It didn’t last long. It couldn’t. Channel One’s mission is to get the attention of kids, so they can then sell it for big bucks, and they need to have message boards and chat rooms on their web site or kids won’t be attracted. Channel One’s education VP, Paul Folkemer, expressed outrage to the Shelby County board of education...
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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.
Joke’s On Us – Channel One’s Welcomes Back Web Advertising, Message Boards and Chat Room
Jefferson County’s Answer to Channel One Problem: Breach the Contract
Birmingham, AL – Jefferson County is allowing Channel One back into their classrooms but in doing so is violating their contract with the controversial company. Jim Metrock is president of Obligation, Inc., a child-advocacy group.that opposes Channel One’s controversial program in public school classrooms. He said, "Dr. Bruce Wright is not...
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Channel One Hires Lobbyist Group To Save Alabama Cash Flow
Paul Folkemer, Channel One’s newly-hired education VP, was nowhere to be seen at the Alabama Board of Education work session. The man that was so embarrassed that Shelby County, AL school board members knew more about his company than he did, had other pressing engagements than talking to the Alabama board of education. Channel One was one of the main...
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Shelby County Terminates Channel One Contract After Eight Years
It wasn’t close. Every high school principal and assistant principal signed on to a resolution urging the removal of Channel One from their schools. The Shelby County Reporter editorially called for the unplugging of this advertising ploy. Superintendent Evan Major recommended the immediate termination of Channel One. The board voted 3-1 to pull the...
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Blount County (AL) Public Schools To End Channel One
Superintendent Donnie Breaseale called Obligation, Inc. and said he inherited the Channel One contract and that several schools have already discontinued showing the program. When he was a principal, Mr. Breaseale did not allow Channel One into his school. Now as superintendent, he is overseeing the structured removal of Channel One from the system. “Our state is enriched by the...
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Channel One Brings Back Message Boards To Controversial Web Site
Channel One had removed several features from their controversial web site after a Channel One executive was lectured by the Shelby County board of education on September 1 (see below). They removed the "Entertainment" and "Life" sections that often contained age inappropriate material for children, especially pre-teens (such as reviews of R-rated movies and...
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PRIMEDIA
[From Obligation – Channel One is targeting our children again. This time they are going to have principals hand out samples of advertisers’ products during school time. Obligation has not heard of "Channel One Cover Concepts Marketing Services" but it appears to have the same purpose as Channel One News. This outrageous abuse of...
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Press Release -Local Group Applauds Shelby County Secondary Principals Stand on Channel One
(Birmingham, AL) High school principals and assistant principals in Shelby County have come out against the controversial in-school TV show called Channel One. In a letter to Shelby County Superintendent of Education, Evan Major, the Shelby County Secondary Principals Association conveyed their position. From the letter: “In a unanimous decision, the Secondary Principals Association supports the following proposal: ALL HIGH...
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Channel One Update From Jim Metrock
The past few weeks we have gotten behind in updating our web page. Events have been happening very fast and I will try to fill in the gaps. Basically, our Channel One project is succeeding beyond our expectations. Channel One is “on the ropes” in Alabama. They might rally and reestablish themselves...
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Channel One Melt Down Around Corner?
Alabama’s second largest school system, Jefferson County, has taken the very responsible action of halting the required viewing of Channel One. This does not mean they are opposed to the program or in support of the program. This appears to be a very reasonable response to a controversial issue. "I applaud Jefferson County’s decision...
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