Help! My mother has started watching Fox News!

[Zephie]

I have talked about my mother a few times before. She is a very sweet older woman, but easily taken in. Lately her elderly lady friends have been pressuring her to watch Fox News because it might as well be God's Chosen Channel to them. I do not need to describe the fervent adherence that the white over 65 crowd has to the network, you already know.

That said, I was talking to my mother today and she started asking me questions about Libya. This is strange as generally she gets her political information from me - she is not a big news follower. The questions sounded to be decidedly coming from a pro-military intervention angle and I asked where she had heard about these things. "Who told you this?" I asked. "There was a politician on TV this morning talking about it." I asked who, and she said she didn't remember. Then she said she saw it on Fox. I was horrified. "Why are you watching Fox?" I asked. She told me that she wanted to keep up with the news more ("Things are getting scary, they talk about it at church") and that everyone has told her Fox is the best news source. I have told her many times about Fox and it's capitalistic and war-centric bias and asked why she followed their advice. She said her eyes were bothering her lately and that she wasn't reading the websites and links I've sent her email in the past few weeks because of it. She wants to watch something on TV instead.

Help me DU, I need a good TV news source that an older woman could follow. It doesn't need to be spoon fed news - my mother is quite sharp, but she is also not going to be able to follow something too c-span like.

She's feisty. If she keeps up to date now that she's interested, she could combat those blue haired old biddies on any important topic and win. I just need to help her find a place to get her information.

Edit: Guys, I'm not going to block a channel on her TV.

[KeepItReal]

1. Rachael Maddow on MSNBC

Eom

[Whoa_Nelly]

2. What about full screen Al-Jazeera English?

And push MSNBC if you can. I don;t watch any of the US MSM, but if I did, would choose MSNBC over all the others.

Also, maybe do a large print print out of short artivles about how FOX has been proven to be false.

[Lasher]

3. Faux Noise appeals to those who are easily taken in.

Their propaganda is simplistic, and absent of nuance.

[grahamhgreen]

4. First, she should watch "outfoxed". Then, Democracy Now, RT,

Al Jezeera, msnbc....

But there us no left counterpoint to Fox, unfortunately

[hlthe2b]

5. BBC? Rachel Maddow on MSNBC?

[Zephie]

7. I did suggest BBC but...

Well, my father was english and she lost him in a very tragic way. I think the accent still makes her sad. She didn't like being in the room when I used to watch the BBC as a teen.

I'm seeing lots of votes for Maddow. I'll give that a shot.

[hlthe2b]

11. Oh, how sad. I'm sorry for her pain...

I always get a reassuring feeling hearing BBC, since it was a lifeline during my overseas working stints. Always sounds pretty much the same in terms of presentation and tone, but still delves into the detail.

[Zephie]

19. I love the BBC

And it is one of my first choice news sources. I'll always go to them second (after DU. :loveya:).

I just talked to her and she'll be watching Maddow tomorrow. I'm relieved.

[hlthe2b]

22. As others have suggested...

you might get her to watch "Outfoxed" sometime in the near future--- so that she might both educate herself on how deceptive Fox is, but also be able to speak to it with her friends that are pushing Faux News.

[louis-t]

21. Make sure she knows that fox repugs want to

tax her pension and take away her SS.

[elleng]

6. AlJazeera if she can get it,

and tho I haven't watched in a long time, CNN's doing OK re: Libya, keeping up with things and have decent journalists and interviewees, imo. Good luck!

Rachel, of course, but she's on briefly.

[Zephie]

10. I think it goes beyond Libya

She and I have talked about Rick Scott lately as well (though that was from info I sent her and not Fox thankfully!) The older crowd is getting worried as a whole. They see all these changes that the youngins are supporting and it makes them nervous.

Is there any way to get AlJazeera on TV, and not a computer?

[elleng]

18. AlJ available in limited U.S. tv markets, including dc area and a few others.

[mrmpa]

8. try the guilt thing by telling her that Fox new goes against everything she ever taught you.

[Iggo]

9. Never ever ever talk to her about current events again.

If she asks why, tell her why.

That's how it works between me an my mom.

"How 'bout that buh-RACK oh-BAMMA?"

"No, Mom. Just no."

It's no fun, but it keeps me from yelling at the old girl, which would be even less fun.

