From Jim Metrock: I’ve never met Jack Lynch the current CEO of Houghton Mifflin and overseer of Channel One. He looks like a nice guy, but I suspect that when it comes to making money off of children, he can be one ruthless, son-of-a-gun.
Look at the language Lynch and his executives have fashioned for middle schoolers to read before they use Channel One’s website. Almost all of the “Terms and Conditions” are equally as difficult to read and cutthroat, but I am posting this section because it deals with companies that Channel One and Houghton Mifflin sign up as advertisers. Channel One has handpicked these advertisers and bring their ads into American classrooms, BUT here they basically admit that they are irresponsible in the way they pick their advertisers.
Schoolchildren are told that Channel One does not check out any of its advertisers. Channel One does not investigate the quality of an advertisers products and does not endorse any advertiser. Sounds ridiculous since Channel One is daily urging children to buy their advertisers’ products. Channel One goes overboard in making sure that children are on their own.
Channel One and their parent company “disclaims all liability” when it comes to a company that cheats a child or otherwise mistreats a child.
If Channel One News advertises a product to middle school students and that product causes injury, then it’s no fault of Channel One News. All Channel One News did was urge children to buy the products.
As I can hear Jack Lynch say, “It’s nothing personal, kid. It’s just business.” Buyer beware, or rather, child beware.
I think adults who think up this type of language on a children’s website, and put it in fine print, and then laugh all the way to the bank, are pretty scummy.
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