Channel One News

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This article is about the U.S. in-school television news program. For other uses of Channel One, Channel One

Channel One News is a United States television news program that public and private schools agree to show their students in exchange for the loan of TV equipment.

According to Channel One's website, as of September 2006 nearly 11,000 schools are participating. The programming is twelve minutes in length, and has won two George Foster Peabody Awards for journalistic excellence. Schools that participate in Channel One sign a contract to air the program in exchange for free television equipment and VCRs, as well as the Channel One Connection video library, which gives schools more than 100 hours of commercial-free educational programming annually. The program is funded with money from sponsors and advertisers.

Channel One's home base moved to Washington D.C. in the 2006-2007 season. It previously originated from Los Angeles and started in New York City.[1] Channel One recently launched the Livewire Video Portal [2] for ongoing news delivery. Its website ChannelOne.com was named Best Youth Site on the Web by the Webby Awards.

Channel One was founded in 1989 and began with a pilot program in four high schools before its national rollout in 1991. It was founded by Christopher Whittle, a business executive based in Knoxville, Tennessee. Channel One is currently owned by Primedia.

Channel One News has suffered considerable loss of revenue in recent years. In 1996, Forbes magazine reported gross revenue of $70,000,000. In 2005, Channel One's revenue was slightly under $35,000,000.

In December 2006, Channel One's parent company, Primedia, classified its Education Segment, which includes Channel One Network, as a "discontinued operation" and announced that it was "exploring strategic alternatives for" the businesses in that segment. [3]

Contents

[edit] OneVote

Channel One held mock Presidential elections called OneVote shortly before the general elections in 1992, 2000, and 2004. There was no OneVote mock election in 1996.

[edit] 1992

The initial vote in 1992 had 3,400,000 participants. Bill Clinton won the 1992 OneVote, garnering 43% of the vote. George H.W. Bush got 27%, with independent Ross Perot getting 24% of the vote.

Actual election result: Clinton won, Bush finished second, Perot finished third. One Vote correctly predicted the outcome.

[edit] 2000

When OneVote returned in 2000, 878,000 students participated and "elected" George W. Bush to the Presidency with nearly 60% of the vote. Al Gore, the Democratic challenger, finished a distant second.

Actual election result: Al Gore won the popular vote, but Bush ended up winning the election. Channel One was once again correct.

[edit] 2004

The 2004 OneVote gave George W. Bush 55% of the vote. John Kerry finished second with 40% of the vote, while all third-party candidates as a group (voters could only vote for them as a group) got 5%. The vote consisted of 1,400,000 students.

Actual election result: Bush won, OneVote correctly predicted the outcome.

[edit] Special Segments

Channel One has segments which air on a regular basis which encourage viewer participation. These segments are sometimes sponsored by advertisers.

[edit] Pop Quiz

This is Channel One's most frequent special segment.

An anchor asks a multiple choice question to students regarding a current or historical event. The anchor then gives students ten seconds to come up with an answer. The anchor who reads the question, or the anchor's partner for the day, will then give the correct answer and explain it. From time to time, the Pop Quiz may lead off the program. The Pop Quiz is occasionally commercially sponsored.

[edit] Cingular Question of the Day

This special segment comes in two parts over two shows.

The first segment consists of a message poll, usually regarding a story Channel One has aired. Viewers have three options to voice their opinions. Viewers can send their response to Channel One's website, call in their answer to a toll-free Channel One number, or text their answer to Channel One on a Cingular Wireless phone.

The second segment is usually aired the next day, although developing news stories may cause it to be delayed. The program gives the results of the poll and then airs two student's opinions regarding the question asked. Students who have their comments aired receive a Cingular brand mobile phone with three months of pre-paid service.

In 2007, the question of the day has not appeared frequently.

[edit] 1Voice

This section includes stories related to Americans' First Amendment rights.

[edit] One Step to a Better Me

This segment includes tips and exercises to help viewers stay healthy.

[edit] Player of the Year

This special segment presents Gatorade National Players of the Year, which are notable athletes.

[edit] Play of the Week

This special segment is usually the last segment of each Friday program, though it has aired at other times on occasion. It features a clip of a different high school sporting event sent in by viewers. It is sponsored by Gatorade.

[edit] Power of One

This special segment is sponsored by the United States Army. It features teenagers who have made a significant impact on others in the world. On Channel One's website, teenagers can be nominated for Power of One.

[edit] All Request Thursday

Channel One also airs a special "All Request Thursday" where anyone can go online and vote for Thursday's news articles.

[edit] Controversy and criticism

Channel One has been controversial largely due to the commercial content of the show. Critics claim that it is a problem in classrooms, because it consumes class time, and forces commercial activity in a public domain. Supporters argue that the ads are necessary to help keep the program running and provide free TVs, VCRs and satellite dishes to schools, as well as commercial-free educational video through Channel One Connection. Channel One also airs commercials, such as military recruitment in high schools, and cell phone ads.

Another criticism, noted by Media Education Foundation's documentary Captive Audience, is that very little time is dedicated to actual news and the majority of the programming is soft, sensationalistic "fluff" with corporate marketing and PR tie-ins to promote products and services, arguing that it further corrupts the school setting with consumerism.

Channel One's contract with schools requires that the program be shown to students on 90% of all regular school days. At some schools, teachers are allowed to preview the show and decide if they want to show it or not; however they must still show it at least 90% of the time. Some believe this is too strict. The teachers are also instructed to make sure students watch the complete program and leave the volume at an audible level throughout the whole program, including the advertising content. However, according to critics, many schools do not follow the contract verbatim and let the teachers decide whether or not it should be shown.

Channel One's home state of New York has banned Channel One News from all public school classrooms, by action of the State Board of Regents. Channel One is viewed in many New York private and parochial schools.

In Canada, the Youth News Network, a program modeled on Channel One, met with strong public resistance, was banned in many provinces and ultimately failed.

[edit] Anchors

Channel One News currently has four anchors/correspondents on its roster. These anchors serve as hosts in the studio as well as correspondents in the field.

[edit] Current

[edit] Former

[edit] Sources

[edit] External links

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