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27% of Channel One Commercials Are For Junk Food

September 10, 2002

Channel One has been running, on average, one junk food commercial a day for the last five years. That is one of the findings in a study Obligation, Inc. has just completed. 100 Channel One shows were reviewed from the 1997-98 school year to 2001-02. No shows from this school year were included. A separate study of...
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Channel One Plans Entire Week of 9-11 Reports

September 9, 2002

Channel One is serving up a week of 9-11 stories for kids. Each day will contain 9-11 anniversary reports. This is one of the big problem with Channel One: the same newscast is broadcast to high school seniors as well as children just out of elementary school. From today’s Channel One script: (DERRICK ON CAM) THIS WEEK WE’LL...
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Monica Struts Her Stuff On Channel One News

September 5, 2002

Monica is a singer with a new CD coming out soon. Her record company paid Channel One to get her in front of the eight million students who are under contract to Channel One. Monica took away school time from students in order to push “All Eyez on Me” her latest CD. /www/monica plugging.jpg/www/monica plugging.jpg From Channelone.com: /www/monica plugging.jpg”All...
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The Worst Commercial Ever On Channel One?

August 31, 2002
The Worst Commercial Ever On Channel One?

From Jim Metrock: It would be hard to call one Channel One commercial the all-time worst. Who could forget the topless ad for Stay Clear? Or the ad for the ultraviolent movie Supernova that actually showed people being killed and gutted on the classroom TV screen? Oh, Channel One executives have made some moronic decisions in what they...
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More On Major Campaign To Get Kids To Buy Cell Phones

August 31, 2002

It started last year and continues into this current school year. Channel One executives knew the decision would meet with resistance from school officials, but there was too much money involved, so caution was thrown to the wind. Cingular Wireless has been given unprecedented run of the Channel One News show. Not only are their controversial ads promoting...
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Channel One Fat Cats Make Big Money Pushing Sleaze On Kids

August 22, 2002

Channel One won’t be cranking up their movie ads until September or October of this current school year. Right now, Channel One is running public service announcements because not all schools are in session yet. Here is the last Channel One movie ad from May of this year. It is a typical filthy movie that has made Channel...
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This Little Piggy Shouldn’t Be Around Children

August 17, 2002
This Little Piggy Shouldn’t Be Around Children

The Channel One Network has two vehicles to get commercial messages to children. The most important way is their in-school TV show called Channel One News. The second level of advertising comes on Channel One’s official web site, channelone.com. This web site is ONLY advertised on the TV show so it is an extension of the TV show. Each...
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Schools Openly Breach Channel One Contract

August 15, 2002

Our August 12 article resulted in some emails. Students and teachers are happy to share their contempt for Channel One being in their school. Principals and teachers are simply pushing Channel One aside to make way for more academic time. Beware of Greeks bearing gifts. Beware of Channel One Sales representatives bearing “free” TVs. Consider the Trojans of...
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More “Ads In The News” For New School Year

August 14, 2002

Not content with two minutes for commercials, Channel One started putting advertising messages into the “news” portion of Channel One News. The practice continues. Cingular Wireless not only runs regular thirty-second ads on Channel One, but they also sponsor the “Question of the Day” which is in itself an ad for Channel One’s web site channelone.com. Students who...
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Does Channel One Have The Audience It Claims? (Answer: “No”)

August 12, 2002

From Jim Metrock: I know of no school system in the state of Alabama that honors the Channel One contract. I have never even heard of one that comes close. Channel One has never refuted this. They know their contract is being breached on a wholesale basis by school after school, not only in Alabama but across the...
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Channel One Brings Back Marketing PG13 Movies To Middle Schools

August 8, 2002

Well, it didn’t last long. In 2000, Channel One was shamed into stopping the practice of advertising PG-13 movies in middle schools. Channel One’s lobbyists went into overdrive getting the message out that Channel One was being sensitive to their middle school audience. A little background; Although to a classroom teacher, Channel One News looks like a seamless...
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Survival Year For Channel One Begins August 12

