Channel One News is watched by as many as 6 million secondary school students each school day.
Teachers are often too busy to watch the show with students. Teachers also don’t have time to discuss the non-commercial and commercial content of the show. Therefore there is little or no chance for teachers to deconstruct the many advertisements on the show.’
This little segment airs right before one of the two commercial breaks on the program. Students might easily think this is not an advertisement. Younger middle school students might not give much thought to the nature of this video.
This is of course an advertisement for We the Kings recording artists. It is more than that, but it is certainly an ad for them and it’s a powerful ad. These singers get to talk to students IN THEIR CLASSROOM. Students hear one of this band’s songs and see the name of the song on their TV. It doesn’t get better than this for a band trying to sell their music.
Students should be asking a lot of questions about the media they consume, especially Channel One News, a program that is forced on them.
- Why am I watching a relatively unknown music group telling me about themselves?
- Did Channel One News pay them to come on their show? or did We The Kings pay Channel One?
- This Hear It Now clip is not part of the other commercials on Channel One. Can it still be a commercial?
- Why did they mention Channelone.com?
- Why would Channel One News be featuring new and upcoming music acts on their program?
- Would We The Kings appeal more to middle school students or high school students?
- Would my parents like the idea of my teachers showing me commercials for rock groups instead of teaching?
