Commercial exploitation of Schoolchildren Hall of Shame: ...
A look back to 2023: Another bad idea in...
Where are they now?: Channel One’s Kent Haehl selling...
Pop Quiz: Maggie Rulli has just… January 2, 2026 I just saw Maggie Rulli...
From Jim Metrock: About six years ago, I met several Edmodo employees at an...
Kent Haehl was Mr. Channel One News. He presided over the company for six...
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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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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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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BusRadio is deleting "cuss" words from songs it plays for its captive audience of bus riders. What this means is BusRadio is now playing music from artists that have offensive content in their songs. This is another troubling development for the start-up company from Needham, MA. From an article from yesterday’s Bay City Times...
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Channel One tried very hard to get young people to watch a TV show this past weekend that raised doubts about Jesus’ resurrection. Since last Thursday, March 1, Channel One’s website has tease their young visitors with an article about film director’s James Cameron’s TV show "Jesus Family Tomb" which aired last night on...
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Destined to fail. Judy Harris, Channel One CEO Her company’s financial results are no longer reported by the parent company. Primedia, Channel One’s parent company, announced their 2006 year-end results this past Tuesday. For the first time in years, Channel One was not a source of embarrassment to Primedia officials. That was because...
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BusRadio urges kids to see My Chemical Romance concert. From: Jim Metrock To: Steve "Wu-Tang" Shulman, Founder of BusRadio Steve, you’re doing it again. What is the deal? Why continue to promote musical groups known for explicit lyrics? This time you are reviewing a concert by My Chemical Romance. Steve, the name of the...
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Jim Metrock conducts a fake interview with Knight Foundation president Alberto Ibarguen In November 2006, I complained to Mr. Alberto Ibarguen, the CEO of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, about the Foundation’s $2.25 million "bailout" of the notorious Channel One company. Ibarguen never responded. I sent emails to most of his...
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From Jim Metrock: This is an email I sent Ms. Judy Harris, Channel One’s CEO. From: jimmetrock@mac.com Subject: Please remove Buzzed Drinking PSAs Date: February 15, 2007 2:43:26 PM CST To: Judy.Harris@primedia.com Ms. Harris Last spring, Obligation asked you to stop airing “Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving” public service announcements prepared for the Ad...
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Why would C1N waste valuable school time showing Gatorade (major C1N advertiser) being poured over a coach? From Channel One’s official script: MEKA: WHEN WE COME BACK. THE TOUCHDOWNS, THE PLAYERS AND THE COACH WHO MADE HISTORY. WE’LL BRING YOU ALL OF THE EXCITEMENT FROM THE SUPER BOWL. INTRO SUPER BOWL HIGHLIGHTS MEKA: NOW...
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Channel One’s Advisory Board David ???? A principal somewhere in North Dakota. Emily ???? A media technology teacher somewhere in Texas. Jim ???? A teacher somewhere in Iowa. Sonya ???? A media specialist somewhere in Georgia. Roy ???? A video production teacher somewhere in California. Tami ???? A guidance counselor somewhere in Oklahoma. Randy...
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Wu-Tang’s first album since ‘Iron Flag’ is coming out this year. If BusRadio didn’t keep children posted on Wu-Tang, who would? WARNING THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS EXPLICIT CONTENT. Below is a screen shot of a BusRadio article on their “tween” website for young people UNDER the age of 13. The first sentence...
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From Jim Metrock: Children who are subjected to BusRadio on their trip to and from school are told to visit BusRadio.com when they get home. When they type in "busradio.com" on their home computers they come to this screen: A child is suppose to decide which website to go. Ages 13 and up go...
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Steve Shulman, the president of BusRadio, has a lot of explaining to do. On one hand he loves to tell school boards that one reason he created BusRadio was to save children from the adult content of drive-time FM radio. On the other hand, his BusRadio website is reporting to kids that Ellen DeGeneres...
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Gatorade remains an advertiser on Channel One News. The picture above comes from the Friday, January 19 show. C1’s management continues to see no problem advertising this junk drink to preteens. Obligation’s Jim Metrock said, "It seems fitting that one of the last regular advertisers on Channel One News is a product that adds...
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http://busradio.blogspot.com/2007/01/busradiocom-gets-all-good-stuff.html BusRadio has now started a blog for children. Does this look like content you want your elementary school student to be consuming? BusRadio is aimed at students from high school seniors to FIRST GRADE STUDENTS.
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Channel One News ran two stories this week on the hanging of Saddam Hussein. Channel One’s Judy Harris had to make some decisions about what would be shown. She knew that children as young as ten are in Channel One’s dwindling captive audience. Not surprisingly Ms. Harris blunders. For some reason she wants children...
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Primedia Discontinues Operations on Education Unit Continues to ‘Explore All Options’ for Channel One By Claire Atkinson Published: December 20, 2006 NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Primedia is discontinuing the education segment that houses Channel One, according to a statement issued today. A spokeswoman for the company insisted this doesn’t mean the business is closing....
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Press Release Source: PRIMEDIA Inc. PRIMEDIA’s Education Segment to be Classified as a Discontinued Operation Wednesday December 20, 11:00 am ET NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–PRIMEDIA Inc. (NYSE: PRM – News) today announced that in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), the extent of the Company’s progress in exploring strategic options for the assets in...
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Obligation believes that today’s Channel One News program will be their last one – ever. Today’s show (December 19) is the last one before their normal holiday break, but with all the losses and lack of support for the company from their parent company Primedia, it makes sense for them to never come back...
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Channel One: Going, Going, Gone? Primedia Weighing Options for Its In-School TV Network By Claire Atkinson December 14, 2006 NEW YORK (AdAge.com ) — The future of Channel One, the in-school TV network that launched the careers of CNN’s Anderson Cooper and "National Geographic’s Ultimate Explorer" host Lisa Ling, is hanging in the balance....
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Wednesday, December 13, 2006 Commercial activity permitted in schools, such as soft drink ads; the use of Channel One broadcasts in classrooms; sales incentives from soft drink bottlers; and exclusive beverage contracts may discourage a "nutrition-friendly" environment for students, say researchers. Dr. Claudia Probart, Penn State associate professor of nutritional sciences who led the...
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