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The Used

June 11, 2007
The Used

From Jim Metrock: I apologize for the content of this article. It is awful stuff. Bus Radio continues to promote raunchy music groups on its web site. I don’t know if Bus Radio is playing any bleeped out versions of this band’s songs on their bus broadcast. The company continues to stonewall any request...
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Bus Radio’s Privacy Policy

June 6, 2007
Bus Radio’s Privacy Policy

There is a real simple way to evaluate privacy policies of web sites aimed at young people: The more words, the worse it is for kids. Bus Radio has WAY too many words. People who write privacy statements often are not straightforward. That is the case with Bus Radio. We will "deconstruct" this privacy...
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Massachusetts Looks At School Ads

June 5, 2007

Lawmakers Weigh Ban On Marketing In Schools; Critics Say Ads Increase Obesity, Family Stress http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/13434179/detail.html BOSTON — Critics say it’s an insidious threat to school children — responsible for everything from obesity and family stress to gender stereotyping and financial woes. It’s marketing, and lawmakers in Massachusetts are weighing a bill that would ban...
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Massachusetts Looks At School Ads

June 5, 2007

Lawmakers Weigh Ban On Marketing In Schools; Critics Say Ads Increase Obesity, Family Stress http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/13434179/detail.html BOSTON — Critics say it’s an insidious threat to school children — responsible for everything from obesity and family stress to gender stereotyping and financial woes. It’s marketing, and lawmakers in Massachusetts are weighing a bill that would ban...
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Can’t Finish The Race

May 25, 2007
Can’t Finish The Race

Cali Carlin (second from right) says she will no longer be at Channel One. Others may be gone over the summer. Once Channel One News had eight full-time anchors. Channel One News is wrapping up their broadcast year today, Friday, May 25. Normally the last broadcast would be NEXT Friday, June 1. It is...
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BusRadio Plays Akon For Elementary School Kids

May 23, 2007
BusRadio Plays Akon For Elementary School Kids

"We have the same goals as children’s advocacy groups," Shulman said. "We want the children to be safe. Right now, some of the music being played on the radio is not appropriate. We don’t play any music that comes with a parental advisory on it." (This quote came from the May 21, 2007 Louisville...
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BusRadio Bombs Out In Louisville

May 22, 2007
BusRadio Bombs Out In Louisville

From Jim Metrock: The Jefferson County School Board in Louisville, KY chose not to consider BusRadio. There was no support for it. No board member supported the deal. The incoming superintendent was opposed. The public was opposed. Obligation salutes the Jefferson County board for doing the right thing. The Louisville Courier-Journal reported that there...
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BusRadio May Land A Big One

May 18, 2007
BusRadio May Land A Big One

Is Louisville ready for Steve "Wu-Tang" Shulman’s BusRadio?   BusRadio needs a break. They may get it if they convince the Jefferson County school district in Louisville, KY to sign on the dotted line this coming Monday, May 21. Obligation sent the following email to board members who have email addresses on the district’s...
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An Imaginary Interview With Judy Harris

May 8, 2007
An Imaginary Interview With Judy Harris

  Jim Metrock conducts a fake interview with Channel One’s president Judy Harris.   From Jim Metrock: I have given up on actually talking with Judy Harris. I have emailed her, called her, and I have gone by her office in New York City several times (I never got past the desk in the...
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“de minimis”

May 3, 2007
“de minimis”

Primedia Chairman ecstatic over dumping of Channel One.   Primedia’s chairman Dean Nelson answered questions about the embarrassing "sale" of Channel One during today’s First Quarter financial conference call. One analyst asked if there was any tax benefit from the sale of Channel One. After all, Primedia, then known as K-III Communications, had bought...
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And they don’t like you either.

May 2, 2007
And they don’t like you either.

From Jim Metrock: It is getting impossible for Channel One News to feature a school on its show that actually watches Channel One News. On today’s show, Channel One focused on an academic team from Vestavia Hills High School, in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham. This is a school I know something...
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William Weldon

May 2, 2007
William Weldon

William Weldon Chairman and CEO, Johnson & Johnson First inductee into the Public Education Hall of Shame   The new owners of Channel One are bringing back product ads to the in-school TV show. Virtually all product advertisers have disappeared from the show over the last three years. Alloy, Inc. have bought a ticking...
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“We have less than ten years.”

