Channel One in the Classroom
Is this Advertisement Based News Program Beneficial to Students?
In exchange for classroom equipment, high schools and middle schools show a news program called Channel One in their classrooms. It contains ads. Is this a good idea?
The issue of advertisements in public schools is a concern to many teachers and parents. So is the issue of school funding, especially in economically disadvantaged districts. These two concerns collide with the issue of Channel One.
Owned the the Primedia Corporation, Channel One is a 12-minute news program that is broadcast into participating high schools and middle schools across the United States. Anchored by teenagers, the program is geared towards making news accessible to young people. The controversial part is this: each Channel One broadcast contains about two minutes of advertisements. Young people are a prized target of advertisers, who pay as much as $200,000 for a 30-second spot on Channel One.
In exchange for requiring all of their students to watch Channel One every day, schools are given satellites and other expensive electronic equipment. While the viewership of Channel One is broad (over 7 million teens are required to watch it daily), a disproportionate number of participating schools are from poorer districts.
Is Channel One a manipulative advertiser tool, or a smart way for schools to think outside the box? Here are some arguments for and against using Channel One in the classroom.
PROS
- Free equipment is valuable and can be used for other educational purposes as well. Channel One makes this equipment available to students who otherwise would not have access,
- Who doesn't want kids to know more about news? Teachers and parents bemoan students' lack of interest in and knowledge of current events, and Channel One can improve this.
- Teachers can discuss Channel One with their students to maximize its educational value. They can quiz their students to make sure they are watching and learning.
- Students already are surrounded by advertisements. Some argue that two additional minutes a day of ads isn't much, especially considering the benefits of Channel One.
CONS
- Students are a captive audience for advertisers, literally. They are required by law to be in school, and if the school requires them to watch Channel One, they have no choice. Some call this aggressively manipulative.
- Some argue it is a conflict of interest for a school to allow products to be promoted on their facilities. Schools are supposed to teach kids to think critically about the world and its power structures. How can a school teach kids to be critical of ads when they endorse ads?
- Twelve minutes a day adds up. According to The Center for Commercial-Free Public Education (2004), the hours spent watching Channel One add up to an estimated 1.8 billion dollars per year. Channel One claims they give schools free equipment, but it isn't exactly free.
- The news value of Channel One is questionable. While some teachers use it actively as a learning tool, some just turn it on in homeroom, where students often ignore it. Furthermore, there are plenty of other ways teachers can bring news into a classroom.
Schools choose options like Channel One because they need the resources. Whether the ethical dilemmas outweigh the utility is an issue schools will be debating for years to come.
