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The Army has been a major advertiser on C1N for years.
On Friday, February 24, Channel One devoted half of its program to US Army-related content.
During the first of two commercial breaks, students watch a very odd 30-second spot. Students don’t know what they are watching. The small “US Army” logo at the end of the commercial cannot be seen by most students on the small 19″ Channel One TV sets.
Students are told to go to “Boostup.org.” This sounds like a nonprofit. It is a site that encourages students to stay in school and graduate. It is a public relations effort by the U.S. Army to counteract criticism that their recruitment ads have encouraged students, especially in low-income areas, to drop out and join the Army.
In the second and last commercial break, students see a regular U.S. Army recruitment commercial. That is followed immediately by a feature segment sponsored by the U.S. Army. This is called “One Nation” which is a not too subtle play on the “Army of One” advertising theme.
There are not suppose to be any sponsored segments on Channel One News. That was a promise made to schools in the early 90’s. That the Army is sponsoring a portion of the show doesn’t necessarily mean the content of that part of the show will have anything to do with the Army. One sees that all the time on network TV. “This portion of tonight’s show is brought to you by Honda,” for example, and then there is absolutely nothing about Honda cars in the show.
It is different with this “One Nation” story.
The voice-over says, “The United States Army presents Black History month.” The report highlights a very brave black woman survived a very terrifying ordeal. The woman was Shoshana Johnson who was a U.S. Army cook when she became the first black female prisoner of war in Iraq.
The subtext of this story is you can become more than you set out to be if you join the Army.
The feature story ends with the Channel One anchor telling students to learn more about Ms. Johnson at Channel One’s website. The purpose of directing students to the web site isn’t just about providing more information about this brave, independent woman. It is also about further pitching the idea of joining the Army and of course exposing kids to more advertisers.
Notice the quick glimpse they give of the web page they want young people to visit. The U.S. Army banner ad is visible to the right. Clicking on that ad will take students off Channel One’s site and to the Army web page. One of the main purposes of the Channelone.com site is to get young people to visit their advertisers’ web sites, whether it is the Army or Hubba Bubba bubble gum. Channel One News is in the advertising business.
The total time for all the Army content on this one show was over 6 minutes. Channel One is 12 1/2 minute show.
Channel One’s CEO Judy Harris said that “advertorials” are a part of what Channel One News does nowadays. Schools will probably see more “news” and feature stories that promote the interests of advertisers, whether it is the Army or a product like Gatorade.
See for yourself: First “mystery ad” …. second Army ad and One Nation story.
