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.

Another Violent Movie Gets Promoted In America’s Classrooms

October 10, 2002
Another Violent Movie Gets Promoted In America’s Classrooms

They just can’t give it up. Channel One should be cleaning up its act before the super critical November 15 Texas State Board of Education vote, but they can’t turn away from their Hollywood money train. DreamWorks needed kids to see its latest movie The Tuxedo and Channel One took their money and ran their movie commercial on...
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Robert McChesney on Channel One

October 9, 2002

On October 18, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, hundreds of media literacy experts will gather to kick-off the creation of the Action Coalition for Media Education (ACME). Obligation is one of the early supporters of this organization. This weekend the keynote address will be given by Robert McChesney author of Rich Media, Poor Democracy. We...
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Punk Rock Day on Channel One News

September 26, 2002

Every Thursday, unknown to virtually all parents, Channel One News has their “All-Request Thursday”. This is the day that students get to pick the music that Channel One News plays on the air. On the other days of the week Channel One’s staff gets to pick out their favorite rock and rap artists to put on the show....
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Texas Editorial

September 26, 2002
Texas Editorial

  Costs of Channel One By David Bloom The Baytown Sun Published September 15, 2002 Channel One trade ad in Advertising Age: “We have the UNDIVIDED ATTENTION of millions of teenagers for 12 minutes a day. 8.1 million teenagers in classrooms nationwide … And since they’re not channel surfing, talking on the phone or...
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Good Grief – Channel One Dumps More Junk Food Ads On Middle School Kids

September 18, 2002
Good Grief – Channel One Dumps More Junk Food Ads On Middle School Kids

Yet another junk food is being pushed on schoolchildren by Channel One. The latest addition is called Snak Stix from Kellogg’s. Brandweek magazine reported on this new sugary product in May of this year: “Kellogg Pops Up Its Tarts NEW YORK — Kellogg next month will extend its Pop-Tarts brand with a new Snak-Stix version, backed...
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Texas To Vote on Channel One Resolution in November

September 16, 2002
Texas To Vote on Channel One Resolution in November

From Jim Metrock: The Texas State Board of Education is considering passing a resolution that would urge local school boards to remove Channel One from their schools. Testimony was heard on September 13 but a Channel One-hired lobbyist told the Board that they had insufficient time to prepare a defense. The Board voted to table the vote until...
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27% of Channel One Commercials Are For Junk Food

September 10, 2002

Channel One has been running, on average, one junk food commercial a day for the last five years. That is one of the findings in a study Obligation, Inc. has just completed. 100 Channel One shows were reviewed from the 1997-98 school year to 2001-02. No shows from this school year were included. A separate study of...
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Channel One Plans Entire Week of 9-11 Reports

September 9, 2002

Channel One is serving up a week of 9-11 stories for kids. Each day will contain 9-11 anniversary reports. This is one of the big problem with Channel One: the same newscast is broadcast to high school seniors as well as children just out of elementary school. From today’s Channel One script: (DERRICK ON CAM) THIS WEEK WE’LL...
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Monica Struts Her Stuff On Channel One News

September 5, 2002

Monica is a singer with a new CD coming out soon. Her record company paid Channel One to get her in front of the eight million students who are under contract to Channel One. Monica took away school time from students in order to push “All Eyez on Me” her latest CD. /www/monica plugging.jpg/www/monica plugging.jpg From Channelone.com: /www/monica plugging.jpg”All...
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More On Major Campaign To Get Kids To Buy Cell Phones

August 31, 2002

It started last year and continues into this current school year. Channel One executives knew the decision would meet with resistance from school officials, but there was too much money involved, so caution was thrown to the wind. Cingular Wireless has been given unprecedented run of the Channel One News show. Not only are their controversial ads promoting...
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