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.

Is Channel One In A Panic?

August 29, 2001

From Jim Metrock: Channel One is hurting and few are feeling sorry for them. Let’s look at what has happened at this controversial Madison Avenue marketing company. 1. Long-time advertiser and business partner, Reebok, has left Channel One. Reebok and Channel One teamed up for the physical education version of Channel One called PE-TV. There was no...
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Sleazy Movies Are A Channel One Tradition

August 27, 2001
Sleazy Movies Are A Channel One Tradition

Earlier this year, Channel One advertised a series of extremely offensive movies. Teachers, who had no idea what they were showing to their students, became unpaid employees of Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox and other movie studios. Here are some examples from just one of Channel One’s filthy movies. Head Over Heels PG13 March...
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Channel One Busted – Caught Trying To Misuse Public School Employees

August 27, 2001
Channel One Busted – Caught Trying To Misuse Public School Employees

Today, Obligation and Commercial Alert joined together in the press release below. Several weeks ago, Channel One began an effort to use public school employees to help them document their viewership. Several contests were created to get their "key operators" (the librarians or classroom teachers that operates the Channel One equipment in each school) to...
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One More Reason To Throw Channel One Out Of Serious Classrooms

August 19, 2001
One More Reason To Throw Channel One Out Of Serious Classrooms

From Channel One’s web site: "Starting September 24th, we’re giving you an all-access pass to about-to-break bands, as well as video and audio snippets of your favorite group’s latest CD before it’s in stores!" Channel One started out their new season of broadcasting by announcing that MORE rock and rap music was going to be...
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Ralph Reed Reported No Longer Working For Channel One News

August 15, 2001
Ralph Reed Reported No Longer Working For Channel One News

  It never made any sense.  Why would former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed work with a company like Channel One? The simple answer: a lot of money. But Channel One never got their money’s worth from the hapless Reed. Obligation has learned that Mr. Reed is saying he no longer does work for the controversial...
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Throw the Bums Out. Slam the Door on the Channel One “Reporters”

August 13, 2001

High school and middle schools that are still under contract to Channel One should begin to fight back by refusing to allow Channel One "reporters" into their schools. Students should begin to understand that these young "reporters" for Channel One are using students to grab fame and big money. Since their audience is under...
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Get Ready, America.

August 13, 2001

This coming school year could be even more outrageous than last year. The movie assault on children will most definitely continue. The melting of editorial content with advertising will escalate as Channel One fights to stay alive.. In July, Primedia’s CEO Tom Rogers bragged on a conference call with investment reporters and analysts that...
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ChannelOneParents.com Is Dead

August 8, 2001

First Channel One promised schools in the early 90’s that if they signed their schools up teachers would receive the Educators Channel along with Channel One News.  This "channel" was to be specially designed for teachers. It lasted a few years and then Channel One quietly killed it and few complained because the content was...
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How To Embarrass A Principal

August 8, 2001

Go to our Channel One videopage and watch the Channel One "news" story on Alma Bryant’s much violated uniform policy. The principal is Ed Latham. He comes off as a buffoon who doesn’t know his policy is being violated by "everyone". Channel One reporter Tracy Smith was given run of the school to do her...
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Paul Folkemer Leaves Channel One

August 6, 2001

Dr. Paul Folkemer tried for three years to convince the country thata pig was a peacock. He failed. He was hired in 1998 to create an educational facade around Channel One. He was a former school principal and wanted people to trust him when he said Channel One was an educational endeavor and not anadvertising...
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