Critics slam Channel One's commericals

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ^ | August 10, 2003 | Abby Graham-Pardus

[buzzyboop]

Susan Linn knows children's television.

She began her career in children's entertainment, where her work included several appearances with her puppets working on "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" with the late Fred Rogers.

"I've always had a really strong interest to use media to promote the health and well-being of children," said Linn, a psychologist at Harvard University's Judge Baker Children's Center. She said Rogers was a "really good example of somebody who conducted a career in television without selling out" to commercialism.

As commercialism in the form of sponsored sports teams, billboards and soda machines creeps into more schools, Linn and some of her colleagues are targeting television programming shown daily to about 8 million students in 12,000 middle, junior and high schools across the country.

Channel One News, first broadcast in 1990, is a 12-minute long news program with up to two minutes of commercials. Participating schools receive the show for free -- along with a loaned television for every 23 students, two videocassette recorders, cable equipment and a satellite receiver.

On average, Channel One takes up one week of school time every year -- with the equivalent of one full day devoted solely to ads.

"Channel One depends critically upon stealth," said Gary Ruskin, director of Commercial Alert, a consumer-advocacy group he founded with Ralph Nader. "If parents really knew what Channel One was selling to their kids, they would expel it from the schools immediately..."

[buzzyboop]

Let's see... the kind of "commercials" on Channel One, at least those quoted by students who actually watch them are the anti-drug spots! This is far superior to: distributing condoms, teaching supposed "tolerance" when schools actually mean outright endorsement of deviant lifestyles... shall I go on?

A rare 2 barf bag alert from my normally reliable Tribune-Review.

[buzzyboop]

Forgot to mention: beware any supposed "journalist" with a hyphenated last name. Her one-sided screed should have been on page 4 of the T-R's opinion section, NOT ON THE FRONT PAGE UPPER FOLD!

[King Prout]

"The incontrovertible fact is that because of Channel One, millions of teens are keeping away from drugs," Bonnette said in 1999. Bonnette's group found "conclusive evidence" that Channel One students had "significantly" more negative attitudes about drugs and were much more aware of the risks of drugs.

nice non-sequitur.

[Ayn Rand wannabe]

So basically, I've wasted nearly 6 weeks of my life watching that crap?? What a waste! And that news isn't nearly as impartial as they would like you to believe. I mean, I remember having to watch as 42 had a Q&A with "young people". They all thought he was so cool. This is the same channel that produced Lisa Ling, one of those idiots on "The View". For Gosh Sakes!!! </rant>