April 29, 2011 – From Jim Metrock: Parents would be shocked to know what Channel One News has forced upon middle school students over the years. Channel One News believes everything, EVERYTHING, is value neutral. There are no “rights” or “wrongs.” All that matters is what you believe. An action is positive or negative depending upon context. Who gave Channel One News permission to ask 6th grade students what they thought about the legality of terminating pregnancies? Channel One’s insensitive, stupid decisions like this abortion quiz for kids in 2005 accelerated the rate schools cancelled their Channel One contracts.
Below the line is the 2005 article we wrote.
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Actual screen shot from a middle school broadcast of Channel One News.
Abortion is an explosive issue among adults. Adults have differing views on when life begins.
The executives at Channel One News believe that preteens should be thinking about abortion. They have attempted to engage children in a conversation about this hot issue. (No need to let parents know about this.)
Channel One ran this “Question of the Day” to get preteens to call in, email, or text message their thoughts on whether abortion should be legal or illegal.
A child who had never thought about abortion before, would probably come away from Channel One’s in-school TV show thinking that abortion is similar to any choice one makes.
Channel One’s broadcast is the same for high schools and middle schools. (Channel One also has several elementary schools under contract.) To Channel One, a sixth-grade student is just as “street wise” as a high school senior about to go to college.
Channel One News solely determines what it will air on its show. Editorial content decisions are made a group of producers, most in their twenties, in their Hollywood studios.
“To Channel One News, everything is value neutral,” said Obligation’s president Jim Metrock. “Cheating may or may not be wrong. That is up to each student to decide. Drinking alcohol is not a bad thing unless you binge drink. A child that has been forced to watch Channel One News over the years has gotten a steady dose of value messages that are truly regrettable. There is no indication that the latest president of the company, Judy Harris, will change things.”
