AFN plays favorites with Fox

I’ve been stationed in South Korea for about 10 months now, and I’ve noticed something that’s greatly disturbing. When I watch the news on AFN, I see three major cable news networks: MSNBC, CNN and Fox News Channel. All of these networks cover a lot of aspects of the war in Iraq and the upcoming presidential election. But only one stands out above all the others as far as expressing its views on politics and the war. That network is Fox, and Fox seems to lean more to the right on all issues.

The problem is that, when it comes to discussion panels, AFN seems to concentrate solely on Fox’s discussion panels, which I feel is irresponsible and unfair on AFN’s part. Fox’s discussion panel shows have Bush-loving Republicans bashing the left and giving the message that not siding with the Bush administration is un-American. It’s not the fact that AFN airs Fox’s discussion panel shows, but that it airs Fox discussion shows more than any of the other networks’ shows.

AFN is trying to keep we viewers on the pro-Bush side by showing only Fox network discussion panel shows. Knowing that AFN is the only source of TV news for overseas troops makes me believe that AFN is abusing its power by showing what it thinks we should watch when it comes to political debates. Stars and Stripes readers should be aware of what’s going on with today’s news networks.

Airman Gregory L. Dietrich
Air Base, South Korea