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.

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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Channel One Advertises Unrated, Violent “Ape” Movie

July 17, 2001
Channel One Advertises Unrated, Violent “Ape” Movie

  More violence was dumped on America’s schoolchildren by Channel One in the closing days of the school year. Tim Burton’ s remake of “The Planet of the Apes” was advertised to young people in May. The classroom commercial has very scary scenes and ends with a sinister “ape” looks to the camera (to the children) and says,...
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Channel One Promotes Another Drug Movie

July 2, 2001

From Jim Metrock – Channel One can’t have it both ways. They run some anti-drug public service announcements and urge schools not to end their contract because these PSAs are so important to children, yet Channel One continues to advertise and promote movies that send the worse value messages to students, especially about drugs...
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Two Emails to Jim Ritts and “Gang”

June 11, 2001

Your guide to the Channel One gang: Jim Ritts is the latest president. Frederick Sawabini, formerly of MTV (Oh great!) is president of Sales & Marketing. Paul D. Folkemer, is Executive Vice President of Education Services. He is basically a PR man who has tried unsuccessfully for three years to create an educational facade...
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Coalition Urges Advertisers And Government To Stop Advertising On Channel One

June 11, 2001
Coalition Urges Advertisers And Government To Stop Advertising On Channel One

  June 2001 – The United Methodist Church signs letter urging advertisers to remove their ads from the controversial Channel One TV show. From Jim Metrock: If you are a company trying to advertise to preteens and teenagers, you better not be caught advertising on Channel One. That is the message that a lot...
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Channel One And Media Literacy Don’t Mix

June 9, 2001

As many know, Channel One has tried to co-opt the fledgling media literacy/media education movement. A handful of media literacy experts have tried to make Channel One respectable. A new organization is forming June 22 in Austin, Texas. The Alliance for a Media Literate America is taking the place of the Partnership for Media...
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News About Channel One Jan. – May 2001

May 31, 2001
News About Channel One  Jan. – May 2001

News About Channel One – 2001 January – May Kick Hollywood Out of Your School – Kick Channel One Out – Enough is Enough  The Mandatory Hollywood Curriculum: Channel One "Hollywood has a secret marketing tool. They call it Channel One News. If a school still has Channel One, that school is giving movie...
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New Advertiser On Channel One

May 31, 2001
New Advertiser On Channel One

Coca Cola has roared into the classroom. Their Minute Maid division is advertising its sugar water Coolers to students on Channel One. Here is a short report from the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch about Minute Maid Coolers: Headline: “A blast for kids” “If boxes of Hi-C Blast and Minute Maid Coolers look amazingly alike, it’s...
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