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This video clip from Channel One will start with a recruitment ad for the Army and then go immediately into a feature story about a high school football player from Kentucky.
Channel One News is cutting back on their news stories because they are too expensive to produce. Shooting footage like this is relatively cheap and requires little expertise.
One could say that what’s wrong about this video clip is that Channel One News is not delivering the news it promised schools, but Channel One has been using feature stories like this for years as filler. The fact that Channel One News is light on news is not news. What’s wrong with this clip is the Army recruitment ad is followed by basically another ad for the Army. This is yet another example of how Channel One mixes “news” with advertising content.
The player we learn is going to appear in the High School All-Star game sponsored by, you guessed it, the U.S. Army. Did the fact that the Army, a regular Channel One advertiser, sponsored the game influence Channel One’s decision to highlight a player who was going to play in the game?
The producers at Channel One News have sold their souls to the sales department. If the sales department promises an advertiser that reporters can create a news story or feature story that is favorable to an advertiser, then unfortunately, it appears Channel One’s producers and reporters will go along with whatever they are instructed to do.
It’s a sad time for Channel One News.
