Channel One News

Did You Know?

• Channel One's first executive producer, Cynthia Samuels, came from 9 years on the Today show.
• Channel One's last broadcast occurred in May 2018, and HMH announced it would be winding down ongoing operations on June 28, 2018.

History

Channel One News launched in 1989, the brainchild of Knoxville advertising and marketing executives Christopher Whittle and Ed Winter. A pilot program ran in four high schools before the national debut in 1990, featuring anchors and reporters Ken Rogers, Lynne Blades, and Brian Tochi. In 1994, Primedia Inc. bought the network from Whittle for about $250 million, with Winter staying on as chairman for a few more years. Cynthia Samuels, who had spent nine years at the Today show, became the first executive producer.

She introduced Student Producer Week, produced one-hour specials (including segments in Moscow, Ohio, Tokyo, Texas, and Los Angeles after the Rodney King riots, hosted by Arsenio Hall), and launched OneVote, a live student election-night event. After Samuels came Douglas Greenlaw, formerly president of MTV, and then David Neuman, a former NBC comedy vice president. Andy Hill served as president of programming from 1997 to 2000, overseeing award-winning news for eight million American teens.

In December 2007, Primedia classified its Education Segment, including Channel One, as a discontinued operation and began exploring its sale. That year, Alloy Media bought Channel One. NBC News partnered with Alloy in July 2007 to produce original content, and CBS News followed in 2009. ZelnickMedia acquired Alloy in 2010.

On May 13, 2014, educational publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt purchased Channel One, aiming to expand its digital content and video production capabilities.

OneVote

Channel One held mock presidential elections called OneVote shortly before the general elections in 1992, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016. With the exception of the 2016 election, the popular vote winner in each OneVote election accurately predicted the electoral college winner of the respective real presidential election. In 1992, 3,400,000 participants gave Bill Clinton 43% of the vote. In 2000, 877,497 students chose George W. Bush with nearly 59%. In 2004, 1,400,000 students gave George W. Bush 55%. In 2008, Barack Obama received 51.5 percent. In 2012, Barack Obama received 50 percent. In 2016, Hillary Clinton received 47 percent.

Controversy

Channel One sparked debate mainly due to its advertisements. Opponents said it made students watch commercials, ate up instructional time, and cost taxpayers money. Backers countered that the ads funded the program and provided schools with TVs, VCRs, satellite dishes, and ad-free educational videos through Channel One Connection. A 2006 American Academy of Pediatrics study found kids recalled the ads better than the news. The documentary Captive Audience also charged that the show devoted little time to news, with most content being corporate marketing and PR, further pushing consumerism into schools.