On today’s Channel One News show precious minutes are burned up with a trivial and inconsequential interview with another rock star that needs publicity for a his latest CD. Teddy Geiger’s 2006 CD "Underage Thinking" peaked at number 8 on the Billboard charts and is sinking like a ton of bricks. What to do?
That’s easy. Call Judy Harris at Channel One News. She loves to load up her controversial in-school TV show with anything but hard news. It costs money to cover real news stories and quite frankly money is a little bit of a problem at Channel One nowadays. Journalism is a bit of a problem too.
Here is the part of today’s Channel One transcript where Channel One News report gushes over Teddy Geiger. Every question by Wu could have been by Geiger’s record company Sony.
Obligation’s Jim Metrock said, "Channel One is betraying the school boards that signed agreements with the company. School districts didn’t sign up for this garbage. This is not ‘news.’ This isn’t ‘current events.’ This is the new silliness that CEO Judy Harris is dumping into schools. Any school that is considering signing up for this ‘public affairs’ show should understand that what Channel One promises and what they are currently delivering are two wildly separate things."
INTRO TEDDY GEIGER
CALI: NOW TO ONE OF THE FASTEST RISING SINGER/SONGWRITERS ON THE CHARTS THESE DAYS. TEDDY GEIGER’S DEBUT ALBUM, UNDERAGE THINKING, MADE A SPLASH ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS. EILEEN WU SAT DOWN WITH HIM RECENTLY TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HIS FAST RISE TO SUCCESS.
TEDDY GEIGER INTERVIEW
EILEEN: HE SINGS… HE ACTS… HE’S A TEEN SENSATION. AND HE HAS LEGIONS OF ADORING FANS CALLED TED-HEADS.
EILEEN: DESPITE IT ALL, I LEARNED TEDDY GEIGER IS A REGULAR 18-YEAR-OLD GUY WITH EXTRAORDINARY TALENT. I SAT DOWN WITH HIM EARLIER THIS SCHOOL YEAR.
EILEEN: TELL US WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BECOME A MUSICAN?
TEDDY GEIGER: UM… YOU KNOW… I’VE ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED IN MUSIC SINCE I WAS REALLY LITTLE. MY GRANDPARENTS, KINDA STARTED ME OFF WHEN I WAS REALLY YOUNG, JUST KINDA SITTING AT THE PIANO WITH ME AND PLAYING MUSIC. AND IT’S KINDA JUST ALWAYS BEEN SOMETHING I’VE DONE.
EILEEN: YOU WRITE YOUR OWN SONGS, SO WHERE, WHERE DO YOU GET THE INSPIRATION FOR YOUR LYRICS?
TEDDY GEIGER: THERE WAS UM… I WAS DATING A GIRL FOR A WHILE, AND IT WAS THE FIRST TIME WE WERE GOING TO SAY GOODBYE. I WAS LEAVING TO GO DO SOME STUFF WITH MUSIC FOR.. LIKE… A COUPLE WEEKS. AND UM… THERE WAS OBVIOUSLY A GOODBYE… AND LIKE UHHH… DE-DUHHHH… SO I WROTE A SONG ABOUT THAT AND THAT SORT OF THING.
EILEEN: YOU’VE BEEN COMPARED TO MANY ARTISTS THAT MAYBE HAVE A SIMILAR SOUND. HOW DO YOU DISTINGUISH YOURSELF?
TEDDY GEIGER: UM.. I DON’T KNOW… YOU KNOW… I DON’T REALLY WORRY ABOUT DOING THAT TOO MUCH. I JUST KINDA MAKE THE MUSIC THAT COMES OUT AND THEN… YOU KNOW… HOPE THAT IT… IT KINDA STANDS UP ON ITS OWN.
EILEEN: AND WHAT ABOUT ACTING? YOU WERE IN "LOVE MONKEY" WHICH WAS FABULOUS AND NOW IT’S ON VH1. DO YOU SEE ANYMORE ACTING GIGS IN THE FUTURE?
TEDDY GEIGER: I’D LIKE TO DO SOME MORE ACTING… DEFINITELY. YOU KNOW, THERE’S NOTHING RIGHT NOW. THERE’S NO SPACE REALLY IN MY SCHEDULE TO DO ANYTHING. IT’S BEEN PRETTY, YOU KNOW, SOLID. I THINK… THIS WHOLE MONTH… WE HAVE ABOUT THREE DAYS OFF OR SOMETHING.
EILEEN: WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THREE FREE DAYS?
TEDDY GEIGER: I THINK WE’VE ALREADY HAD TWO OF THEM. SO I THINK I HAVE ONE MORE DAY. UHHH… PROBABLY GONNA SLEEP… MOST LIKELY.
EILEEN: SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD PLAN. I GUESS YOU’VE DONE SO MUCH, SO WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU?
TEDDY GEIGER: I DON’T KNOW… YOU KNOW… I JUST HOPE TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE MAKING MUSIC… AND… AND PLAYING MUSIC AND DOING ALL THAT. AND UH… RIGHT NOW, WE’RE TOURING… AND YOU KNOW… HOPEFULLY, AFTER THAT SUBSIDES, WE’LL GET BACK IN THE STUDIO AND RECORD SOME MORE STUFF FOR ANOTHER ALBUM. AND THEN… YOU KNOW… DO THE WHOLE THING OVER AGAIN.
WEB TAG
CALI: TO WIN AN AUTOGRAPHED PHOTO OF TEDDY, ENTER THE CONTEST AT CHANNEL ONE DOT COM. JUST LOOK FOR IT IN THE GAMES & CONTESTS SECTION.
Instead of breaking a sweat trying to cover a news story that might make a difference in the lives of young people, Channel One’s Eileen Wu asks softball, set-up questions of 17-year-old Teddy Geiger. Channel One’s producers can air anything they want to. Schools are under contract to show the program 90% of school days.
Students put down their math and English books to watch Teddy Geiger plug his songs on Channel One News.
Channel One’s news reporter urges students to sign-up for the "Teddy Geiger Giveaway." One thing you won’t find at Channelone.com is a lot of hard news.
