News About Channel One – Jan. to May 2003

May 30, 2003

2003 News About Channel One News (January – May)

2003 News About Channel One News (June – December))

National Case Study: Pizitz Middle School (Birmingham, AL)

Main Page for Channel One Information

(New) Obligation’s Archive of Articles Concerning Channel One News

Document Center Video Page Search

More Rejects Become Anchors………No News, Good News………Jeff Gordon, News Anchor……..Oregon Parent Takes On Channel One………Channel One and Madonna: Real Bad News for Kids……..Gatorade "Lesson Plans" Here For America’s Worst Teachers……..Primedia Will Be Busted Up…Channel One’s Future In Question………C1 Uses Soldiers To Promote Company………Hershey Is New Advertiser……….Adrian HS To Host British Rapper………C1 Sells Anchor Position Again……….Former Joe Camel Lady Pushing New Product On Channel One………Channel One Fails On Columbia Disaster Reporting……….Laura Ling…Star!……….W.H.O. Talks About C1 Junk Food Ads………Channel One Stuns Schools With Craig David Promotion

Channel One News: A Disruption of the Educational Environment

May 15, 2003
Crack!
"The Company anticipates that a capital investment will be required after 2003 to continue the current business operations and to maintain profit margins at Channel One. PRIMEDIA expects spending would begin in 2004 and extend over a three-year period. However, management is pursuing alternative solutions which would decrease the required capital investment of the Company and provide additional significant revenue streams."

From "Contingencies" section of Primedia’s Quarterly Report (SEC form 10-Q) published 5/15/03.

http://biz.yahoo.com/e/030515/prm10-q.html

May 11, 2003

PG13 Ads Back In Middle School

Needing Cash, Channel One Breaks Promise To Schools

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.

May 08, 2003

Channel One Seeks New Anchors – Good Luck

How ’bout dem All-American Rejects?

Want to travel the world and bring what you see back to school classrooms? We’ve got the lowdown on the new anchor showdown.

Channel One News is looking to hire new anchors immediately to:
Work in our Los Angeles studio
Interview story characters and experts
Report stories from all over the U.S. and foreign countries
Stay on top of current news events
Pitch story ideas
Respond to correspondence from the audience

Qualifications:
A high school diploma is required, as well as enrollment in a college or university. Broadcast experience is NOT required. We’re looking for someone who our teen audience will find interesting. You must have an outgoing personality, be knowledgeable about news and a range of topics, and want to express your opinion about story coverage in editorial meetings.

As a Reporter, you will have the opportunity to travel the world to cover stories ranging from topics of international interest, such as the conflicts in the Middle East, to major political conventions. You’ll also be involved in covering issues related directly to the teen experience, such as ketamine use and surviving divorce. You will do more than "report" the facts. You will interview experts and teens in America and abroad, and relate stories to the audience.

Our news broadcast is unique– we use maps and graphics, present historical information and represent more than one perspective on an issue.

Channel One News launches amazing TV careers: Lisa Ling ( The View, National Geographic Explorer ), Serena Altschul ( CNN, MTV News ), Anderson Cooper ( CNN ), Maria Menounos ( Entertainment Tonight ).

How to Apply:
Send a cover letter, resume and a brief audition tape (vhs, beta, dv or cd format) to:

Channel One News
New Talent
5300 Melrose Ave., Ste. 400E
Los Angeles, CA 90038

Audition tapes may be "home-video" quality. Just tell us what news stories and topics interest you, and why you would be a great Channel One reporter. Be sure to speak naturally.

Because of the large volume of applicants, we can’t take calls.

May 7, 2003 Remove Channel One Says From Former Student (Salem, OR)

May 02, 2003

Channel One News: All-American Rejects

Rejects Unite! You have nothing to lose but your TV show.

Above are Chris Gaylor, Nick Wheeler, Mike Kennerty, and Tyson Ritter – members of the All-American Rejects. These are the four newest Rejects who have anchored Channel One News. They join Gotham Chopra, Alexandra Panther, Seth Doane, Derrick Shore, Errol Barnett, Krystal Greene, Andrew Yani and Janet Choi.

There was no news on Channel One this Wednesday (see story below). Yesterday, was All-Request Thursday and Channel One News played snippets of the latest rock and rap songs for students. Wrapping up the week, Channel One devoted a major portion of their show today, Friday, to promote Dreamworks Records recording artists, the All-American Rejects.

