Channel One News
Encyclopedia
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.
, 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. 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.
As of late 2009, CBS News
has entered into a partnership with Channel One.
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.
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.
National Players of the Year, which are notable athletes.
sporting event sent in by viewers. It is sponsored by Gatorade
.
. 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.
.
s called OneVote shortly before the general elections in 1992, 2000, 2004 and 2008.
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%.
in a mock election with nearly 59% of the vote. Vice-President Al Gore
was voted second with 36% of the vote.
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.
finished second with 48.5 percent.
reported that research indicated that children who watched Channel One remembered the commercials more than they remembered the news.
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
.
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.
are the current hosts of Channel One News.
Program History
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 RuizMichele Ruiz
Michele Ruiz is a former news anchor and President/CEO and founder of SaberHacer.com, a bilingual expert based “how-to” educational broadband site for US Hispanics online.-Biography:...
, Hicks Neal, Mark Carter, Kathy Kronenberger and Brian Tochi
Brian Tochi
Brian Keith Tochihara , better known as Brian Tochi, is a U.S. actor, screen-writer, movie director and producer. He was widely recognized as the most popular East Asian child actor working in U.S. television during the late 1960s through much of the 1970s having appeared in various T.V. series and...
. It was founded by Christopher Whittle
Chris Whittle
H. Christopher "Chris" Whittle is an American media and education entrepreneur. He is the chief executive officer of Avenues: The World School, a planned international system of independent pre-K-12 schools. Avenues will open its first campus in New York City in fall 2012. Whittle founded Edison...
, a business executive based in Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
. Primedia
Primedia
PRIMEDIA Inc. is privately held American media company fully owned by TPG Capital.Consumer Source Inc. is the sole operating division of PRIMEDIA and helps millions of consumers find apartments, houses for rent, and new homes for sale through its Internet, mobile, and print products...
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. 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
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
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.
As of late 2009, CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
has entered into a partnership with Channel One.
Special Segments
Channel One has segments which air on a regular basis which encourage viewer participation. These segments are sometimes sponsored by advertisers.24/17
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.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 by various organizations and companies.
AT&T Question of the Day
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
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
, 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
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
with three months of pre-paid service.
Player of the Year
This special segment presents GatoradeGatorade
Gatorade is a brand of sports-themed food and beverage products, built around its signature product: a line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo, distributed in over 80 countries...
National Players of the Year, which are notable athletes.
Play of the Week
This special segment is usually the last segment of each Monday program. It features a clip of a different high schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
sporting event sent in by viewers. It is sponsored by Gatorade
Gatorade
Gatorade is a brand of sports-themed food and beverage products, built around its signature product: a line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo, distributed in over 80 countries...
.
Glory Road
This special segment is sponsored by the United States ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. 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.
Week in Rap
This is a segment in which the past week's news shown on Channel One is recounted in summarized rap format by FlocabularyFlocabulary
Flocabulary is a publishing company that produces educational hip hop music and accompanying books for use in the classroom. Founded in 2004 by Blake Harrison and Alex Rappaport, the company takes a nontraditional approach to teaching vocabulary and United States history by integrating content into...
.
Going Green
This segment shows ways that teens can be environmentally friendly and the efforts of other schools and teens around the world.OneVote
Channel One held fixed presidential electionElection
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
s called OneVote shortly before the general elections in 1992, 2000, 2004 and 2008.
1992
The initial vote in 1992 had 3,400,000 participants. Bill ClintonBill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
won the 1992 OneVote, garnering 43% of the vote. George H.W. Bush got 27%, with independent Ross Perot
Ross Perot
Henry Ross Perot is a U.S. businessman best known for running for President of the United States in 1992 and 1996. Perot founded Electronic Data Systems in 1962, sold the company to General Motors in 1984, and founded Perot Systems in 1988...
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%.
2000
When OneVote returned in 2000, 877,497 students participated, choosing Texas Governor George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
in a mock election with nearly 59% of the vote. Vice-President Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
was voted second with 36% of the vote.
2004
The 2004 OneVote gave George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
55% of the vote. John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
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.
2008
The 2008 OneVote gave Barack Obama 51.5 percent of the vote. John McCainJohn McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
finished second with 48.5 percent.
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 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 PediatricsAmerican Academy of Pediatrics
The American Academy of Pediatrics is the major professional association of pediatricians in the United States. The AAP was founded in 1930 by 35 pediatricians to address pediatric healthcare standards. It currently has 60,000 members in primary care and sub-specialist areas...
reported that research indicated that children who watched Channel One remembered the commercials more than they remembered the news.
