Channel One’s in-school TV show constantly urges students to go to its channelone.com
site. These advertisements for channelone.com are in addition to the "regular" advertising
on the show. This breaches the Channel One contract that limits ads to no more
than two minutes, but so far no school board attorneys that we know of have
challenged Channel One on this.
When children go to Channel One’s web site there is very little about news
and current events. Over 80% of the web site has nothing to do news. The web
site, like Channel One News, is a marketing gimmick.
The first thing a child is greeted with is the above pop-up advertisement
from Cybiko. The child has no control over this ad. It appears instantly.
It must be clicked on or closed by the child. This is aggressive marketing.
Channel One executives have quickly changed their web site into a place that
relentlessly promotes products and gathers personal information from children. Channel
One knows that a large percentage of children will see the "WIN!" advertisement
and will explore the ad.
A Cybiko is a $100 version of a personal digital assistant (PDA) for children,
like a Palm Pilot. No joke. This device allows children to send emails to each
other without the Internet. Many schools are now having to deal with students
who use these devices to talk to each other during class. No more passing notes
when you can use a Cybiko.
(Once a child goes to the Cybiko site from the Channel One pop-up ad, they
are asked for personal information in order to enter a contest.)
There should be no advertising at all on a children’s web site, especially
a site that is promoted during class time. To advertise a device a Cybiko raises
all sorts of issues. To advertise it in a pop-up ad that children cannot avoid
is simply unethical. This is typical Channel One.
But this remaining crew at Channel One appear to have no problem with ethics.
Their philosophy appears to be: The more money we can make off of kids the
better.
Jim Metrock said, "The people that are behind this mess are the fancy
dressing marketing bullies at Channel One like Jeff Ballabon, Jim Ritts, Frederick
Sawabini**, the former MTV executive, and Lawrence Kaplan, the head of
sales. To these guys, children are a source of money. Their big salaries come
from the advertising they dump on children. Their are no controls on what these
people do. The best a parent can do is to make sure Channel One is removed
from their public school."
This is a Cybiko
device. The more of these that are sold to kids, the more Cybiko will
advertise on Channel One and the more money Channel One executives will make.
** NOTE TO READER: (FEBRUARY 13, 2004) FRED SAWABINI INFORMED OBLIGATION
THAT HE HAS NOT WORKED FOR CHANNEL ONE FOR TWO YEARS.
