| Channel One News | |
|---|---|
| Launched | 1989 (pilot program debut) 1990 (national debut) |
| Owned by | Whittle Communications (1989-1994) PRIMEDIA (1994-2007) Alloy Media+Marketing (2007-present)[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Website | http://www.channelone.com (Program Site) http://www.channelonenetwork.com (Network Site) |
Channel One News is a 12 minute news program for teens broadcast via satellite to middle schools and high schools across the United States. Channel One is owned by Alloy Media + Marketing and based in New York City.
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Channel One was founded in 1989 and began with a pilot program in four high schools before its national rollout in 1990, with original anchors and reporters Michele Ruiz, Hicks Neal, Mark Carter, Kathy Kronenberger and Brian Tochi. It was founded by Christopher Whittle, a business executive based in Knoxville, Tennessee. Primedia purchased Channel One for approximately $250 million from Whittle in 1994.
In December 1987, 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.[2] In 2007 Primedia sold Channel One to Alloy Media and Marketing; on April 23, 2007 Alloy assumed the liabilities of Channel One and took over their assets.
In July, 2007, NBC News announced that it would be partnering with Alloy under an arrangement in which NBC would work with Channel One News to produce original content for Channel One’s in-school broadcasts, providing Channel One with access to global newsgathering resources.[3]
As of late 2009, CBS News has entered into a partnership with Channel One.
Channel One has segments which air on a regular basis which encourage viewer participation. These segments are sometimes sponsored by advertisers.
This is a segment that Channel One does once a month to feature a day in the life of a 17 year old in another country. The 17 year old's life is described from the time he/she gets up in the morning until the time he/she goes back home for dinner. Some previous 24/17s included the Navajo Nation, London, and Tel Aviv.
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 by various organizations and companies.
This special segment came in two parts over two shows.
The first segment consisted of a message poll, usually regarding a story Channel One has aired. Viewers had three options to voice their opinions. Viewers could 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 an AT&T phone.
The second segment was usually aired the next day, although developing news stories may have caused it to be delayed. The program gave the results of the poll and then aired two students' opinions regarding the question asked. Students who had their comments aired received an AT&T brand mobile phone with three months of pre-paid service.
This section includes stories related to Americans' First Amendment rights.
This segment includes tips and exercises to help viewers stay healthy.
This special segment presents Gatorade National Players of the Year, which are notable athletes.
This special segment is usually the last segment of each Monday program. It features a clip of a different high school sporting event sent in by viewers. It has been sponsored by Gatorade.
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 Glory Road.
This is a segment in which the past week's news shown on Channel One is recounted in summarized rap format by Flocabulary.
This segment shows ways that teens can be environmentally friendly and the efforts of other schools and teens around the world.[4]
Channel One held mock presidential elections called OneVote shortly before the general elections in 1992, 2000, 2004 and 2008.
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. In actuality, Clinton won with 43% of the vote (roughly the same as the real election), followed by Bush with 38% and Perot with 19%.
When OneVote returned in 2000, 877,497 students participated, choosing Texas Governor George W. Bush in a mock election with nearly 59% of the vote. Vice-President Al Gore was voted second with 36% of the vote.[5]
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.
The 2008 OneVote gave Barack Obama 51.5 percent of the vote. John McCain finished second with 48.5 percent.
Channel One has been controversial[6] largely due to the commercial content of the show. Critics claim that it is a problem in classrooms because it forces children to watch ads, wastes class time, and wastes tax dollars. Supporters argue that the ads are necessary to help keep the program running and lease TVs, DVRs (Head-End Units) and satellite dishes to schools, as well as commercial-free educational video through Channel One Connection. In 2006, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported that research indicated that children who watched Channel One remembered the commercials more than they remembered the news.[7]
Another criticism, noted by Media Education Foundation's[8] documentary Captive Audience,[9] 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.
The teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation did an episode ("Parent's Day", season one) similar to this issue, where the school was showing a program similar to Channel One in exchange for computers given to the school.
Channel One News currently has seven anchors/correspondents on its roster. These anchors serve as hosts in the studio as well as correspondents in the field.
Jessica Kumari, Shelby Holliday, and Scott Evans are the current hosts of Channel One News.