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
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
and PR
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
tie-ins to promote products and services, arguing that it further corrupts the school setting with consumerism
Consumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that is based on the systematic creation and fostering of a desire to purchase goods and services in ever greater amounts. The term is often associated with criticisms of consumption starting with Thorstein Veblen...
.
The teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation
Degrassi: The Next Generation
Degrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian teen drama television series set in the Degrassi universe, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. Degrassi is the fourth fictional series in the Degrassi franchise, and follows The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and...
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.
Anchors
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.Current
Jessica Kumari, a new intern and Shelby HollidayShelby Holliday
Shelby Holliday is an American broadcast journalist currently employed by Channel One News. Prior to joining Channel One, Holliday worked as a reporter and producer for the college news network UWIRE where she covered business and political news and contributed to Fox News Channel and Fox Business...
are the current hosts of Channel One News.
Former
- Justin FinchJustin FinchFinch majored in English and Africana Studies at Cornell University and earned a Master's degree in Broadcast Journalism at Columbia University. Finch was a reporter and anchor at News 12 The Bronx and News 12 Brooklyn in New York City. He was a former news anchor at Channel One News.. Finch...
- Serena AltschulSerena AltschulSerena Altschul is an American broadcast journalist, well known for her work at MTV News. She is the daughter of author Siri von Reis and Arthur Altschul, a former partner at Goldman Sachs.-Career:...
(correspondent for CBS News Sunday MorningCBS News Sunday MorningCBS News Sunday Morning is an American television news magazine program created by Robert Northshield and original host Charles Kuralt. The program has aired continuously since January 28, 1979 on the CBS Television Network, airing in the Eastern US on Sunday from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m...
) - Tony AndersonTony AndersonAnthony 'Tony' Anderson is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Melbourne in the VFL during the 1960s.Anderson made his VFL debut with Melbourne in 1963 and would form an important part of their defence throughout the rest of the decade...
- Errol BarnettErrol BarnettErrol Barnett is an anchor and correspondent for CNN International. While initially based at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, since August of 2010 he has been anchoring 'Prism' at the networks production hub in Abu Dhabi. The one-hour news program has focused on the Arab Uprising...
(anchor on CNN InternationalCNN InternationalCNN International is an international English language television network that carries news, current affairs, politics, opinions, and business programming worldwide. CNN is one of the world's largest news organizations. It is owned by Time Warner, and is affiliated with CNN, which is mainly...
) - Joel Brand
- Chris BrowneChris BrowneChris Browne is an American comic strip artist and cartoonist. He is the son of cartoonist Dik Browne and the brother of cartoonist Chance Browne...
- Cali Carlin
- Mark CarterMark CarterFor the former All Black see Mark Carter Mark Colin Carter is an English former footballer....
- Janet Choi
- Gotham ChopraGotham ChopraGotham Chopra is an American author and entertainment/media entrepreneur. -Early life:Chopra was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Deepak Chopra. He attended Belmont Hill School...
- Brandon Chavez
- Anderson CooperAnderson CooperAnderson Hays Cooper is an American journalist, author, and television personality. He is the primary anchor of the CNN news show Anderson Cooper 360°. The program is normally broadcast live from a New York City studio; however, Cooper often broadcasts live on location for breaking news stories...
(anchor on CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
and talk show host) - Rich DeMuro
- Seth DoaneSeth DoaneSeth Doane is an American television journalist, currently working for CBS News.Doane, the son of former Massachusetts Republican State Senator Paul Doane, was born and raised in Harwich, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod...
(correspondent on CBS NewsCBS NewsCBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
) - Jared Friesen
- Krystal Greene
- Justin Gunn
- Craig JacksonCraig Jackson (journalist)Craig "CJ" Jackson is the host of the VH1 reality television series I Love Money.Jackson was previously an anchor and correspondent for Channel One News for five years, as well as host of Fox's 30 Seconds To Fame and FX's The X Show. He also hosted a special for the Food Network and a Game Show...
(host of VH1VH1VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's I Love MoneyI Love MoneyI Love Money is an American reality television series airing on VH1, and is a spin-off of Flavor of Love, Charm School, I Love New York, Rock of Love, Real Chance of Love, For the Love of Ray J, Daisy of Love and Megan Wants a Millionaire. Former contestants on these shows compete in physical and...
) - Lauren Jiggetts
- Mellissa Knowles
- Kathy Kronenberger
- Sofia Lidskog
- Lisa LingLisa LingLisa J. Ling is a Chinese American journalist, best known for her role as a co-host of ABC's The View , host of National Geographic Explorer, reporter on Channel One News, and special correspondent for the Oprah Winfrey Show and CNN. She is the older sister of journalist Laura Ling.-Early...