Obligation’s Jim Metrock said, "Today four Rejects joined the regular crew of Channel One rejects. It seems any ole reject can get a job anchoring the news at the Hacienda. Nobody gave Channel One News the right to sell news anchor positions to sponsors. This violates Channel One’s contract because these Rejects get to plug their new CD all during the show. How appropriate for a band named ‘All-American Rejects’ to become news anchors on a TV show that has been overwhelmingly rejected by American schools."

April 30, 2003

Channel One Takes The Day Off

From Jim Metrock:

"No news is good news." That might be the new motto at Channel One News.

Today there was no news on Channel One News.

Today Channel One News reran a feature story on the Holocaust that was shown to students in 2000. Channel One has increasingly been using old footage to fill up many of their reports. Today they filled up an entire program.

Obviously, it is less expensive to use canned video from years before than to send reporters out to news stories and film new material. Channel One’s financial situation may be forcing them to take such actions. (Last year, the Wall Street Journal reported that Channel One was using an entertainment merger/acquisition firm, Allen and Company, to find new investors or a purchaser.)

Channel One likes to say they are the ONLY source of news for many young people. One has to feel sorry for those young people. Already Channel One NEWS refuses to stream news updates after school, on the weekends, and all summer long. Every holiday, Channel One employees turn off the lights in their newsroom and disappear. (Many school districts have a regular school day on Good Friday. Channel One News was "dark" on that day. Their employees enjoyed a long weekend, even though they consider themselves a "news organization."

It would be overstating it to call Channel One News a "part-time news show." They are much less than that.

Channel One’s producer is Jim Morris. He made the decision that no news from the previous day, April 29, would be reported to students on the 30th. I imagine he considered the money the company could save and the fact that, hey, the kids probably already know what happened the day before.

Channel One could easily have replayed the Holocaust story on its Classroom Connection channel, but they didn’t.

Of course, Channel One would defend itself by saying kids could go to their web site and read all the news of the day. For those of you who haven’t visited "The Best News Site" for young people, you will have a big laugh when you visit channelone.com. The little news you will find are cut and paste AP stories and it will be difficult to find these few stories. Channel One is about entertainment and their web site documents that fact.

So there was no news today, Wednesday, April 30, just like there is no news on Saturdays and Sundays. Pretty soon the hard-nosed reporters at Channel One can take a really long vacation. They need it.

For the script of the April 30 show click on channeloneteacher.com

April 29, 2003

HS Student Documents C1 "Guest Host" Scam

This article is from Ken McNatt, a high school student in Pennsylvania, who has done important research on Channel One over the last four years. The use of "guest hosts" or "guest anchors" has allowed Channel One to greatly expand their commercial content and increase ad revenue. These guest anchors pitch their movies and CDs during the 10-minute "news" portion of the show. It is a scam of monumental proportions since it violates the contract Channel One has with 12,000 schools. Mr. McNatt has documented this practice for all to see.

Promotion – Guest Hosts

What are they? – Channel One frequently has guest hosts come on and pitch a product they are involved with. These products are usually CDs, movies, or TV shows.

I do not know how long this practice has been going on, but it has been going on at least since 2000.

In February 2002, Sportscaster Bob Costas was on the program to pitch NBC’s Olympic coverage. Mr. Costas went as far as saying that the students watching did not have to study if they watch the Olympic coverage that weekend (this was a Friday show).

The NBA has a contract with Channel One, (that was not approved by the schools that have a contract with Channel One), which allows NBA and WNBA players to appear on the show as guest hosts. Some of the players that have appeared on the program include Speedy Claxton, Shane Battier, and Tamecka Dixon.

In the 2002-2003 school year, Channel One is continuing this practice.

Below is a pretty comprehensive list of who has been on the program as part of this promotion since the 2000-2001 school year:

Note: Channel One does not count these promotional efforts as commercial time.

