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Go to Obligation's website for more information on Channel One and Bus Radio which is used to target your children as they ride the bus school to and from school!
BREAKING NEWS:
December 2006 -- Primedia -- the owner of Channel One -- is discontinuing its
education unit!
Click here for
the Ad Age article.
WHAT IS CHANNEL ONE?
Commercialism in classrooms really got a BIG boost when Chris Whittle introduced Channel One to schools in the early '90s. Ads were now unashamedly put before students during the school day.
Channel One is a 12-minute in-school "news" program shown in over 600 middle and high schools in Pennsylvania (12,000 schools nationwide). Now that does sound educational, doesn't it? BUT the truth is the whole deal is a contractual agreement between Channel One and the school which relinquishes control of that time slot each school day.
Channel One's deal is to allow the schools the use of Channel One equipment:
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two VCRs (although one is in a locked cabinet only accessible to Channel One personnel)
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for every 23 students--one 19" wall mounted color television
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wiring for the school to create a network
You may still be saying, "But it's only the news," WRONG. That 12 minute program also contains two minutes of commercials. The contract is very specific about the commercials: NO EDITING ALLOWED!! Show the entire program or none of it --according to the Channel One contract.
COMMERCIALS HAVE INCLUDED:
PG 13 movies such as:
"Dude, Where's My Car" (sexual content, profanity, homosexuality, bestiality, drug use)
"Monkey Bone" (excessive sexual content, profanity)
"Charlie's Angels" (sexual content, profanity, violence)
"The World Is Not Enough" (sexual content, violence, profanity)
"Planet of the Apes" (violence)
For a much more detailed description of some of the movies Channel One has advertised -- and much, much more -- go to Obligation, Inc's website
More information:
Any product, service or movie advertised during a school day is implicitly endorsed by the school district. There is a signed contract saying the school wants the product in its classrooms!
Channel One charges each advertiser up to $200,000 for each 30-second time slot!! There are normally four thirty-second ads.
No matter how you figure it -- that adds up to a LOT of time and money!!
-- 12 minutes daily (actually almost 13 minutes most days) is almost one week of school
-- 2 minutes per day equals up to one day of school just watching ads.
Many Pennsylvania schools are concerned about raising the scores on the PSSAs and other tests. How much better would students do if they were given one week of school back each school year? What better way to raise reading assessment scores than to have students READ about the news rather than passively sit and watch it on television!
SO is Channel One interested in education or money? You decide.
BUT why target teens?
ANSWER: THE TEEN MARKET IS A $63 BILLION ANNUAL MARKET!!
If marketers can win brand loyalty at this young age, in many cases they will have loyal customers for life. So advertisers want to target that age group. What better place to target teens than during a school day. The captive audience is there -- no bathroom breaks and no remote control! What better situation! Channel One IS subverting the states' compulsory attendance laws!!
Channel One has this captive audience of school children during the school day. One has to ask: "Who is paying for the time used to show this commercial program?"
Who is paying for the teachers and administrators to be there? Who is paying for the electricity and gas being used? I believe we all know the answer to those questions! We, the taxpayers are paying for this time slot, as well as the entire school day.
There have been a couple PA success stories in removing Channel One from local school districts.
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In Armstrong County, the Armstrong School District voted to remove Channel One in August 2001
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In the Mifflinburg Area School District, the school board voted to remove Channel One in April 2000 -- In each case, they chose to purchase TVs and VCRs for their students.
Schools do not have to continue paying rental fees for Channel One equipment.
The question may be asked: "What rental fees are being charged?
STUDENTS OF CHANNEL ONE SCHOOLS ARE USED AS COMMODITIES TO BE RENTED FOR THE USE OF AUDIO-VISUAL EQUIPMENT.
There is nothing in the contract that prevents a school from telling Channel One -- "Enough is enough and we want our students back!!" Channel One will probably take the outdated TVs and VCRs, but the wiring will remain in the school ( as per Channel One contract).. Aren't our children worth the investment of the school's own audio visual equipment?
If you would like more information on Channel One or how to remove it from your school, please contact us.
OUR CHILDREN ARE WORTH THE FIGHT!!
Additional websites to check information about Channel One include:
CONTACT us for the booklet--"A Guide to What One Person Can Do About Channel One" -- cost $2.00
Copyright 2002 - 2008 American Family Association of PA