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.
From Jim Metrock: Tis’ the season for Channel One employees to be finding new jobs. For those who work at Channel One News, nothing is as scary as the summer. It’s in the summer, when most schools are out and Channel One News stops producing their TV show. Summer has not been good...
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Ms. Diaz left Channel One News possibly as early as the first of this year. Although she is occasionally seen on the show (goofing around in a school tee shirt below), she is now employed by CBS. It appears no one has filled her position. Ms. Diaz is smart (Princeton). She knew things were...
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This article was published in the journal Pediatrics in 2006. Benefits and Costs of Channel One in a Middle School Setting and the Role of Media-Literacy Training OBJECTIVES. Channel One is a public-affairs program that includes 10 minutes of news and 2 minutes of paid product advertising or public service announcements. Advocates assert that...
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Channel One News: You’re a loser if you wear glasses. (Acuvue contact lens commercials)
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From Jim Metrock: Want to see what children will see on Channel One’s sister company’s site? No, you don’t, but we’ll show you anyhow. This type of content is found all over gURL.com. Obligation has pleaded with Dr. Paul Folkemer (Channel One’s “child advocate” and SVP) and Kent Haehl (Channel One’s CEO) to...
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“Channel One” is on the Portage High School bell schedule. It is not often we find high schools carving out formal time for Channel One’s news/marketing show. Middle schools do that, but generally high schools are trying to eliminate as much non-academic time as possible. We emailed the principal to confirm they are still...
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From Jim Metrock: Red Bull is an “energy drink” that has been the target of criticism concerning the possible health risks associated with the caffeine and sugar drink. Channel One News is once again giving the drink some marketing time in American classrooms. Channel One doesn’t run a commercial for Red Bull, but they...
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What advice does gURL.com give to children? Click here but be warned. This is explicit material created by Alloy Media and Marketing. Alloy owns gURL.com and Channel One News. Both controversial companies cross promote each other. Parents and teachers should be outraged. Another reason why schools continue dropping Channel One from their school day....
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