2000-2001 Guest Hosts:

Holly Beck, teen surfer (9-29-2000)

Justin Berfield, actor, promoting his TV show Malcolm in the Middle (10-17-2000)

Shar Jackson, actress, promoting her TV show Moesha (10-23-2000)

Vertical Horizon, music group, promoting their CD "Everything You Want" (11-14-2000)

Jon Bon Jovi, singer (12-6-2000)

O-Town, music group, promoting their new CD, and their TV show "Making the Band" (1-8-2001)

Rachael Leigh Cook, actress, promoting her new movie Anti Trust (PG13)(1-16-2001)

Barrett Christy and Kevin Jones, extreme athletes (2-2-2001)

Vitamin C, singer, promoting her new CD "More", and her movie "Get Over It" (2-16-2001)

Martin Sheen, actor, from the show NBC show "The West Wing" – He anchored the President’s Day "Pop Quiz" on this episode (2-19-2001)

Nicole Scherzinger, Maile Misajon, Rosanna Tavarez, Ivette Sosa, Ana Maria Lombo, from the TV show Pop Stars, promoting their single, album, and TV show (2-23-2001)

98 Degrees, music group, promoting their tour (3-12-2001)

Melissa Joan Hart, actress, promoting her TV show Sabrina the Teenage Witch (3-15-2001)

Kirsten Dunst, actress, promoting her soon-to-be released movie "Get Over It", and the upcoming project Spiderman (3-22-2001) (Although she did not mention the movie’s name, her appearance helped promote her movie "Crazy/Beautiful" which had just premiered before her appearance on Channel One. The movie had strong drug and alcohol content and heavy sexual content.)

Julie Foudy and Brandi Chastain, Women’s Professional Soccer Players representing their teams and their new league, the WUSA (4-6-2001)

Kaci, singer, promoted her new song "Paradise" and her website (4-10-2001)

Jamie Kennedy, actor/host, promoting his TV show Facetime on the WB Network(5-11-2001)

Paul Pierce, NBA player, first of many to come on the show as part of the NBA/C1 contract (5-14-2001) (While there was a hint of the connection between the NBA and Channel One, there was no mention that a contract was signed between the two parties.  The purpose of this agreement is to promote the NBA to Channel One’s captive audience of students.)

2001-2002 Guest Hosts:

Chamique Holdsclaw, WNBA Player, representing her team and promoting the WNBA playoffs (8-31-2001)

Bucky Lasek, pro skateboarder, promoting the Gravity Games (9-7-2001)

David Gallagher, actor, promoting his TV show 7th Heaven (10-1-2001)

Soleil Moon Frye, actress, promoting the season premiere of her TV show Sabrina the Teenage Witch (10-5-2001)

Aaron Carter, singer, promoting his new CD Oh Aaron (10-15-2001)

Bush, rock band, promoting their new CD (10-22-2001) 

Reagan Dale Neis, actress, promoting her new TV show "Maybe It’s Me" (10-26-2001)

Derek Fisher, NBA player, on as part of the C1/NBA contract (10-29-2001)

Jewel, singer, promoting her new CD "This Way" (11-13-2001) (2nd time on the show to guest host (1995, 2001))

Antonio Davis, NBA player, on as part of the C1/NBA contract (11-16-2001)

Dakota Moon, music group, promoting their new CD (1-29-2002)

Bob Costas, sports anchor, promoting NBC, the Olympics and told students that they did not have to study if they watched the Olympics (2-8-2002)

Tamecka Dixon, WNBA player, promoting her team and her league, and also did the Cingular Question of the Day (3-13-2002)

Michelle Branch, singer, promoting her CD and her C1 contest Branching Out, the beginning of the concert she gave to the winner of said contest was also shown. (4-30-2002)

Michael Olowokandi, NBA player, on as part of the C1/NBA contract (5-14-2002)

Jay Williams, Duke University Basketball player, promoting himself, Channel One said that he is ìcertain to be one of the top picks in the NBA draft.î (5-24-2002)

Lilí Romeo, rapper, promoting his music (5-30-2002)

2002-2003 Guest Hosts:

Monica, singer, promoting her new album All Eyez on Me (9-5-2002)

Desmond Mason, NBA Player, on as part of the C1/NBA contract (10-11-2002)

T.J. Lavin, BMX Biker, promoting the Gravity Games, himself, NBC, and a contest (10-18-2002) (Channel One’s parent company, Primedia, shares ownership of the "Gravity Games" with NBC. Primedia has used Channel One News many times to promote this extreme sport event.

Brittany Snow, actress, promoting her new NBC TV show "American Dreams" (10-21-2002)

Paul Oakenfold, D.J., promoting his new CD Bunkka (10-23-2002)

Craig Jackson, former Channel One Anchor, promoting his new TV show 30 Seconds to Fame (10-29-2002)

Vanessa Carlton, singer, promoting her music (11-13-2002), (Errol Barnett even led in the beginning of the show using the title of one of her songs, Ordinary Day.)

