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.

No Response From Channel One

November 15, 1997

Obligation has yet to receive a reply to our November 7 letter (below) to David Tanzer, president of Channel One. We, however, have heard indirectly from two teachers in two Midwestern states that have contacted Channel One and the PR people have told them that Marilyn Manson will not be played again. One teacher...
Read More »

Marilyn Manson Music Played During School

November 10, 1997

Jim Metrock was the in-studio guest of WBRC’s Good Day Alabama morning show today. The topic concerned the impact that explicit content music groups, like the death-rock satanic Marilyn Manson, have on children. Metrock told the anchor, Janice Rogers, that many parents are unaware that Manson’s music was played in Alabama public schools over...
Read More »

Letter to Channel One’s President – Apologize To Schoolchildren For Playing Marilyn Manson Music On In-School TV Show

November 7, 1997

Mr. David Tanzer, President Channel One Network 600 Madison Avenue, Sixth Floor New York, NY 10022 Dear Mr. Tanzer: Our child advocacy organization would like your company to apologize for playing the self-described satanic-rock band Marilyn Manson during your in-school TV show (Channel One News). We ask that Channel One News discontinue playing any...
Read More »

No Response From Birmingham-Area Schools Concerning Chat Room Warnings

October 21, 1997

  Obligation sent a request/press release to each Birmingham-area school system that is still showing Channel One urging them to send home a warning to parents and students of the dangers of Internet chat rooms, especially the Channel One chat room since that is being advertised to students almost daily in school. So far, we have received no response from...
Read More »

“Channel One” Schools Urged To Warn Parents About Internet Chat Rooms

October 9, 1997

Press Release October 9, 1997 Contact: Jim Metrock 205-822-0080 “Channel One” Schools Urged To Warn Parents About Internet Chat Rooms “>(Birmingham, AL) Channel One, a controversial in-school TV show, is urging children to visit its Internet web site and its chat room and parents should be warned, says a local child advocacy group. Jim Metrock, president of Obligation, Inc., said,...
Read More »

“Critics Tune In To Channel One”

October 6, 1997

This article presented Obligation’s view of Channel One and the opposing view. The article was written by Elizabeth Wine (ewine@postherald.com or 205-325-2308). Although no local superintendent was quoted, State Superintendent Ed Richardson was. “(Richardson) said that the trade-off of advertising for technology is ‘an unfortunate dilemma’ but adds that he’s not too worried about the effects of advertising on students.”...
Read More »

Channel One Is Not Intended For Pre-Teens

September 24, 1997

Although Channel One says a school may show its TV show from 12th grade to 6th, they state repeatedly, in their own contract and sales literature, that the show is intended for teenagers. This ambiguity puts middle school principals and their superintendents and school boards in an awkward position. 6th and 7th grade students...
Read More »

TV in School Steals Time From Alabama’s Schoolchildren

September 21, 1997

Alabama schoolchildren are being robbed and taxpayers are getting fleeced by a TV show. Even though it has been denounced by virtually every major educational organization, many Montgomery-area schoolchildren are forced to watch Channel One. Channel One is the controversial 12-minute news show that is designed for a teenage consumer audience. Two minutes are...
Read More »

Call For Channel One Advertisers

September 20, 1997

Who are the national advertisers on Channel One? If you are monitoring Channel One in your community email Obligation with the names of the products and services you see on the show. Parents and other taxpayers need to know who the corporations are that underwrite this controversial TV show. We will be adding a...
Read More »

Wall Street Journal Article – Channel One Taps Principals As Promoters

September 15, 1997

Obligation contributed information for a superb article in the Wall Street Journal today. It centered on one small part of the Channel One Problem: using principals as lackeys for Channel One advertisers. Principals have handed out Arizona jeans discount coupons and kept petitions for students to sign for a Reebok promotion. Snapple, Pepsi, and...
Read More »