PG-13 Ads Back In Middle Schools

May 11, 2003
A nude woman is one of the stars of the Channel One News-promoted X-Men 2 movie. The movie has sex talk, violence and profanity. This movie promotion may result in massive contract terminations over the summer. Why did Channel One advertise this movie to children as young as ten and eleven? MONEY!

To see what was in this C1N-approved movie go to Screenit.com.

In 2000, Channel One gave in to public pressure (much of it from Obligation) and promised that, in the future, no commercials for PG13 movies would be shown to students in middle school grades. It was a very small bone thrown to parents who believed no movie should be advertised to children during school time.

Many educators who tried to defend Channel One found themselves struggling to accept Channel
One’s ugly Hollywood connection. Why was it “OK” to advertise raunchy and violent movies to children in high school? Some of those students are as young as 13 and 14.

So in 2000, Channel One began to send a different signal to middle schools. The middle schools would be shown ads for PG and G-rated movies. The high schools would get the ads for the rougher more sexualized and violent movies.

All schools, both middle and high schools, get the same “news” content. Everything outside the two commercial blocks is the same for all schools. So when a guest anchor hosts the show it goes to everyone. A different signal is sent out for the commercial breaks and that is where there is a difference between high schools and middle schools.

But now Channel One has found a way around their promise to school officials and parents by using guest hosts to plug the forbidden PG13 mov ies. They did this is 2001 with AntiTrust. The middle schools did not see the ad for the PG13 AntiTrust but they did see an entire show hosted by one of the main stars of AntiTrust. The Channel One anchor encouraged the middle school students to see AntiTrust when it premiered. Slick.

Channel One mouthpieces like Jeff Ballabon could tell a reporter that Channel One News did not show commercials for PG13 movies to middle school students and he would be technically correct. He would of course fail to mention that Channel One News allowed much more effective promotion of such offensive movies by use of guest hosts.

This week, Channel One allowed an actor from the PG13 X-Men 2 movie to host the Channel One News show. X-Men 2 is a violent and sexy movie that will land Channel One in trouble again.

Obligation’s Jim Metrock said, “Channel One needs money and they apparently can’t hold themselves to their promise to spare middle school kids the ads for raunchier and more violent movies. Having a guest host from a PG13 movie is nothing more than a very long ad for that movie. The actor mentions the movie by name and the Channel One anchor, on cue, gushes over the movie and the guest host. Janet Choi was the Channel One anchor on this show that promoted the X-Men movie. She shameless used her position of trust with the student audience to hawk this product.

Channel One Uses A Violent
Movie
to Teach Tolerance? – Oh, Brother!

Part of the Channel One News script where the movie is advertised
to middle school and high school students:

[HELLOS]
[AIRDATE=5/8/03]
[PRO=ENAS]
[TALENT=JANET & JAMES]
JANET: HE’S A LONGTIME LEADER OF THE X-MEN – HIS CHARACTER CYCLOPS HAS
THE MUTANT ABILITY TO FIRE OPTIC BLASTS WHENEVER HE OPENS HIS EYES. AND
TODAY HE IS A CHANNEL ONE NEWS GUEST ANCHOR.
HEY EVERYONE, I’M JANET CHOI A BIG WELCOME TO JAMES MARSDEN, HOW ARE
YOU?
JAMES MARSDEN: I’M DOING GOOD, HOW ARE YOU DOING?
JANET: GOOD. YOU’RE HERE ON A GOOD DAY. BECAUSE THIS IS ALL REQUEST THURSDAY…
THAT’S WHEN OUR VIEWERS HAVE THE POWER TO PICK THEIR FAVORITE ARTISTS
AND THAT’S WHEN WE PLAY THEIR MUSIC.
JAMES MARSDEN: GREAT THAT SOUNDS LIKE FUN, SO WHY DON’T WE GET STARTED,
IT’S MAY 8TH AND THIS IS CHANNEL ONE NEWS.

AT THE END OF THE SHOW:

[GOODNIGHT]
[AIRDATE=5/8/03]
[PRO=ENAS]
[TALENT=JAMES & JANET]
JANET: WE HAD A GOOD TIME. THANKS, JAMES.
JAMES: THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
JANET: SO LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR MOVIE. WE KNOW THAT X2-X-MEN UNITED IS
FANTASY. BUT WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS ON THE PLOT REFLECTS REALITY ESPECIALLY
IN TERMS OF PEOPLE ACCEPTING OTHERS…
JAMES: WELL, I THINK THAT’S PROFESSOR X TEACHES THE X-MEN. UH, HE BELIEVES
IN CO-EXISTENCE AND BASICALLY TEACHES PEOPLE TO EMBRACE PEOPLE FOR THEIR
DIFFERENCES INSTEAD OF HATE THEM. IT TEACHES TOLERANCE.
JANET: THAT’S VERY GOOD... GOOD LUCK, THE MOVIE HAS BEEN A HUGE
SUCCESS.
JAMES: WE’RE VERY HAPPY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
JANET: WE’LL SEE YOU GUYS LATER. BYE.

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