Josh Groban, singer, promoting his music, and a contest (11-15-2002)

Bob Burnquist, pro skateboarder, promoting the Gravity Games (11-22-2002) (Primedia and NBC have a partnership to promote the Gravity Games, a partnership which was never disclosed on this program. The link will take you to a press release regarding this on Primediaís website)

OK GO, music group (11-26-2002)

Alanis Morissette, singer, promoting her new album Feast on Scraps (12-10-2002)

Kelly Clark and Ross Powers, pro Snowboarders, Promoting NBC, the Olympics, and the Grand Prix of Snowboarding (12-19-2002)

Frankie Muniz, actor, promoting his new movie Agent Cody Banks (2-27-2003)

Mark Madsen, NBA Player, on as part of the C1/NBA contract (3-5-2003)

Amanda Bynes, actress, promoting her new movie What a Girl Wants (4-7-2003)

Craig David, singer, promoting himself, his music, and gave a concert, the very beginning of which was shown on the program (4-11-2003)

Beverley Mitchell, actress, promoting the 150th episode of her show 7th Heaven (4-21-2003)

Jeff Gordon, NASCAR driver, promoting himself, the upcoming race, and his foundation (4-25-2003)

The time that the guest hosts use up on Channel One is indeed commercial time, thus breaching the contractually agreed upon 2 minutes of commercial time. Channel One says that they devote their coverage to hard news. Taking time out of the news portion of the program to promote entertainment is not hard news. These guest host segments are part of the news portion of the program, and there is a commercial interest here, thus breaking their "Code of Conduct."

Ken McNatt

Because of space considerations this is a partial list. For the full list of guest news anchors visit Ken McNatt’s web site at http://iceman_km.tripod.com/

April 28, 2003

NASCAR Gets Anchor Spot For Jeff Gordon

Is Jeff Gordon saying "I love Channel One!"? Gordon became a Channel One news anchor on April 25.

Most children who are compelled to watch Channel One know Jeff Gordon from his Pepsi commercials on the show. Now NASCAR needs help in getting younger viewers to watch their car racing on the FOX network.

NASCAR is big in Alabama and other parts of the country but the West Coast isn’t falling in line as planned. California TV ratings for NASCAR racing have fallen for the past two years according to a Virginia newspaper. NASCAR is getting aggressive in their marketing.

From the Roanoke Times "NASCAR’S L.A. Story One To Watch" (April 266, 2003):

"So, NASCAR is trying many things. Wheel of Fortune" recently had a NASCAR week, helping promote the sport to those who might not be familiar with stock-car racing. IMAX is filming a movie about NASCAR to be released next year. This week, Cup drivers traveled throughout the area, promoting the sport. Stewart threw out the first pitch at the Angels’ baseball game Friday. Points leader Matt Kenseth had appearances at a couple of local businesses. NASCAR asked four-time series champ Jeff Gordon to anchor Channel One News, a nationwide news program shown in public and private schools with an estimated 8.5 million students daily."

Is it that simple? A company wants to increase sales (in this case "ratings") and they just have to hand Channel One News some money and Bingo! your sales rep is now a Guest News Anchor on the show? Yes, it is that easy. Below is part of the script from Friday, April 25 (the day before NASCAR weekend racing). Young people might think Gordon was on to promote his foundation, but that was secondary to pushing NASCAR.

[TALENT=ALEXANDRA & JEFF]

ALEXANDRA: THE MAN IN THIS RACE CAR IS NO STRANGER TO THE WINNER’S PLATFORM — HE’S A FOUR-TIME NASCAR SERIES CHAMPION WHO HAS WON MORE THAN 60 RACES OVERALL. IT’S JEFF GORDON AND HE’S STEPPING OUT FROM BEHIND THE WHEEL TO TRY HIS HAND AS A GUEST ANCHOR – WELCOME.

JEFF GORDON: WELL, IT’S GREAT TO BE HERE, THANK YOU.

ALEXANDRA: ALRIGHT JEFF, YOU’VE GOT THE GREEN FLAG, WHY DON’T YOU GET US STARTED ON THIS SPORTS DAY.

