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.

More on Channel One’s Move

October 12, 2001

An employee of Primedia told Obligation that 1440 Broadway is the headquarters for About.com.  This is to be the new home for Channel One. About.com has fired so many people that they have some extra space for the Channel One gang. This further cements the relationship between Channel One and About.com.  This will not...
Read More »

Golden Days Are Over

October 8, 2001
Golden Days Are Over

  From Jim Metrock: It was a short paragraph tucked away in a "Channel One News Weekly Update" that is read by few: "ANNOUNCEMENT: Channel One’s New York offices are moving this week. As of Monday, October 8th, we will be located at 1440 Broadway, 17th Fl., NY, NY 10018. Our new phone #...
Read More »

Channel One Finally Shows Its Advertisers

October 3, 2001

For nearly six years Obligation has asked Channel One to tell the public what is being advertised to the children forced to watch the show.  You can now see their program and its advertising at channelone.com. Unfortunately, Channel One is again playing games with the public. Channel One sends a different advertising feed to...
Read More »

Pat Ellis Receives Eagle Forum’s Leadership Award

September 27, 2001
Pat Ellis Receives Eagle Forum’s Leadership Award

Way to go, Pat! Obligation’s Pat Ellis was honored by Phyllis Schlafly at the Eagle Forum Council XXX in St. Louis on September 22. She was recognized for outstanding leadership in exposing and removing commercial exploitation from public schools. Mrs. Ellis has been fighting Channel One since 1994. No person has done more to...
Read More »

Time For Columbine To Remove Channel One

September 26, 2001

It has been several years since the terrible shootings at Columbine High School. Obligation has never mentioned the fact that Columbine students were under contract to Channel One and had to watch their TV show virtually every day of school. We had hoped that Columbine would clean up their school and remove the Channel One TV sets that...
Read More »

Middle School Teachers Are Urged To Turn Off Channel One

September 21, 2001

The terrible tragedy in our country underlines one of the most serious problems with Channel One. Channel One officials have always considered sixth grade students the same as high school seniors. In order to maximize their profits, Channel One delivers the same "newscast" to middle schools as they do high schools. To Channel One,...
Read More »

Channel One’s New Season Turns Into A Disaster

September 8, 2001

Channel One executives shot themselves in the foot again. This time they may not recover. Channel One’s offer of $500 to school teachers if they sign up a school for Channel One has backfired on them.  State ethics officers, state attorneys general, and state superintendents in many states are now investigating Channel One. As of...
Read More »

Some Schools No Longer Have To Show C1 In 80% Of Classrooms

September 5, 2001

Finally Channel One is putting their contract on their web site for the public to see. You can view their contract at www.channelonehelp.com.   In this version of their contract, Channel One no longer demands that at least 80% of all classrooms show their program. There is no minimum anymore. Does this change the...
Read More »

More Dirt From Channel One – Joe Dirt

September 4, 2001
More Dirt From Channel One – Joe Dirt

From Jim Metrock: I have just rented "The Adventures of Joe Dirt."  It is out in the video stores this week. Channel One first advertised this movie to children on April 11. Teachers stood by while the students in their classroom watched the commercials for this sick film. Obligation believes that it is unethical for a...
Read More »

Denver Post Article On Channel One

August 29, 2001
Denver Post Article On Channel One

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1002,53%7E124314,00.html In an astonishing article by Eric Hubler, Denver Post education writer, it is clear that Channel One is in big trouble in Colorado with their offer to pay teachers for doing work for their company. The Colorado State Education Commissioner William Moloney called Channel One’s programming "pretty low-grade." Moloney calls Channel One’s effort "a...
Read More »