Groups Against Child Marketing Use Campaign to Oust Channel One News From Public Schools
Commercial-free education advocacy groups began a campaign to take Channel One News out of schools. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and Obligation Inc. -- organizations that try to lessen the impact of ads on kids -- told us they're trying to convince companies to stop running ads on Channel One. Channel One came under fire from CCFC and similar advocates in 2006, when then Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., introduced a proposal calling for the FCC to study programs designed to transmit radio or TV shows on buses (CD June 26/06 p6). Channel One delivers its newscasts to almost 6 million teens in about 8,000 middle schools and high schools, it said on its website.
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"Our goal is both to convince parents and educators that Channel One isn’t a good deal for their schools and not a good deal for advertisers,” said Susan Linn, CCFC director. Since these are publicly funded schools, “we think it’s important that people know who’s using taxpayer-funded school time to advertise to kids,” said Josh Golin, associate director. Channel One had no comment.
Channel One’s method does not fit with the noncommercial education model, said Jim Metrock, president of Obligation, a constant critic of the company. Showing children ads routinely is “robbing them of academic opportunities and promoting things that parents might have a little problem with,” he said.
The campaign will involve trying to “put some sunshine” on Channel One’s practices, Golin said. “Channel One refuses to disclose who their advertisers are.” The company also refuses to make public which schools they're in, Metrock said. “That should be public information.” CCFC also plans to contact parents “who may not even know that their school has Channel One,” Golin said.
The broadcasts don’t always benefit advertisers, Linn said. The public relations costs are too high for advertisers and the ads “are not reaching as much of an audience as they may think,” she said. “We found that schools are supposed to show them around class time and some are showing them after school.” CCFC will be exposing companies that advertise on Channel One during the 2011-12 school year, CCFC said. The organization is asking people to contact Kmart to urge the retailer to pull its ads from the program, CCFC said.