JEFF: WELL, IT’S FRIDAY, APRIL 25TH AND YOU’RE WATCHING CHANNEL ONE NEWS.

AT THE END OF THE SHOW…

ALEXANDRA: SO YOU’VE GOT A BIG RACE COMING UP THIS WEEKEND.

JEFF: YEAH WE’RE RACING IN UH, FONTANA, CALIFORNIA, WE JUST CAME OFF OF A BIG WIN IN MARTINSVILLE, VIRGINIA, SO TWO IN A ROW, HOPEFULLY.

ALEXANDRA: THAT’S GREAT, AND WHY DON’T YOU TELL US ABOUT THE JEFF GORDON FOUNDATION.

JEFF: YEAH UM, I’M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT IT. I STARTED THIS FOUNDATION TWO OR THREE YEARS AGO. WE’RE TARGETING TOWARDS KIDS AND FAMILIES WHO ARE, UH, IN NEED OF TREATMENTS OR CURES FOR THESE CHILDHOOD DISEASES THAT ARE OUT THERE.

ALEXANDRA: WELL THAT’S GREAT. WELL GOOD LUCK THIS WEEKEND. WE HOPE YOU WIN.

JEFF: APPRECIATE IT.

ALEXANDRA: AND THAT DOES IT FOR US BUT DON’T MISS OUT ON OUR EXCLUSIVE ONLINE Q&A WITH JEFF. THERE YOU WILL HAVE A CHANCE TO WIN PRIZES AUTOGRAPHED BY HIM. JUST GO TO CHANNELONE.COM AND CLICK ON SPORTS.

AND THAT DOES IT FOR US. WE’VE GOT TO SAY BYE TO JEFF.

JEFF: AWW, I ENJOYED IT, THANK YOU.

ALEXANDRA: IT WAS FUN HAVING YOU HERE.

JEFF: THANKS, I APPRECIATE IT.

ALEXANDRA: SEE YOU GUYS.

JEFF: BYE BYE.

ALEXANDRA: HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.

Gordon appeared throughout the show. He also did the Gatorade "Play of the Week" which means Gordon, on the show to plug one product (NASCAR) also plugged another product (PepsiCo’s Gatorade). Nothing Gordon said was considered by Channel One News as "commercial content." However, every second Gordon was on the screen was a commercial for NASCAR. That was the whole purpose of getting him in the studio. There were two minutes of ads on this show in addition to Gordon. People who continue to believe Channel One News has "only" two minutes of ads have never taken the time to see the program.

April 22, 2003
Oregon Lawsuit

Parent Takes On Channel One News

An Oregon parent is using a lawsuit to bring common sense to his school system. Gary Boyes is challenging his school district’s waste of resources that results from having a contract with Channel One. Commercial Alert has information on this lawsuit. Here is an editorial in today’s Salem (OR) Statesman Journal. The writers understand the problem Mr. Boyes has laid out but they get tripped up when they attack the wrong party.

Channel One lawsuit wastes scarce funding

The corporate TV deal with schools should be pulled but not this way.

April 22, 2003

A Salem-Keizer parent has the right idea but the wrong approach in trying to yank Channel One from local schools.

Channel One is a pact with the electronic devil, one that 12 Salem-Keizer middle and high schools currently accept.

Participating schools across the country get classroom TVs and video links in return for playing Channel One’s news and advertising. If schools don’t follow through on showing the 12-minute daily program to students, the business removes the equipment.

Keizer parent Gary Boyes is correct that Channel One generally is a waste of students’ time, as well as an example of school-sanctioned advertising intruding on students.

But the lawsuit he filed last week in Marion County Circuit Court is a waste of taxpayers’ money. He is not doing anyone a favor by forcing the financially struggling district to spend money arguing about Channel One in court.

Boyes’ rationale is that the district already is squandering money. He estimates that Channel One consumes the equivalent of five full school days each year.

This lost instructional time should worry parents even more than the advertising issue. An additional two minutes per day of TV commercials might not harm students, who already are exposed to ads in a variety of forms. However, the schools’ contracts with Channel One turns the students into a captive audience — even if teachers do follow up by discussing the values, stereotypes and messages conveyed through advertising.

The 10 minutes of Channel One news could be worthwhile in a current events class. But it’s unnecessary. Students already have access to news through the Internet and other sources at school, as well as newspapers, radio and television at home.