(host of Our AmericaOur America with Lisa LingOur America with Lisa Ling is an American documentary television series. Each episode examines an aspect of American society that may be viewed as marginal or outside the mainstream...
on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey NetworkOWN: The Oprah Winfrey NetworkThe Oprah Winfrey Network , named after talk-show presenter Oprah Winfrey, is an American specialty channel produced by Harpo Productions and Discovery Communications...
) - Laura LingLaura LingLaura G. Ling is an American journalist, working for Current TV as a correspondent and vice president of its Vanguard Journalism Unit, which produces the Vanguard TV series. She is the sister of Lisa Ling, who is a special correspondent for The Oprah Winfrey Show, National Geographic Explorer,...
(correspondent for Current TVCurrent TVCurrent TV, or Current, is a media company led by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and businessman Joel Hyatt. Comcast owns a ten percent stake of Current's parent company, Current Media LLC....
) - Shawn Lindsey
- Alexander Marquardt
- Alexandra Montoya
- Tonoccus McClain
- Maria MenounosMaria MenounosMaria Menounos is a Greek-American actress, journalist, and television presenter known in America for her appearances as a correspondent for Today, Access Hollywood, Extra, and abroad for co-hosting the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens, Greece.-Early life and beauty pageants:Menounos, a...
(co-host on ExtraExtra (TV series)Extra is an American entertainment television news program covering events and celebrities which debuted on September 5, 1994 in syndication. It is produced at Victory Studios in Glendale, California by Telepictures Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television Distribution...
) - Wil Monestime
- Hicks Neal
- Meka NicholsMeka NicholsMeka Nichols is an American television journalist. She is best known as an anchor/reporter for the Channel One Network.She started her career as a documentary writer and producer at PBS in Chicago. Nichols attended Spelman College, has a master's degree from Medill School of Journalism and is a...
- Katherine Norwood
- Monica NovotnyMonica Novotny-Early years:Novotny earned a Bachelor of Arts in Mass communications from the University of California, Los Angeles graduating Phi Beta Kappa.-Career:...
(anchor on MSNBCMSNBCMSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
) - Kris OsbornKris OsbornKris Osborn was a news anchor on CNN Headline News from 2001-2004, specializing in military issues. Since then, he has worked as a reporter for KSTP-TV in Minneapolis and a correspondent for Entertainment Tonight...
(correspondent for Entertainment TonightEntertainment TonightEntertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
) - Trish Osborne
- Michele RuizMichele RuizMichele Ruiz is a former news anchor and President/CEO and founder of SaberHacer.com, a bilingual expert based “how-to” educational broadband site for US Hispanics online.-Biography:...
- Alex SanzAlex SanzAlex Sanz covers government for KHOU-TV in Houston, Texas. He reports on Harris County and suburban communities in the greater Houston area. He previously covered Houston City Hall. He joined the CBS station in 2007 after working as a reporter for WTHR-TV in Indianapolis, Indiana...
(reporter for KHOU-TV in Houston, TXHouston, TexasHouston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
) - Derrick Shore
- Tracy SmithTracy SmithTracy Smith is a CBS News correspondent for CBS News Sunday Morning, in addition to reports she does for The CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley, and "48 Hours Mystery". Smith is a former Channel One News anchor and correspondent. She is married to CBS Sunday Morning producer John D'Amelio...
(correspondent on CBS News Sunday MorningCBS News Sunday MorningCBS News Sunday Morning is an American television news magazine program created by Robert Northshield and original host Charles Kuralt. The program has aired continuously since January 28, 1979 on the CBS Television Network, airing in the Eastern US on Sunday from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m...
) - Brian TochiBrian TochiBrian Keith Tochihara , better known as Brian Tochi, is a U.S. actor, screen-writer, movie director and producer. He was widely recognized as the most popular East Asian child actor working in U.S. television during the late 1960s through much of the 1970s having appeared in various T.V. series and...
- Joshua Toole
- Rawley Valverde
- Andrew Yani
- Eileen WuEileen WuEileen Wu is a former American news anchor for the educational television network Channel One News.-Life:Eileen took up an interest in journalism in highschool, where she founded and published a news magazine with a friend...
- Steven Fabian
External links
- Obligation, Inc.
- Channel One News
- Channel One's site for teachers and parents
- Channel One's Site for Schools Considering Signing Up for Channel One
- Channel One News at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...
- http://www.channelone.com/video/justin-finch-says-goodbye/ at channelone.com
- Channel One News at TV.com