From
Jim Metrock:
In previous years, as Channel One News signed off for
the summer, all the anchors would appear on the show together
for a joyful "goodbye" to their captive student audience.
One year, they all frolicked on the Santa Monica beach
as they all talked about the stories they would cover in
the summer for broadcast in the fall.
This year’s final show was much different.
Only one anchor, Cali Carlin, was on the set of the soon-to-be
dismantled Hacienda (Channel One’s name for their studio
space at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood). This has been Channel
One’s production home since they left Knoxville, Tennessee
in 1991.
At the end of the show, Carlin tells students that they
will begin broadcasting in Washington DC next school year.
She says there will be new faces on the screen at that
time. She thanks the Los Angeles production crew. She half-heartedly
waves and walks away.
There is a sense of doom in the air. Carlin doesn’t mention
any of her fellow anchors. There is no explanation for
why they aren’t joining her for the last show. She doesn’t
say if any of the current anchors will be back in the fall.
She doesn’t even say if she will be back. There is no,
"I’ll see you guys next
school
year."
Reality has come to Channel One News. Their audience has
evaporated. Their advertisers have fled. The company is
relentlessly cutting personnel costs and production costs
in an effort to survive.
This week, Channel One published a press release that
said they would be using the services of TeamPeople to
produce their show in Washington, DC. This will
save Channel One a lot of money by getting their Los Angeles
production employees off their payroll. From my perspective,
there has always been some tension between Channel One’s
New York office where its sales department and
top managers are and the Los Angeles production office.
That
tension
is now over because New York has closed down the Los Angeles
studio. It is a bit ironic that the New York office was
in charge of sales and because they did such a lousy job
the Los Angeles workers are sacked.
The rent-a-production team called TeamPeople is now
searching for people to replace the displaced Channel One
employees.
See Craigslist
ad
for a line producer to work on Channel One broadcasts.
|
From Craigslist – Washington, DC Line Producer – TeamPeople TeamPeople provides customized media staffing solutions. 3.Works closely with Senior Producer and internal departments -Ability to identify guests and content with high potential -3-5 years of experience line producing in a news/live |
Channel One News has been in a downward spiral for several
years. Their annual revenue was once $70 million; last
year it was $34 million. A few years ago they had to move
out of their swank Madison Avenue offices. They once had
a
President
of Programming but haven’t had that position filled in
three years. They once had a VP of Education but eliminated
that position four years ago. Now they have eliminated
their own production capability. All
of these things happened because revenue keeps falling.
As a retired businessman, I am at a loss as to why Channel
One News continues to exist. There must be no one at their
parent company PRIMEDIA that understands the indifference
schools have to Channel One News. Schools can’t honor the
contract anymore because 12 minutes a day
has
become too expensive. Because schools
don’t honor the contract, advertisers have little interest
in the show. Revenue will continue to fall. Moving to DC
is like taking a step into the grave. You don’t come back
from a move like this. You just get deeper into the ground.