August 3, 2002

Channel One has come off one of its worst years and now faces a very challenging 2002-2003 school year. National advertisers don’t see Channel One as a “sure bet” anymore in their efforts to get commercial messages to young people. Serious questions remain about the enforcement of Channel One’s contract. As Obligation has stated for years, we know...
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Junk Food Ads Have Made Channel One Fat With Profits

July 12, 2002
Junk Food Ads Have Made Channel One Fat With Profits

Since 1996, when Obligation began monitoring the show, Channel One has advertised high-sugar, high-fat, high-caffeine junk food and drink to schoolchildren. Channel One has run contests that dangle $2 million in front of children to get them to eat more M&Ms. Candy bars, cupcakes, Twinkies and assorted junk food have been regular advertisers on Channel One over the...
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Why Are These Men Smiling?

May 2, 2002
Why Are These Men Smiling?

You would too if you received the money they do from Channel One. There is an obesity crisis among our children yet these three are happy to do whatever they can to keep Pepsi and Twinkie commercials in classrooms. “Deal with it, kid,” they might tell an unfortunate student in a school with Channel One. Violence a...
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News About Channel One – Jan. to April 2002

April 30, 2002
News About Channel One – Jan. to April 2002

News About Channel One – 2002 Obligation, Inc. The Year Of The Taxpayer Revolt Use Our New Search Feature Maverick Records Comes To Santa Rita H.S. ……….Boone Grove Stands Up To Channel One……….Chopra, Greene, Menounos Leaving C1……….Madonna’s Recording Company Advertising on C1…Contest Could Land Principals In The Doghouse………Ralph Reed Keeps Working For Channel One……….Questions...
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Santa Rita Principal Could Be On The Hot Seat

April 30, 2002

Madonna owns a recording company, Maverick Records, and they are an advertiser on Channel One News. C1 partnered with Maverick to get one of their new artists some publicity to help her new CD. The plan was simple: find a principal that would agree to host a concert for Maverick’s Michelle Branch and allow Channel One to film...
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Boone Grove, Indiana

April 19, 2002
Boone Grove, Indiana

From Jim Metrock: I have just returned from a successful trip to Boone Grove, Indiana. (About 50 miles SE of Gary, IN) I met with parents and other citizens who are upset that their school administrators and school board voted to sign a contract with Channel One without many parents knowing about it. School...
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Branch Contest Draws Five Schools? Who Will Be The “Winner”?

April 15, 2002

Incredible as it seems, five school principals have approved the use of their school to promote Michelle Branch, a new artist for Madonna’s Maverick Records. The sponsors of this contest/promotion are Maverick Records and Channel One. The five schools announced on Channel One’s web site are; Alexander Jr. High School, Brookhaven, MS Antonian College...
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Running For The Hills! Anchors To Leave Sinking Channel One

April 11, 2002

Times are tough at Channel One. Three anchors and possibly more are leaving the controversial TV show. Maria Menounos is going to Entertainment Tonight (Channel One could be called "Entertainment This Morning") and she is bragging about her own show on MTV. Krystal Greene is also leaving Channel One after this season. Gotham Chopra...
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Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler!

April 9, 2002

From: Jim Metrock Let the good times roll! as they say in New Orleans. I have just come back from the 62nd National School Board Assn. convention in New Orleans. Obligation had a booth in the exhibit hall that urged school board members to remove Channel One from their schools. I was overwhelmed by...
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“The Academy Award For Most Moronic Pretend News Show Goes To… Channel One!”

March 25, 2002
“The Academy Award For Most Moronic Pretend News Show Goes To… Channel One!”

The Oscars returned to Hollywood last night for the first time since 1960. Lucky for school kids, Channel One’s studio is in Hollywood so it was easy for them to cover this important current event. Below is part of today’s transcript. (KRYSTAL ON CAM) IT WAS AN EXCITING NIGHT IN HOLLYWOOD BECAUSE...
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Regrettable Moments on Channel One News

March 20, 2002
Regrettable Moments on Channel One News

Images (Images Archive) All photos from Channel One News unless indicated. Above: Ten-year-olds through high school seniors watched in amazement in 2001 as a sultry singer in a skimpy two-piece outfit and see-through body netting grinds on Channel One News pushing Pepsi. This particular commercial ran many times. Just ONE commercial (30 seconds long)...
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