So the main advantage of Channel One is that schools get free interconnected TVs for use by teachers and classes. Is that worth the cost of 12 wasted minutes a day? Not when many districts are having to cut school days for lack of money.

South Salem High School got rid of Channel One and lost its freebie TVs as a result. However, students and teachers will benefit from the additional instructional time. Principals, parents, teachers and site councils at other schools should take note.

That’s a principled stand worth taking — in school, not in court.

Copyright 2003 Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon "Reprinted with permission of the Statesman Journal."

The editors clearly understand Channel One is wasteful of student time and taxpayer money, but they decide to throw the punches at the father who is trying to save the school district untold dollars of tax money. If these editors took just a moment longer to do some math before their deadline they would have understood the cost of losing one week of school per year per child for 12 years. (I’ll get them started: Channel One is 13 minutes long and must be shown 90% of the school year. The school never earns title to the pathetically small 19" TV sets.)

Newspapers are suppose to dig and find those who steal and waste the people’s money. Where was the Stateman Journal staff during the last 12 years? Are they embarrassed that a citizen has done what they refused to do for over a decade? Would this paper have written this editorial condemning the school district’s waste of tax money, if Mr. Boyes hadn’t filed this lawsuit?

The paper wrings its hands over the expense of defending this lawsuit. Oh, it will waste SO MUCH MONEY. Excuse me, editorial writers, last week, each child in the schools that have a contract with Channel One spent one hour watching TV in order to keep their $140 rental TV set in their classroom. No investigative reporter from the paper bothered to ask one question…last week, or the week before or the year before.

Taxpapers in Oregon should be riding Mr. Boyes on their shoulders.

One more thing this editorial board got wrong. They said, "But the lawsuit he filed last week in Marion County Circuit Court is a waste of taxpayers’ money. He is not doing anyone a favor by forcing the financially struggling district to spend money arguing about Channel One in court."

The editorial writers clearly state that Channel One should be yanked from the schools, but then they assume the school district will surely fight hard to defend its use of Channel One. They worry about the cost of this defense. That doesn’t make sense. The school district should NOT defend this lawsuit. They are caught doing a bad thing. The school district should send a letter to Channel One and tell them the contract is ended. (The contract can be ended at any time during the three year contract period without any added penalties.) The school board will soon find out about the reckless junk food ads and the ads for violent and sexually-charged movies and the unethical mixing of news with advertising messages.

Wait until the school board attorney sees some of the sexually suggestive commercials on Channel One News. That is the area where we see the bulk of future lawsuits against school districts. By allowing Channel One to bring in their "topless girl" ad by Clearasil or their "nice package" ad by Old Spice or their "Stealing Harvard" movie ad, etc. etc into the classroom, school boards are intentionally increasing the sexual tension in middle and high schools. Mr. Boyes didn’t mention this is his lawsuit., probably because he has enough reasons to remove Channel One already.

This editorial board is obviously concerned about taxpayer money being wasted. They should write one more editorial which will guarantee the saving of Oregon tax money. That editorial won’t take much time to write or proof-read. A one-word editorial will do the job: "Settle."

April 21, 2003
Madonna’s Best Friend: Channel One News

Channel One Helps Madonna Make $$$

When Channel One News agreed to use its in-school TV service to promote Maverick Records’ recording artists, the Channel One knew they would be pushing parents to their breaking point.

Maverick Records is Madonna’s own recording company. Many artist are given their own "recording company" but they have little to no control over the company. Maverick is different. Warner Brothers agreed to give Madonna near total control over Maverick. The first CD from Maverick was Madonna’s vulgar Erotica CD. This CD marked the first time that a Madonna CD had a parental warning label for explicit lyrics. The second CD from Maverick was Bedtime Stories. (These are not the bedtime stories parents would read to their children.)

Madonna owes a big thanks to Channel One News for helping make her record company a hit with kids.

Madonna pushes the limits;

Channel One News pushes the limits.

Maybe Madonna will buy Channel One. It’s for sale … cheap.

According to Randy Taraborrelli’s "Madonna – An Intimate Biography", Madonna is very involved in the running of Maverick Records. Madonna signed other artists to record for her label. To make her company successful, Madonna needed teens and pre-teens to be informed about the music Maverick is putting out.

That problem was partially solved when Channel One News executives met and agreed they would aid in promoting Madonna’s company.

