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.

“My chances of obtaining a legitimate news job after working at Channel One are this big.”

February 23, 2014
“My chances of obtaining a legitimate news job after working at Channel One are this big.”

From Jim Metrock: Channel One News uses classroom time to ask students to give various pictures a funny caption.  It’s a total waste of taxpayer-funded school time, but Channel One couldn’t care less.  This was a recent picture.  This is Maggie Rulli a reporter for the show.   My caption unfortunately is more serious...
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Is interest waning in Channelone.com?

February 21, 2014
Is interest waning in Channelone.com?


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CJ Kettler slams kids with more junk food ads.

February 20, 2014
CJ Kettler slams kids with more junk food ads.

From Jim Metrock:  Ms. CJ Kettler is making it hard for anyone, especially teachers, to defend her, much less like her.  The few teachers who have tried to support Channel One’s commercial presence in classrooms, have to be throwing up their hands and shaking their heads when they see what Ms. Kettler is doing....
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Bless their hearts.

February 17, 2014
Bless their hearts.

    From Jim Metrock: I have written before about the laziness of Channel One reporters:  Dec. 18, 2003 – The Lazy News Network,  Apr. 8, 2007 – Laziest Journalist in America?,  May 5, 2008 – The Lazy News Channel . How lazy are the reporters at Channel One News? This company brags about being young...
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Channel One’s annual revenue once $70 million, may now be $10.8.

February 14, 2014
Channel One’s annual revenue once $70 million, may now be $10.8.

  From Jim Metrock: There has to be a lot of crying going on at Channel One if the figure I saw for their annual revenue is anywhere near correct. There isn’t much known about Channel One’s finances since 2007 when the company was bought by Alloy Media and Marketing. Before that year Channel...
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From the archives: Channel One CEO makes over $1.7 million in compensation

February 13, 2014
From the archives: Channel One CEO makes over $1.7 million in compensation

  From Jim Metrock: I am reposting this 2005 article to salute all those parents, teachers, school administrators, and school board members who helped to end Channel One’s commercial assault on young people. A decade ago, Channel One paid its CEO a total of $1.7 million for the fiscal year 2004.  They could do...
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Andrew Knopf takes sales talents to Six Flags.

February 10, 2014
Andrew Knopf takes sales talents to Six Flags.

   From Jim Metrock:  I am trying to figure out who is still employed at Channel One.  I made a request of Channel One’s CEO CJ Kettler and she never responded. She is what you would call a “non-responsive” chief executive officer.  Channel One Director of Communications Ms. Alex Honeysett wrote me back only...
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Hey, Channel One, tell us who still works there.

February 6, 2014
Hey, Channel One, tell us who still works there.

  From Jim Metrock: I came across a website that listed these people as employees of Channel One.  It is odd because it listed relatively new employees like Alex Honeysett and CJ Kettler, but also people like Kathy Goodman who was let go  a few years ago and Kent Haehl now selling ads for...
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How Channel One helps advertisers secure personal information from your child.

February 3, 2014
How Channel One helps advertisers secure personal information from your child.

    From Jim Metrock: Somebody on the Internet wants your child’s personal information.  Channel One News and its current CEO Ms. CJ Kettler not only want your child to give up this information, they are URGING your child to do so. Ms. Kettler has approved a series of commercials for Clearasil. Clearasil wants...
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Long Timer Kent Haehl out the door at Channel One News

January 30, 2014
Long Timer Kent Haehl out the door at Channel One News

 What Mr. Haehl might say if he ever gave an interview.     From Jim Metrock: The Purge continues.Channel One’s long time sales manager, president, CEO, and most recently Chief Revenue Officer Kent Haehl is no longer employed by the company.     CCME Seattle names Kent Haehl Market President By cmarcucci on Jan, 29 2014 ...
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