Coalition Urges Speaker Hastert to Investigate How Channel One Harms Children, Schools and Taxpayers

[Gary Ruskin <gary@essential.org>]

Commercial Alert                       January 7, 1999

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                          NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release:
Thursday, January 7, 1999

For More Information Contact:
Commercial Alert: Gary Ruskin (202) 296-2787
Eagle Forum: Sheila Moloney (202) 544-0353
TV-Free America: Henry Labalme (202) 887-0436

Coalition Urges Speaker Hastert to Investigate How Channel One
               Harms Children, Schools, Taxpayers

Following is a joint statement from Commercial Alert, Eagle
Forum, TV-Free America, and Citizens' Campaign for
Commercial-Free Schools:

 Channel One is bad for education and for America’s children.
It is unfortunate that House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) would
give his first interview as Speaker with Channel One.

 We strongly urge Speaker Hastert to hold hearings to
investigate the adverse impacts of Channel One on children,
schools and taxpayers.  Speaker Hastert can improve American
education by investigating and publicizing how Channel One: (1)
forces children to watch ads; (2) wastes valuable time in
schools; and, (3) wastes tax dollars spent on schools.

 A 1998 study by Max Sawicky of the Economic Policy Institute
and Professor Alex Molnar of the University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee, titled “The Hidden Costs of Channel One,”
concluded that Channel One's cost to taxpayers in lost class time
is $1.8 billion per year.  Taxpayers should not subsidize the
delivery of advertising to children in schools.

 A 1997 study by Vassar College Associate Professor William
Hoynes, titled “News for a Captive Audience: The Case of Channel
One,” found that the content of Channel One’s “news” programming
was shallow.  In schools that show Channel One, students spend
the equivalent of one full week each school year watching the
program, including nearly one class day watching ads.

 Channel One is a marketing company that delivers advertising
to children in schools.  Each school day, Channel One broadcasts
two minutes of commercials and ten minutes of "news" programming
to approximately eight million students in 12,000 schools across
the country.

                              -30-
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BACKGROUND:
On January 6, 1999, the Republican National Committee issued the
following news release:

                        RNC NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, January 6, 1999

Contact: Mike Collins
Tel.:(202) 863-8550

                         MEDIA ADVISORY

  Former teacher Dennis Hastert’s first interview as Speaker
                is with Educational “Channel 1"

        Call Channel One’s Susan Tick at (213) 860-1244

Appropriately, a former high school teacher and coach, newly-
elected House Speaker Dennis Hastert’s first televised interview,
recorded this morning, was with “Channel One News,” the
educational television program relayed by satellite to 8.6
million students and teachers in schools across the nation.

Copies of the interview can be obtained by calling Susan Tick at
Channel One, at (213) 860-1244.  The program will air on Thursday
morning, January 7, 1999, in 12,000 schools nationwide.

The interview is embargoed until tonight at 7:00 PM eastern.

                              ###
-------------------------------------------------
Commercial Alert is a Ralph Nader watchdog group working to
oppose the excesses of advertising, marketing and commercialism.

For more information about the adverse effects of Channel One on
children, schools and taxpayers, see:
     1.   Coalition letter calling for congressional hearings on
     Channel One:
     <http://www.essential.org/alert/letter_McCain.html>
     2.   The Hidden Costs of Channel One:
     <http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/CACE/hidden_costs2.html>
     3.   Center for Commercial-Free Public Education web site:
     <http://www.commercialfree.org/>
     4.   Obligation, Inc. web site: <http://www.obligation.org/>

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subscribe commercial-alert your name
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Gary Ruskin | Commercial Alert
1611 Connecticut Ave. NW Suite #3A | Washington, DC 20009
Phone: (202) 296-2787 | Fax (202) 833-2406
http://www.essential.org/alert/ | mailto:gary@essential.org
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