Although it was a Texas advertising executive, Ed Winter, who created Channel One back in 1988, he was working for Chris Whittle at the time in Knoxville, Tennessee. In the early 90’s, Whittle’s Channel One saturated Tennessee schools. Few states have a higher percentage of schoolchildren under contract to Channel One. That is why...
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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.
Channel One Suffers Major Blow In Tennessee
Texas State School Board Does Not Pass Channel One Resolution
From Jim Metrock: Channel One’s president Jim Ritts came to the Texas school board meeting himself. It was that important. A resolution urging Texas school districts to remove Channel One had been introduced in September. Channel One hastily hired the law firm of Akin Gump to represent them. But Ritts knew the stakes were too high to leave...
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Houston Chronicle Wants Channel One Out of Texas Schools
Editorial – November 13, 2002 UNPLUG IT End Channel One hawking to kids in Texas classrooms The State Board of Education is scheduled to vote this week on a resolution encouraging all local Texas local school districts to remove Channel One from the public schools. The resolution should be approved, and then heeded by school districts. Channel...
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Channel One Runs Provocative Ad For Children – How Scummy Can Channel One News Get?
On October 28, Channel One executives must have chuckled to themselves as they broadcast an Old Spice commercial that contained a not-too-subtle sexual reference. Children see a young man wheeling down a hallway delivering mail to various offices. He comes to a door marked “Madison Saunders, Executive V.P.”. He knows this executive is a beautiful woman. He then...
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Channel One’s Latest Horror PSA Brings Gun Violence Into Classrooms
More mayhem on Channel One. Children witness a friend shooting his friend in the head (or possibly the chest – film ends with gun flash) while they sit smoking marijuana. The intended message from the ONDCP (Office for National Drug Control Policy) is “you can’t think straight when you smoke pot.” No one can argue with that obvious...
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Doritos’ “Homosexual Pass” Ad Gets Air Time on Channel One
Singer wants to find a person in the audience who will make him "fall in love" He chooses… This man?! Is he making a homosexual pass at me? The camera lingers on the uncomfortable man. Naw, the students see the singer wants the Doritos not the guy. Yuk, Yuk, Channel One. More junk food...
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Channel One Saturates Children With Violent Stories and Images
If children weren’t shaken already by the recent sniper story from Maryland, D.C., and Virginia, they would be by Channel One News coverage of the story. Channel One has historically been very insensitive to their special captive audience and no more so than with the sniper story. See for yourself. A sample of Channel...
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Horror PSAs Continue On Channel One
Parents have no idea that horror films being shown to their child on Channel One News. he Federal government has a whole new batch of ” The Federal government has a whole new batch of “anti-drug” public service announcements that aim to scare children from drugs. Channel One balances these PSAs with commercials for movies...
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Titusville, PA Expands School Day For Channel One
Notice to parents at the first of this school year: “CHANGES IN THE SCHOOL DAY – This year our school day will begin at 7:55 a.m. and end at 3:13 p.m. While it may be difficult to get used to beginning a little earlier, our staff felt that we needed to reintroduce the concept of watching the Channel One...
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Boy Unbuttons Girl’s Blouse On Channel One’s TV Screen
From Jim Metrock: The Federal government runs a lot of public service announcements (PSAs) on Channel One News. These PSAs keep Channel One’s viable. Many of these PSAs send the wrong message about drugs. Some tell young people that they can hang around drug users as long as they themselves don’t do drugs. That is a dangerous message...
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