Places Channel One controversy in broader context of commercialization of youth culture during past 20 years. Changes in child-oriented TV market since mid-1970s include rise of independent stations and cable networks, introduction of program-length commercials, and proliferation of new products aimed at children. Targeting marketing to child…

Presents evidence supporting the position that television viewing can have harmful effects on children. (IRT)

Classic propaganda techniques (repetition, testimonials, transfers of one quality to another, and painstaking imagery) work best in "closed" environments--exactly the situation advertisers have in Channel-One classrooms. Private, vulnerable, and sacred, the human psyche is not a commodity to be sold. Yet, such commerce will continue…

Discusses what students can learn from watching the news and what teachers, principals, and students think of Channel One news programs and ancillary services, based on a 3-year project tracking Channel One's impact in 156 U.S. schools. Teachers and principals rated Channel One highly as a news program and information source for teens. Middle…

During the 1930s, a worldwide depression created a fear of communism and a "law-and-order" mentality. The 1990s, by contrast, are marked by a social void in which guilt is ascribed to no one. As recent TV commercials show, dispensing reasonable consequences in response to negative actions is viewed as socially backward. Too often,…