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.
Commercials on Channel One News do not mention the price of the product. If Channel One was looking out for the best interests of students, they would make advertisers clearly state the price of their advertised product. But Channel One News exists to benefit the advertiser not schools or students. Channel One is...
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Observations from Jim Metrock: I have been watching Channel One News on-air personalities since 1996. I offer my opinions about the current and hopefully last crew. Shelby Holliday – Working at Channel One may be her peak achievement in the news world. Sometimes her delivery is painful to watch. She repeats all the...
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Gabrielle Union is the actress in this Neutrogena commercial. Channel One News ads often feature celebrities. Channel One News exists to sell stuff to kids. Beauty products are frequently advertised on the program. Neutrogena is a big advertiser. They do a great job of making young women and girls feel ugly so they will...
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It is strange to think of school teachers sitting at their desks as Channel One’s specially selected commercials play on the classroom TV. If taxpayers fully knew the amount of school time that is being wasted showing Channel One commercials, there would be a lot school administrators out of work. Does Nintendo really need...
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From Jim Metrock: When I first found out about Channel One’s commercial exploitation of schoolchildren in 1996, I learned about various protests against the company. I remember watching a video of students in Fargo, ND protesting against their school administrators requiring them to watch Channel One News and its commercials. I remember watching a...
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From Jim Metrock: It looks like Channel One News is seeking to encourage teen filmmakers. It’s nothing of the sort, of course. Every contest on Channel One News promotes a product. The product here is a new movie coming out June 10. Channel One closes up shop on June 3, so they have...
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April 29, 2011 – From Jim Metrock: Parents would be shocked to know what Channel One News has forced upon middle school students over the years. Channel One News believes everything, EVERYTHING, is value neutral. There are no “rights” or “wrongs.” All that matters is what you believe. An action is positive or negative...
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From Jim Metrock: This 1994 book was one of the few ever written on the subject of Channel One. Any book about this controversial company would have to devote pages to the Billerica, MA school district. This author spent time with Billerica administrators, teachers and students. Below I posted a couple of screen shots...
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From Jim Metrock: This video clip from the April 25, 2011 Channel One News show would make you sick if you knew the full story. The Billerica Public School district was one of the first school districts to sign up with Channel One in 1990. The school administrators and teachers immediately received a considerable amount...
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April 18, 2011 – One can’t think too highly of the administration at Riverview High School in Oakmont, PA. First they evidently are still showing Channel One News to their students. If these administrators and school board members think watching movie commercials and video game commercials is a good use of taxpayer-funded school time,...
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