by Allie Martin and Jody Brown
(AgapePress) – The campaign to get advertisers to stop sponsoring a satellite program beamed into thousands of schools nationwide is growing with an unusual coalition of special-interest groups.
Channel One Network is a daily, satellite-based broadcast of about twelve minutes of news, music, and advertising that reaches a captive audience of about 8 million children in 12,000 schools nationwide. More than 70 traditional and progressive organizations including the American Family Association, Focus on the Family, and consumer advocate Ralph Nader are calling on companies to stop sponsoring Channel One. They have sent letters to all companies advertising on Channel One and to the top 50 U.S. firms, asking them not to place ads on the satellite channel.
Jim Metrock, who has been vocal in his opposition to Channel One for about six years, is founder of Alabama-based Obligation, Inc. His group has been leading the effort to educate people about the questionable programming on Channel One, saying it is exploiting children for commercial gain.
“They have advertised movies like Monkey Bone. I can't even describe what that movie is about it's a PG-13 movie that has a lot of sexual content,” Metrock says. “They just recently advertised The Animal, which is a movie about a person who … has animal instincts, and you can imagine the content of that movie.”
Metrock says the campaign to inform people about Channel One is seeing success. “In the last few years, several major advertisers have removed their ads from Channel One Mars, Incorporated, and Reebok appear to have dropped Channel One. They have not been on for the past year.”
According to Metrock, there has also been a U.S. Senate hearing on Channel One. “We're just raising awareness,” he says. “Once parents find out about Channel One, they will take care of it they'll remove it from their schools.”
Signatories to the letters include Phyllis Schlafly, president of Eagle Forum; the United Methodist Church; Peggy O'Mara, publisher of Mothering magazine; singer/songwriter Raffi; actor Matt Damon; and others.
(This update courtesy of Agape Press.)