[Zephie]

12. Oh she's certainly not a dumb right winger!

That's actually why I'm so disturbed. She was a Obama supporter and joined the Democrats when her family was all Republican back in the early 60s. But she was never one to go out and seek information on her own, unless it was something big like the Presidency.

(Edit for age math.)

[Xenotime]

13. I hope you are able to correct her before she strays too far.

[JitterbugPerfume]

14. I have friends like your mom

and it is sad to see them sink into the unreal and scary world that is FOX. Try to get her to watch MSNBC or even CNN . If she has DirecTv or Dish Thom Hartmann is excellent and so is Amy Goodman and Laura Flanders

Being of "a certain age" myself I know how scary the world can be to older people, especially if they feel helpless and alone.

The changing world can feel alien to older people.

[Chorophyll]

15. My mother is 85, white, and would not watch Fox in a million years.

It's really ageist, sexist, and a whole bunch of other "ists" to say "a TV news source that an older woman could follow." FFS! If she's "sharp," she can follow anything!

[Zephie]

17. I was trying to convey the kind of person she is without you all knowing her

It's very hard to try to explain a persons personality without everyone in the conversation knowing them. I am in no way trying to insult my mother (or yours!) I love her with all my heart and am certainly trying not to be an "ist". I am sorry that you feel that I have represented this in any other way. There was obviously a miscommunication in my wording and I whole heartedly apologize for it.

[Chorophyll]

28. It's cool. I know there's a contingent of older people who watch Fox,

but there's also a contingent of relatively younger people who watch it too. Hopefully most of us here at DU will be elderly someday without shifting to the right. My mom's gotten more liberal with age.

[Angry Dragon]

16. Perhaps you need to do an intervention

with your mother and her friends, something like a tupperware party
where you sit them all down and school them all on the finer things that is the true news

[lisa58]

20. The News Hour on PBS is the best source and she can watch it online

[hlthe2b]

23. Another good choice... while it remains funded, that is...

;)

[tech9413]

24. program the remote to skip the channel

Even if she's smart enough to punch in the channel, that just takes a little more effort.
Another idea, I have a copy of Outfoxed you could watch with her. It's yours if you want it.

[alfredo]

25. Tell her that Fox News (News Corp) is partly owned by a Saudi Sheikh.

Look for the article where an employee admitted they "make shit up."

Show her the palm trees in Wisconsin video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RClJ6vK9x_4

they aren't good at fact checking.

They fell for this hoax:

http://www.roznamajawani.com/?p=1117

They also reported this as the truth:

http://www.theonion.com/articles/frustrated-obama-sends-nation-rambling-75000word-e,18516/

Remind her what the Onion is if she doesn't know.

Fox also fell for this hoax:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcA7lnX-dPU&feature=related

Bill O'Reilly is a sexual predator and had to pay a huge settlement to his victim.

[Politicalboi]

26. If she not tech savy

Block that channel through parental control. LOL! If I ever catch my mom watching Faux I change it right away. She only watched it because it was the next channel through the shit load we have. Then I tell her not to watch that shit. I tell her that made my brother (her son) crazy.
Try and send her some Daily Shows where Jon really catches Faux at lying.

[Grey]

27. Change the resolution on her monitor,

It may be that the print is too small. If the internet is bothering her eyes you may need to change several settings, brightness, resolution, etc. If that doesn't help, It may well be, She just wants to be able to chat with her friends. It's like when one guy only watches basketball and all the rest are watching baseball, it's hard to keep with what everyone is talking about and really hard to keep a lively chat going. She may just not want to feel left out.

[Old Codger]

29. Generalizations

"I do not need to describe the fervent adherence that the white over 65 crowd has to the network, you already know. " (edit to mark quotation)

I am white and well over 65 and do not watch fox and know quite a few others of the same age group that do not watch that trash.. I get pretty tired of seeing this generalization constantly posted here, they are not true at all.... uncalled for. thank you.

[Motown_Johnny]

30. set the V chip to block that channel

[HockeyMom]

31. I LAUGH at half the stuff they say on Faux

My husband puts it on. Yeah, I watch it and make out loud comments on their outright lies, and yes, LAUGH at some of the totally absurd things they say. You really do have to be brainwashed, or a sheep, to agree with what they say.

You know, sometimes, just sometimes, in a moment of clarity, my husband will even agree with me that what they saying is really ABSURD.