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For the former broadcast television channel, see channel one (television)

Channel One News is a television program shown in classrooms in 8,000 to 12,000 secondary schools in the United States. It airs every weekday and is usually about twelve to thirteen minutes in length. Included in the program are two to three minutes of advertising. Its content usually consists of news and sports programming.. The program is funded with money from sponsors and advertisers. Schools that participate sign a contract to air the program on 90% of school days in exchange for a 19" or 27" television for each classroom, 2 VCRs (one for the school's use, one to record the program), a satellite dish that picks up Channel One's only signal, and the right to access the Channel One Connection, a library of commercial-free educational programming.

Channel One is currently owned by Primedia. In the past it has been operated by Whittle Communications.

In April 2006, it was announced that Channel One would close its Los Angeles studios and move to Washington D.C..[1]

OneVote

Channel One held a mock presidential election called OneVote on October 19th and 20th, 2004. This was the third such mock election in the program's history. There was no OneVote election in 1996.

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. OneVote was correct.

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: Bush lost the popular vote, but won the electoral vote, OneVote is right in that Bush did win the presidency.

2004

The 2004 OneVote gave George W. Bush a second term in office with 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 defeated Kerry 51% to 48% and the Electoral College was much closer than in OneVote. OneVote was correct again, however, in that Bush did win the presidency.

Special Segments

Channel One has segments which air on a regular basis which encourage viewer participation and to occasionally pitch the products of their sponsors.

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 read 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. Also, the Pop Quiz is occasionally commercially sponsored.

Cingular Question of the Day

This special segment comes in two parts over two shows.

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

Day Two: The second segment is usually aired the very next day (developing news stories may change this, however). The program gives the results of the poll and then airs a couple of student comments regarding the question asked. They read a student response from each point of view, and may even throw in a comment made by a teacher. Students who have their comments read receive a free mobile phone.

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.

One Step to a Better Me

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

Controversy & Criticism

Channel One has become 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.

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. For example, they recently had a "Clique Week" where they had teenagers switch social groups. The result was very much like a reality TV show.

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 a clearly audible level throughout the whole program even the advertising content.

Channel One Networks also puts chips in the TVs so that they turn on at a time designated by the school and are restricted to broadcasting Channel One, there is no way to change the channel unless the TV is unplugged. There is a way to bypass the signal by plugging the feed into the VCR, but Channel One Networks strictly prohibits this practice.

In January 2005, Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist who represented Channel One, was indicted for fraud in matters entirely unrelated to Channel One. Some of the political groups which oppose Channel One have attempted to smear Channel One due to its associations with Abramoff[citation needed].

Anchors

For the 2005-2006 school year, Channel One has five anchors on its roster. Others will occasionally fill in at anchor, but none of these fill-ins carry the official title as anchor. In the past, the network had typically carried eight anchors on its roster. Anchors also serve as correspondents in the field.

Current Anchors

Past Anchors

Some notable former Channel One anchors include Anderson Cooper, Lisa Ling, Serena Altschul, and Ron Reagan, the son of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan.

Guest anchors

Channel One has allowed numerous celebrity guest hosts onto their show to help anchor programs. This list is not comprehensive.

1995

1998

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

Sources

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