By advertising on Channel One News, children would HAVE TO be exposed to these artists – their school would make them listen and watch these artists as they paraded on their classroom TV screens.

Obligation’s Jim Metrock said, "You have to imagine Madonna laughing all the way to the bank. It has got to be amusing to her that taxpayers are paying for school time to be used to give her roster of artists a chance to plug their CDs and tours. Madonna has pushed the limits of outrageousness with her "Sex" book, her movies like "Body of Evidence" and her often offensive music. It is sad to think that public school teachers and principals are allowing this company to usurp school time. Channel One News is making money. Madonna is making money. Schools are burning money like it grows on trees and kids are being robbed. There is little to sing about."

The full resources of Channel One News have been used to pump up the sales at Maverick. Not only has the in-school TV show been used to advertise Maverick recording artists, but the Channel One web site has been used extensively to aid in the marketing campaign.

Madonna received some bad press for her latest music video that shows her throwing a hand grenade into the lap of a George Bush-look alike. A re-edited video is suppose to come out soon. Should public schools be aiding this woman’s company? Obligation has written Jim Ritts and Jeff Ballabon of Channel One and asked if Channel One News plans on continuing their promotional efforts on her behalf. If we receive a reply from these gentlemen, we will post it here.

Alanis Morissette is signed to Madonna’s Maverick Records.

Madonna’s company convinced Channel One to allow Ms. Morisette (best known for her song about performing oral sex in a movie theater) to actually co-host Channel One News the very week of her new CD release. Morisette was given permission to speak directly to Channel One’s captive audience of children down to age eleven.

See for yourself.

Paul Oakenfold needs a lot of help selling his CDs. This obscure British DJ was signed by Madonna and is unknown to many American teens.

Channel One News showcased Oakenfold and his music on a show this school year. This Maverick artist was allowed to play new songs from his upcoming CD during class time on Channel One News.

Madonna has a big investment in Oakenfold. Channel One surely boosted sales for this singer at the expense of taxpayers.

April 20, 2003 Channel One Asks Teachers To Promote Gatorade

April 19, 2003 Hot!!! Turning Up The Sexual Tension In Class

March 2, 2003 Uh Oh, Tom Rogers Gets Sacked – Ritts Next?

April 15, 2003 Channel One Uses Soldiers For Self-Promotion

March 31, 2003 Channel One News Signs Up Hershey As Sponsor

March 17, 2003 Michigan School "Wins" Craig David Contest

March 10, 2003 The Channel One Anchors

Ken McNatt, High School Student, Provides Analysis of Channel One News Shows

March 2, 2003 C1 "Journalists" Work Overtime Plugging Movies

February 25, 2003 Who is Cie Nicholson? And Why Is She Talking To Your Child At School?

February 14, 2003 Gatorade Play of the Week – A Moronic Waste of School Time

February 6, 2003 An Example of How Channel One "Reporters" Prostitute Themselves

February 6, 2003 A Look At Channel One In Oregon

February 4, 2003 Manchester Students Will Be Spared Watching Channel One News

February 3, 2003 Ghastly Use of Advertising By Channel One Demeans Columbia Astronauts

February 2, 2003 Channel One News Fails On Coverage of Columbia Disaster

January 30, 2003 Channel One Anchor Gives Interview

January 30, 2003 Laura Ling. Star!

January 29, 2003 World Health Organization Mentions Channel One’s Role In Obesity Crisis

January 29, 2003 Another One Bites The Dust

January 24, 2003 Major Effort To Get Students To Buy Craig David’s Newest CD

January 18, 2003 Montana School District Rejects Channel One "Free" TVs

January 17, 2003 Channel One Advertises Another "Heavy Alcohol" Movie

January 16, 2003 Another Soft Drink Is Advertised On Channel One

January 14, 2003 New York Times Front Page Article Rips Channel One

January 11, 2003 Who Are These Teachers?

January 09, 2003 Parents Object to Channel One News in Indiana

January 07, 2003 Channel One Anchor Positions Up For Sale , Alanis Morisette Becomes News Anchor To Push Latest CD

January 05, 2003 Nebraska Catholic HS Removes Channel One News

January 04, 2003 Indiana School Asks Channel One News To Leave

January 01, 2003 Why Channel One "News" Will Collapse

Why did Channel One’s Jim Ritts allow a raunchy animated movie to be advertised to kids?

News About Channel One News (2002 January-June) (2002 July-December)