Does your school still have Channel One News?
Learn how to unplug

Houghton Mifflin/Channel One News

Channel One News is a youth marketing company whose main purpose is to get advertising to a captive audience of impressionable schoolchildren. The company loans a school TV equipment in exchange for the school’s contractual pledge to show students a daily, 12-minute, hyper-commercial, TV program called Channel One News. Students lose one hour a week of schools time, which equates to one lost week of instructional time (32 hours) per year. No educational organization endorses the use of Channel One News.

Channel One has fallen on very hard times. Once they claimed over 8 million students were under contract. Since 1997 they have continued to lose schools and now they claim “nearly five million” students and the true figure is probably lower.

In May 2014, publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt acquired Channel One from ZelnickMedia the makers of the ultra-violent Grand Thief Auto video game series. Houghton Mifflin did not disclose the purchase price.

At the end of 2014 most of Channel One’s full-paying advertisers have abandoned the program.

Unplugging Channel One

August 31, 2006
Unplugging Channel One

"Prior to installing Channel One, the district schools had a program called ‘sustained silent reading,’ in which everyone in the schools stopped what they were doing every day for fifteen minutes and read something–a book, a magazine article, an assignment–in total silence. Channel One replaced the reading."   This is an article we recently...
Read More »

5 Minutes Instead Of 2

August 30, 2006
5 Minutes Instead Of 2

From Jim Metrock: Channel One’s daily TV show is suppose to have no more than two minutes of commercial content. That promise is written into its contract. School boards relied on that promise, as well as others in the contract, terms of agreement, and Channel One’s news standards, when they agreed to turn over...
Read More »

Tick.

August 29, 2006
Tick.

"Tick" video. (This is what preteens watched on August 29, 2006) A new and equally ominous spot from Environmental Defense has been approved by Channel One. The new video is called "Tick." Various children are shown saying, "Tick." That is "tick" as in time bomb. This is another "death play" by ED. Children will...
Read More »

Ernesto Blunder

August 28, 2006
Ernesto Blunder

Schoolchildren in New Orleans and surrounding areas got a jolt this morning. Another hurricane may be heading their way. Only one news source was reporting this disturbing development – Channel One News. They weren’t breaking a news story – just the opposite. They had stayed too long with an old story. Channel One news...
Read More »

James Carville

August 25, 2006
James Carville

Channel One’s new best buddy, Democratic "Pit Bull" James Carville, welcomes C1N to DC and students to a new year of indentured servitude. from Channel One News August 14, 2006 script JAMES CARVILLE SHOUT-OUT CARVILLE: WE HAVE A LOT IN WASHINGTON. THE CAPITOL, THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, THE WHITE HOUSE, THE MALL. BUT WE...
Read More »

Love Calculator

August 24, 2006
Love Calculator

Channel One’s web site (advertised relentlessly on their in-school TV show) is once again prominently promoting their "Kabbalah Love Calculator." This is part of their year-long, self-described "Massive Astrology Guide" for preteens and teens. Astrology is evidently a "big thing" with Channel One News personnel. Why is a current events web site featuring "love...
Read More »

Environmental Defense

August 23, 2006
Environmental Defense

Channel One News is giving a group called Environment Defense unprecedented access to millions of teens and preteens. ED believes drastic action must be taken to stop global warming or the planet will suffer major consequences. Several...
Read More »

Posted 8:55 PM CDT

August 20, 2006

8:57 PM CDT – We checked Channel One’s web site just now and were surprised to see MONDAY’s script posted already. This is a good example of how stale Channel One’s news is. The producers actually have anchor Meka Nichols say the line, "Let’s start with today’s headlines." That was probably said by Ms....
Read More »

Daniel Powter

August 19, 2006
Daniel Powter

It costs money to cover a news story. That’s why Channel One News covers so few of them. Unfortunately for C1N, each weekday during the school year, they HAVE to produce a show. That show has to be at least 12 minutes in length. What are you to do when you only have a...
Read More »

Death Call Played For Preteens

August 17, 2006
Death Call Played For Preteens

C1N adds a picture of the dying woman so children can visualize who is being burned alive. Is there no one at Channel One News that has preteen children? Is there anyone there who understands that some children may not be able to handle this terror? This week New York City’s law department released...
Read More »