Channel One won’t be cranking up their movie ads until September or October of this current school year. Right now, Channel One is running public service announcements because not all schools are in session yet. Here is the last Channel One movie ad from May of this year. It is a typical filthy movie that has made Channel One’s Fat Cat executives and lobbyists a lot of money over the years.
We have already reported on the movie The New Guy. We reprint the May 31, 2002 article below to give you an indication of the content of this movie. Read over the article and then click on the movie ad that ran in schools.
May 31, 2002 – How Much Dirt Can Channel One Dump On Children?
Obligation Urges Ritts, Ballabon and Haehl to Resign Over Latest Movie Ad Outrage
On May 9, Channel One advertised an extremely vulgar movie to children. Channel One’s president Jim Ritts, VP of Network Affairs Jeff Ballabon, and VP of Sales Kent Haehl had to have known that Columbia’s latest gross-out movie, “The New Guy” was being promoted on C1.
Below is an email from Obligation’s Jim Metrock to these three executives.
From: Jim Metrock <jimmetrock@mindspring.com>
Date: Wed May 29, 2002 03:41:14 PM US/Central
To: jritts@channelone.com, jballabon@channelone.com, jballabon@primedia.com ( Jeff Ballabon), khaehl@channelone.com
Subject: Resign
Mr. Ritts, Mr. Ballabon and Mr. Haehl:
I urge you three to resign.
On May 9, your company advertised a movie that encouraged young people to abuse drugs and to drink alcohol. The movie contained an abundance of sexual content and profanity. The commercial that Channel One ran even had a clip of a cheerleader’s panties to grab the attention of would-be movie goers.
“The New Guy” is clearly a PG13 movies whose content borders on R material. The movie rating web site, Grading the Movies gives this film these grades:
Overall: D
Violence: D+
Sexual Content: D+
Language: D
Drugs/Alcohol: D
Either you three knew about this movie and didn’t care or you are incompetent. Either way, it is not in the best interests of the children who are forced to watch your program for you to be any longer in a decision-making position.
Mr. Ritts, you wanted to push the envelope with kids at DEN and you are now doing that at C1. Career-wise I don’t know where you go after Channel One, it seems to me you are pretty much at the end of the line already, but I hope you have nothing to do with marketing to children. Mr. Ballabon, for years you have financially benefited from the sleazy and violent entertainment pushed on kids and then have the audacity to act like a pro-family spokesperson.
You will not apologize for advertising this movie – you never have before. You are the new bullies in the school house. You have no problem rubbing a child’s nose in this excrement. This is the final straw. Your poor decision making reflects badly on the rest of Channel One employees who have no control over the filth you agree to promote on the show.
The Channel One advertised movie Dude, Where’s My Car? helped normalize drug usage among children, but it made you a pot full of money. Supernova drenched children in violence but it helped fatten your bank accounts. Do you think you will never be held to account for your actions? Do you think this will go on and on and you would get wealthier and wealthier?
With you three gone, Channel One may not change at all, but it certainly won’t change as long as you are there. Do the right thing – resign.
Jim Metrock
President
More on the movie at a later date.
Hear are some of the reviews of Channel One-advertised “The New Guy”. Channel One’s mysterious “advisory committee” approved this movie as fine for children.
“The New Guy” PG13 for sexual content, profanity, brief nudity and drug usage.
Screenit.com gave this movie “Heavy” for “Violence” and “Heavy for “Sex/Nudity”content.
“This film contains disturbing sexual content.”
“Though it features the word “new” in its title, “The New Guy” is simply more of the same old garbage Hollywood has been trying to pass off as acceptable teen entertainment for some time now.
“And ‘acceptable’ is something this film is not. Actually, it appears to have been trimmed down — as if it was originally an R-rated movie that was snipped to get a more friendly PG-13 rating from the MPAA. “
Metrock said, “Channel One is selling smut to children. They will advertise any trash to kids as long as they make a buck. This movie had anal sex jokes, oral sex jokes, gross out prison-sex jokes along with promoting drug usage and underage drinking. This is slime and Jim Ritts, Jeff Ballabon and Kent Haehl out to be covered with shame for what they are doing to young people.”
Here is the spot Channel One ran on Monday (May 2002). The lead actor for this movie asks the captive audience of students a question about something in the movie. He instructs the audience to go to “ChannelOne.com” to answer the question and then be able to win prizes. You have to wonder about a teacher who would sit there and allow this to happen in his or her classroom.
