Does your school still have Channel One News?
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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.

Some of Channel One’s Advertisers – Fall 2000

December 10, 2000

Secret Platnium Protection Mario Tennis – Nintendo Dorito’s Right Guard Extreme Pepsistuff.com Xtra Sugar Free Gum FruitWorks–win a trip to MTV Studios Gatorade PHisoderm Nintendo Game Boy Color Wild Cherry Pepsi McDonalds Extra Polar Ice Gum Adidas contentville.com Pringles DigitalBackPack.com Byebyenow.com  Mountain Dew ILN.net Stridex Wipe and Go Zelda.com Old Spice Red Zone Rice...
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Deceptive Advertising On Channel One’s Web Site

December 8, 2000

"WIN A $25 MUSIC GIFT CERTIFICATE! Everyone’s familiar with the song ‘Jingle Bells’. It’s traditional. It’s classic. But ChannelOne.com wants to liven things up a bit by giving YOU the opportunity to WRITE YOUR OWN NEW LYRICS to the tune of this very old song! ChannelOne.com will choose the song with the best lyrics...
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Channelone.com – “You can’t do news worse than this.”

November 23, 2000
Channelone.com – “You can’t do news worse than this.”

How important is getting news to children for the Channel One Network? Well, if you have read this web site for the pass few years, you know already that getting news to children is not a high priority for our marketing friends at Channel One. Jim Ritts is the head of this "teen news...
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More Privacy Problems

November 21, 2000

A review of one advertiser on Channel One’s web site has been completed and there is bad news for parents. Digitalbackpack.com has solicited personal information from children who are funneled to their site by the Channel One Network. Channel One enlisted hundreds of school teachers and principals to hand out advertising for Digitalbackpack.com in...
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New Dot.Com Uses Teachers, Principals In Promotion Effort

November 16, 2000

Can you imagine a public school teacher, during school, handing out advertising material for a private company? Taxpayers again took a body blow by the resourceful Channel One marketing team. During the recent disastrous "OneVote" mock election (less than 900,000 students participated), Channel One distributed ballots that were little more than an advertisement for...
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I Visited About.com. (soon to be a sister company of Channel One)

November 14, 2000

From Jim Metrock: I spent a good portion of yesterday surfing around a web site called About.com. This is the company that Channel One’s parent company, Primedia, Inc., wants to merge with. The press release below explains our concerns about this merger. I just wanted to add some thoughts after treading through the gutter...
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“All Request Thursdays” Bring Rock, Rap Back Into Classrooms

November 12, 2000
“All Request Thursdays” Bring Rock, Rap Back Into Classrooms

    Channel One Blasts Destiny’s Child Into America’s Schools   Punk Band Green Day Gets Their Day In Class Via Channel One   Baha Men Let "The Dogs Out" In Your Child’s Classroom   November 12, 2000 -"All Request Thursdays" Bring Rock, Rap Back Into Classrooms For years, Channel One played music on...
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Is Primedia Getting Into the Pornography Business?

November 9, 2000

For Immediate Release: For More Information Contact: Thursday, November 9, 2000 Gary Ruskin (202) 296-2787 Jim Metrock (205) 612-3376 Following the announcement of a proposed merger between Primedia Inc. and About.com Inc., two media watchdog groups raised questions regarding whether it was proper and appropriate for Primedia, a large media company, to merge with...
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Channel One Advertises Sexually Charged “Charlie’s Angels”

November 6, 2000
Channel One Advertises Sexually Charged “Charlie’s Angels”

From Jim Metrock: On November 3, Channel One executives gave the go-ahead to force feed millions of schoolchildren a commercial for the sexually charged and violent PG13 movie "Charlie’s Angels." Obligation will have more information shortly. A middle school is monitoring and making copies of Channel One for us so that parents across the...
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New Discovery Concerning A Violent Movie Pushed By Channel One

November 3, 2000
New Discovery Concerning A Violent Movie Pushed By Channel One

From Jim Metrock: "Killer at Thurston High" was the name of tonight’s Frontline news show on PBS. It was an incredible journey back into the life of the Oregon school shooter, Kip Kinkle. It showed that many different factors came into play to shape this young man. His relationship with his father was difficult,...
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