN to Fox? My @WSJPolitics story

Link to tweet

In Trump era, #FDA t.v. monitors got switched to Fox News from CNN. Fox News on the left. My @WSJ story

Link to tweet

CNN and Fox News Fight for TV Supremacy at FDA Headquarters

By Thomas M. Burton

@TomBurtonWSJ
[e-mail]

May 5, 2017 3:00 pm ET
1 COMMENTS

With the new administration comes a new cable-news pick at the Food and Drug Administration: Officials switched television monitors at the agency’s main campus to Fox News from CNN, before later changing some of them back.

Personnel responsible for the TV displays told a group of employees in an email this week that “the reason for the change {to Fox News} is that a decision from the current administration administrative officials has requested that all monitors, under our control, on the White Oak campus display Fox News.” The note added: “I am unable to change any of the monitors to any other news source at this time.”
....

Share this: http://on.wsj.com/2qMAyju

[marybourg]

51. I worked for the Federal Gov't during the Reagan years,

when a black and white 8x10 glossy of the then-current POTUS was traditionally ( and maybe by regulation) supposed to be displayed in every office space. In our office, my co-workers and I removed the portrait of Reagan and replace it with a file copy of JFK. I think we got away without anyone commenting for about 5 years.

[WinkyDink]

53. Turn the televisions to "OFF."

[GoCubsGo]

54. Yep. I don't understand why there are TVs at all.

I didn't realize that watching cable news was part of an FDA employee's job.

[pansypoo53219]

55. why do they have teevees at all? i hate teevees everywhere.

[Blue_Tires]

58. Mafia presidency...

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

64. Can they turn the TVs off? n/t