Take a walk through a portion of the Channel One News Hall of Shame.
By being reckless with their captive audience of schoolchildren, Channel One News has made itself a pariah among educators.
Comments by Jim Metrock.
1. Stealth TV (2001)
True or False: Two students in Ohio are sent to the Wood County Juvenile Detention Center for refusing to watch Channel One News and its junk food commercials.
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2. Lobbyists struggle to buy praise (2006)
Channel One News has to pay people to say good things about their TV show. This Congressional report makes public the embarrassing emails of Channel One’s lobbyists, especially the notorious “Casino” Jack Abramoff. I loved the one about “Metrock bashing.”
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3. A teacher speaks out (2004)
This Colorado teacher tells you what you own classroom teacher won’t about the reality of Channel One News.
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4. Hungry Tweens (1999)
Junk food was very, very good for Channel One News until the candy bar and soda companies all ended their classroom advertising due to public pressure. This ad in Advertising Age shows the mentality of Channel One executives. The last thing on their mind is the welfare of schoolchildren.
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5. Using violence to sell root beer (1998) VIDEO
One of the many junk food ads students were forced to watch while they sat at their desks.
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6. Destructo Doll (2009)
Either Channel One executives are reckless or incompetent. I don’t see a third choice.
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7. Wash those M&Ms down with some Pepsi (1997) VIDEO
When the story is written about the obesity crisis among young people and young adults, there will be an entire chapter on Channel One’s junk food advertising that lasted from 1990 to 2004.
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8. Half of your parents tried pot (1997) VIDEO
Normalizing drug use? Demoralizing? There was no warning to teachers that Channel One News was going to undermine the anti-drug messages of schools.
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9. Four commercials from one day (Oct. 5, 1998) VIDEO
And this was BEFORE Channel One News became a hyper-commercial program around 2005.
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10. Fake reporters used to sell products (May 2006)
Channel One News loves to confuse students. Is this a news story? No, wait, it’s an ad. And of course their “news” stories are often nothing more than ads.
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11. Teachers wanting to teach are punished for turning off Channel One News (1992)
Hard to believe? Not really. Many “Channel One” schools have forgotten they are suppose to serve the educational interests of students not the financial interests of vendors.
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12. How to cheat on a book report (1998) PDF
Channel One News tells kids that they can avoid reading a book for a required book report by watching the movie, BUT you have to be very, very careful. Some movies differ from the book so much that you will be caught. Channel One News gives the names of movies that won’t get students in trouble.
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13. Admitting to advertorials (2006) VIDEO
Channel One’s president talks openly about mixing ads with news.
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14. Ten Reasons (2008) brochure PDF
Not much out of date here. How many reasons resonate with you?
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15. This could have cost teachers their jobs (2001)
Channel One News desperate to stem its loss of schools, offered public school teachers a bounty for every school they signed up for Channel One. Teachers told Obligation about this and we told the Wall Street Journal. End result: Channel One News got busted again.
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16. Abortion quiz for 11-year-olds (Feb. 2005)
No parents complained about this because no parents saw this. Teachers are too busy to watch Channel One. Anybody who thinks a modern day middle school or high school teacher has 12 to 13 minutes to relax and watch Channel One’s TV show has little comprehension of the demands on secondary school teachers.
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17. Called out by Focus on the Family (2002)
Because Channel One has committed so many shameful acts, groups like Focus on the Family encourages the public to pull the plug on this controversial, in-school TV show. Another: Southern Baptist resolution
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18. Herbal Essences (2004) VIDEO
You’re never too young to buying Herbal Essences shampoo. This brand of course has always connected their shampoo with sex. This middle school ad is toned down but still features the symbolic ejaculation of flowers. There might be a few people, with little life experience and with little knowledge of the persuasive techniques of advertising, that think there was nothing intended by this scene. That it was random. The truth is there is a long history (Shakira) of Channel One ads using sex to sell to students.
