At FDA, TVs now turned to Fox News and can't be switched
CBS News
May 10, 2018
Category: Politics
SILVER SPRING, Maryland - Attention viewers at the US 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.
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.
The internal email was first tweeted by Paul Thacker, a freelance science reporter who is also a former GOP Senate investigator.
The email can be read below:
From: WO Digital Display
Sent: Wednesday, May 03, 2017 9:49 AM
To: CBER Researchers
Subject: Attention: Regards about the news on the monitors in your locations
Good Morning, CBER Researchers,
Please excuse me for sending this out to your entire group via your listserv, but I was alerted by a member in your group and I wanted to let everyone know that the reason for the change from CNN to FOX.
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.
Sorry for the inconvenience, but I am unable to change any of the monitors to any other news source at this time.
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