April 27, 2007
“We have less than ten years.”

Channel One and Al Gore are buddies. When employees leave Channel One many of them immediately get jobs at Gore’s Current.tv. It is no surprise that Channel One would devote a considerable part of one of its shows to promoting Gore’s version of environmental activism. Last Friday, Channel One sponsored a Sheryl Crow concert...
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Zero Market Value

April 26, 2007
Zero Market Value

  Channel One employees should let their feelings out. It is not healthy to keep all that pain bottled up inside. From Alloy’s April 26, 2007 SEC filing 8-K "Pursuant to the Channel One Asset Purchase Agreement, Alloy acquired the operating assets of Channel One from PRIMEDIA, by assuming certain liabilities of Channel One....
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If You Like Losing Money, You’re Going To Love Channel One

April 24, 2007
If You Like Losing Money, You’re Going To Love Channel One

Alloy’s CEO Matt Diamond Plunging revenue attracts him to C1N. From Jim Metrock: I listened to this morning’s Alloy conference call. The purpose of the call was to discuss and answer questions about the company’s acquisition of Channel One and another company. After Alloy’s CEO Matt Diamond talked about why Channel One was a...
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Humiliating Deal Lands Channel One In Alloyland

April 23, 2007
Humiliating Deal Lands Channel One In Alloyland

From Jim Metrock: Alloy, Inc. will be the new owner of Channel One. The long financial nightmare for Primedia will soon end. The long financial nightmare for Alloy has already begun. Alloy has advertised on Channel One News so their executives know, or should know, the controversy that will come along with ownership of...
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Virginia Tech Coverage Day 2

April 18, 2007
Virginia Tech Coverage Day 2

Cali Carlin HAD to report on the sadness at Virginia Tech and how students are coping. Her report was a tough way for high school students to start their school day. Even if students are wanting not to think about the murders, Channel One News won’t let them. More coverage is planned for tomorrow....
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Channel One Makes Virginia Tech Killings Top Story

April 17, 2007
Channel One Makes Virginia Tech Killings Top Story

What a way to start a school day: Channel One’s Alexander Marquardt tells sixth graders that over 30 people were gunned down. If it bleeds, it leads. Top story on Channel One Tuesday morning (April 17) was "GUNMAN SHOT AND KILLED MORE THAN THIRTY PEOPLE." from today’s transcript: ALEXANDER: HI EVERYBODY. WELCOME TO CHANNEL...
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News Stories For Sale

April 16, 2007
News Stories For Sale

Yet ANOTHER Gatorade "Player of the Year." This has been going on for years, but it is still sickening. Gatorade pays Channel One, and Channel One runs a "news story" that helps sell Gatorade. Where have we seen this before? Channel One reporting is for sale. This is disgraceful. This should make any legitimate...
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Bong Hits 4 Jesus !?

April 10, 2007
Bong Hits 4 Jesus !?

Q: Why did middle school students have to watch a Channel One News story about an Alaska high school student who held up a pro-marijuana sign near his school? A: The Knight Foundation.   Why show the banner in middle school classrooms? The principal of the Juneau-Douglas H.S. ran across the street to take...
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Laziest Journalist in America?

April 8, 2007
Laziest Journalist in America?

Who is the laziest journalist in America? We have a nominee for that "honor." You won’t find any lazy journalists at the New York Times, Birmingham News, ABC News, National Public Radio, or CNN, or any legitimate news gathering company. These firms must earn their readers, viewers and listeners. Lazy employees can’t be tolerated...
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The Ynning Of Channel One

March 20, 2007
The Ynning Of Channel One

From Jim Metrock: Product ads on Channel One have all but disappeared. Public service announcements (PSAs) have taken the place of regular commercials. This is not what Channel One wanted. The marketplace has rejected Channel One’s business model – the model that Christopher Whittle unleashed on the country in 1990. Channel One made money...
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