Channel One News is a youth marketing company whose main purpose is to get advertising to a captive audience of impressionable schoolchildren. The company loans a school TV equipment in exchange for the school’s contractual pledge to show students a daily, 12-minute, hyper-commercial, TV program called Channel One News. Students lose one hour a week of schools time, which equates to one lost week of instructional time (32 hours) per year. No educational organization endorses the use of Channel One News.
Channel One has fallen on very hard times. Once they claimed over 8 million students were under contract. Since 1997 they have continued to lose schools and now they claim “nearly five million” students and the true figure is probably lower.
In May 2014, publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt acquired Channel One from ZelnickMedia the makers of the ultra-violent Grand Thief Auto video game series. Houghton Mifflin did not disclose the purchase price.
At the end of 2014 most of Channel One’s full-paying advertisers have abandoned the program.
In apparent response to Obligation’s press release complaining about Channel One’s unilateral decision to expand its program from 12 minutes to over 13 minutes, Channel One is now announcing at the first of each show that the program will begin in 30 seconds. Jim Metrock,Obligation president, said, “This is typical Channel One. This is truly the ‘gang...
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“Teach the news” is Channel One’s latest slogan. Channel One has rolled out this slogan and hired new people and reassigned people in an attempt to look like an educational company as opposed to the corporate child predator that it is. Channel One’s “news” is secondary to its commercials and their newest campaign confirms it. Channel One is...
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WIDTH="255" HEIGHT="62" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" NATURALSIZEFLAG="3">Channel One Is Bad News For Kids SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial">To 1999 Press Releases and News About Channel One SIZE="-1" FACE="Arial">To 1997 Press Releases and News About Channel One Press Releases and News About Channel One - 1998 December 20, 1998 - It's Hard to Keep a Bad Web Site Down December 14, 1998 - Channel One Discussed...
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Bucking the trend across Alabama, Dr. Harrison Cass called Channel One a “good current events program” and said children will continue to watch the program. He said he reached that personal decision after viewing several programs. Dr. Cass is quoted by the Birmingham News as saying “We also get to use equipment they provide such as televisions and other educational...
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From Jim Metrock – Channel One has an official web site. It is called “channelone.com”. Its abuse of children is legendary. (Take a look around our web site for some of the most offensive servings from Channel One. R-rated movie reviews for kids? Reviews of sexually-explicit CDs for your child? Channel One wanting to post your child’s picture on the...
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The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), a well-respected educational organization held a panel discussion on commercialism in schools on Capitol Hill last week. Channel One had Dr. Paul Folkemer, VP Education, on the panel to defend its presence in classrooms. Mr. Folkemer had a difficult time with his fellow panelists. Dan Fuller, National School Boards Association, said the decision...
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Channel One’s "Fresh Faces" January 26, 1998 – Channel One Ceases Their Dangerous "Fresh Faces" Section Within the past two months, Channel One has listened to our our pleas and has ditched their dangerous "Fresh Faces" feature. This was another one of Channel One’s self-promotions that allowed children to put their pictures on...
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Birmingham, AL (November 24, 1998) – The Washington Times ran a story covering yesterday’s letter to several Congressional Committee chairmen urging informational hearings on the controversial Channel One marketing program in public schools. Obligation is a Birmingham-based child advocacy and media watchdog group that has been instrumental in getting this diverse group of conservative...
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November 23, 1998 (Birmingham, AL) Obligation, Inc., a local media watchdog group has joined several nationally known organizations and individuals in signing a letter asking for Congressional hearings on the in-school TV marketing program called Channel One. Jim Metrock, Obligation’s president said, "When you have Ralph Nader and Eagle Forum’s Phyllis Schlafly on the...
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