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.

Two new wannabe journalists at Channel One News.

January 4, 2013
Two new wannabe journalists at Channel One News.

  Channel One says of Kuang: “Jason graduated from SUNY Purchase with a BA in Journalism, and then went out into the world to pursue his journalism career, which started when he was an intern at Channel One. He is now a full-fledged staff member working on a little bit of everything.”  Going to...
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Complete, unedited Channel One News for September 16, 2003

January 3, 2013
Complete, unedited Channel One News for September 16, 2003

  Channel One News for September 16, 2003. Channel One makes its classroom broadcast available on the web for parents and the public to review, but they remove the commercials. Yet the commercial content is often what parents are most interested in seeing. “What are you selling to my child?” This video is the complete,...
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Mississippi School for the Deaf shows Channel One commercials to captive student audience.

January 2, 2013
Mississippi School for the Deaf shows Channel One commercials to captive student audience.

        From Jim Metrock: The first Wastin’ Time and Tax Dollar$ Award is given to the Mississippi School for the Deaf.  The above Facebook post indicates that this school is showing Channel One’s hyper-commercial TV show to students.  Students are subjected to Channel One’s relentless commercials for questionable movies and TV...
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Review of Channel One News 2012: Wasting school time while selling violence and horror to students.

January 1, 2013
Review of Channel One News 2012: Wasting school time while selling violence and horror to students.

  December 24, 2012 Channel One News has dished out a lot of violence to middle school kids. December 23, 2012 From the archives: Channel One starts up (1990) December 20, 2012 We never said farewell to Josh Zepps. Or hello to Julian Dujarric. December 17, 2012 Complete, unedited Channel One News for September...
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Channel One News has dished out a lot of violence to middle school kids.

December 24, 2012
Channel One News has dished out a lot of violence to middle school kids.

  Channel One News has a long, disgusting history of advertising movies and TV shows with violent content. And using violent images to even sell products like Mountain Dew and Mug Root Beer. Here is just a sampling of their recklessness. During the holidays it is a good time for all of us to...
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From the archives: Channel One starts up (1990)

December 23, 2012
From the archives: Channel One starts up (1990)

 The glory years for Channel One News were 1991-1997.   From Jim Metrock: Christopher Whittle, the marketing genius who created Channel One News, wanted ads in places where a person could not turn away. Placed-based advertising he called it. His goal was to force advertising onto people in a way that would demand extremely...
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We never said farewell to Josh Zepps. Or hello to Julian Dujarric.

December 20, 2012
We never said farewell to Josh Zepps. Or hello to Julian Dujarric.

From Jim Metrock: Anchor-to-be Josh Zepps (How old are the anchors?) had enough of Channel One News. After doing a few shows this spring, Zepps left for a job with the Huffington Post this past summer. But of course there is always someone ready to host the kiddie marketing TV show and the new guy...
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Complete, unedited Channel One News for September 15, 2003

December 17, 2012
Complete, unedited Channel One News for September 15, 2003

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrTCl9BEJUE          
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Another pro-gay rights story for middle school students on Channel One News

December 12, 2012
Another pro-gay rights story for middle school students on Channel One News

 
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“Bro” and “Dude” do a shout out on Channel One News. Students had to watch this.

December 10, 2012
“Bro” and “Dude” do a shout out on Channel One News. Students had to watch this.

 
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