The Wall Street Journal is reporting today that Primedia, Channel One’s partner company, has hired the investment banking firm of Allen & Co. to find a buyer or partner for Channel One. (WSJ 2/21/02, p.B6) Microsoft and McGraw-Hill have talked about partnering with Channel One but failed to reach an agreement. Obligation’s Jim Metrock said, “Channel One...
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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.
Running On Empty – Primedia Seeks To Sell Channel One – Partnership Possible
Ads Go Overboard – Channel One Jeopardizes Contracts With Schools
Much to the chagrin of serious educators, Channel One has spent much of its show this month covering the Olympics. Whenever a daily show would be featuring a report from Salt Lake City, Channel One would begin the show with this graphic: This would alert students to be watching for what Derrick Shore would...
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Channel One Flirts With R-Rating – “Just This Side Of An R-Rating”
For years, Channel One reviewed R-rated movies for children on their web site. They would encourage children to write their own reviews of violent and raunchy movies like “How To Be A Player” and “Kiss The Girls.” That ended because of pressure from Obligation, but now their is an alarming new trend on the in-school Channel One News....
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Ken McNatt
Ken McNatt is a Pennsylvania high school student who is opposed to Channel One. He started a student organization opposing Channel One in his school. Last year, when Ken heard that a school in Woodward, OK was thinking about getting Channel One, he tried to warn them. This is his follow up letter to...
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Channel One Sends Wrong Message About Ecstasy
From Jim Metrock: I have been watching Channel One since 1996. There has not been a show that has not made me very angry. As a conservative, as a parent, as a taxpayer – on many levels, this TV show is repugnant. The messages that Channel One sends our children about drugs really upset me. Channel One...
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Channel One Rains Down More Violent Entertainment On Children
This is from an article Obligation wrote for a Midwest newspaper. “A movie of such rank stupidity and appalling taste that it would seem impermeable to analysis, much less critique.” OREGONIAN “Loud, violent, mindless” DALLAS MORNING NEWS These are a few of the more charitable reviews for “Rollerball” an ultra-violent and profanity-filled movie that premiered on...
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Rock The (School) House
Elektra Records needed more exposure for the fairly unknown group called Dakota Moon. Elektra had sunk a lot of money into this group that combines soul and rock. Their second CD "Looking For a Place To Land" had to do well and teens and preteens could be just the people to help make the...
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School Time For Olympics?
After spending days promoting the extreme sports of the Winter X Games, Channel One announced this morning that the Olympics will be a major part of their telecast for the next two weeks. Channel One anchor Derrick Shore said that Channel One will be partnering with NBC to bring Olympic coverage into classrooms. NBC’s...
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Controversial Winter X Games Ad Chosen For Channel One
It’s a puppet show – with a violent and in-your-face twist. It was a commercial for the Winter X Games a ESPN-driven sporting event that features extreme sports like snowmobile racing and snowboarding. ESPN is owned by Disney/ABC which is a major advertiser on Channel One. The commercial, which ran at least once on...
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Fox and Channel One Promote “Malcolm” To Kids As Young As Ten
On January 31 and February 1 (and possibly on other dates) Channel One ran commercials for “3-D Ruffle” potato chips. It looked like just another junk food ad that has made Channel One despised by pediatricians and parents. But two products were being advertised not one. Along with junk food, junk TV was being promoted. One of the...
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