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Kids, doesn’t this look like fun?
From Jim Metrock: Since 1990, Channel One News has been quietly shaping the opinions and values of the students who are forced to watch the program. Over the years Channel One News has sent kids some very bad messages. For most of their history they advertised the worst food and drink choices imaginable. Students were told that Snickers were a good meal substitute "between meals." That was outrageous, but Channel One News continued a massive, multi-year campaign to get kids to eat more Snickers. And they were very successful. Mars, Inc. praised Channel One for being an effective advertising medium. Channel One did the same with Hostess Twinkies. Eating Twinkies was a GOOD THING. Students watched funny commercials that got kids laughing and eating more Twinkies and their sister product – also heavily advertised on Channel One News – Hostess Cupcakes. Channel One ran ads for a McDonald’s contest offering students a chance to win a MILLION DOLLARS. The goal of the ad campaign was to get kids to eat more McDonald’s french fries. Channel One News has helped a generation of children make some very bad decisions about what they eat. What was the best thing for a young person to drink? Pepsi, of course. Not Diet Pepsi, but Pepsi Pepsi. Channel One made a killing advertising Pepsi, Sierra Mist and other high sugar drinks to overweigh students. Channel One’s implicit message was that you could teat and drink all the junk food and junk drinks you wanted to without any problems. In fact, if you ate Crunch chocolate bars, Twix bars, Doritos, Lay’s Potato Chips, Skittles, and slurped up all the Mountain Dew you could, you would be very cool and have lots of friends and you would be much happier. All of this was a bunch of lies, but it made people like Kent Haehl, the present CEO of Channel One, and Dr. Paul Folkemer, the present VP of Education, a lot of money when they previously worked for the company. Mr Haehl signed up the junk food advertisers and Dr. Folkemer gave his stamp of approval to them when they worked together at C1N between 1998 and 2002. It was a tag team combination that was especially rough on the overall health of students. Channel One News has been very active in trying to shape the thinking of students about gay marriage (also). Their web site has allowed message board postings about the joys of cutting (cutting one’s skin for pleasure). Channel One ran a contest on their web site to get more kids to watch the movie Loser which normalized the use of the date rape drug Rohyphol (this C1N-pitched movie made it funny and half-way acceptable to use the drug). All these things together moved children to accept things that that their parents might have found inappropriate. Are drugs bad for you? Oh sure, but… well, they can be fun too. That was the message Channel One News sent for YEARS to kids. Students were forced to watch ads on Channel One for pro-drug, pro-alcohol movies like Supernova, Starsky & Hutch, Dude, Where’s My Car?, Stealing Harvard, Eight Crazy Nights, The New Guy, Head Over Heels, and others. Channel One even sent questionable value messages to kids with their public service announcements and stories on drug abuse. The PSAs often helped normalized drug use. When Channel One would end a story about a youth that had overcome drug problems or who had died from drug or alcohol abuse, the reporter would routinely look into the camera and ask students if they knew of any student who had a "problem with drugs" or a "problem with alcohol." The message was that it was only bad if students had a PROBLEM with drugs or a PROBLEM with alcohol. It was sloppy writing on Channel One’s part and it told kids that a little drug taking and a little alcohol drinking was OK. This underscored one of the main problems with Channel One News: the content was outside the local control of the community. The standards on Channel One’s show were the standards of the people producing the show. Channel One News has tried to mold children’s attitudes toward owning credit cards or "buying cards" by running a long ad campaign for American Express’s Cobaltcard. The message was: Kids you need plastic in your wallet or purse so you can buy the things you see advertised on our show. On today’s February 12th show, Channel One reporter Chris Browne says something very unusual. It went by quickly, but it hit me like a ton of brick when I watched the webcast of the show that was played in middle schools. Keep in mind that what Mr. Browne says on air is not "off-the-cuff." He is reading a script that has been worked on and refined by his producer. If he makes a mistake, they re-shoot that segment. Every word is there for a purpose and has impact. Channel One News is a taped show. Mr. Browne is reporting on a major art theft in Switzerland. Channel One begins the report with showing a clip from a movie about an art thief. Mr. Browne tells kids that stealing art – like the kids see in this movie clip – was a "fun idea." Whoa. Why would he say that? Why would he say that to schoolchildren? The answer of course is because HE CAN. Teachers, administrators, students, and most certainly parents have no control over what Channel One News teaches the students. Is this "Stealing-is-fun" comment a big thing? No. It’s a small thing. It’s nothing for anyone to trouble themselves over and that’s the point. It’s the small things, like pixels on a computer screen, that matter in the LONG RUN. One pixel is nothing. Two are nothing. But after a while, these inconsequential pixels make up a big picture. In Channel One’s case, it might not be a pretty picture.
From the official transcript of Channel One News TONY: MASKED BANDITS IN BROAD DAYLIGHT, MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN STOLEN CHRIS: REMEMBER THIS SCENE FROM THE HEIST MOVIE "THE THOMAS CROWN CHRIS: WELL, NOT IF YOU ASK THE DIRECTORS OF THE E.G. BÜHRLE COLLECTION |
Stealing – What A Fun Idea!
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