Washington, D.C. — Channel One and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, today announced a new national campaign to help U.S. teens understand and appreciate the personal freedoms guaranteed them by America’s First Amendment.
Channel One, the preeminent news and public affairs content provider for teens reaching more than seven million students in middle schools and high schools across the country, will use in the campaign a mix of Channel One broadcast programming, ChannelOne.com programming, public service announcements, student events, and instructional materials and resources for educators. The three-year program, funded with a Knight Foundation grant of $2.25 million, will begin in January 2007.
“We are thrilled with the opportunity to broaden our relationship with Knight Foundation, particularly given the significant need to educate our next generation on the values of the First Amendment,” said Judy L. Harris, president and CEO of Channel One. “The foundation has a rich legacy supporting student-created news and civic education. When paired with Channel One’s standing as a trusted, unbiased journalism vehicle that brings news into the classroom, we can create a powerful forum for students to learn, discuss and debate the First Amendment.”
The partnership between Channel One and Knight Foundation launched last year with a project to promote the nation’s first-ever celebration of Constitution Day. The shared initiative encouraged educators to teach the First Amendment and teens to become proponents of the rights and freedoms guaranteed within.
“Our surveys of high school teens show there’s great interest in the First Amendment but also great skepticism,” said Knight Foundation President Alberto Ibargüen. “Our collaboration with Channel One will help us take the message of the rights – and responsibilities – of freedom of expression and the press directly to the future leaders of this country.”
Harris continued, “Channel One has reinvented itself in the last 18 months, becoming a 24/7 news and public affairs provider with a new home base in Washington, D.C. We stand today as the only multimedia, for-teens news network. Knight Foundation shares our passion for informing teens on issues that will impact their future. Together we can move the needle on awareness and ensure the First Amendment is not taken for granted by so many of America’s teens.”
Channel One joins a host of Knight Foundation grantees and partners in support of more First Amendment education in America’s schools, including the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, the Student Press Law Center, the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation, the Bill of Rights Institute, J-Ideas at Ball State University and the Freedom Forum’s First Amendment Schools project.
For content, resources, and information on the First Amendment, visit ChannelOne.com and teachfirstamendment.org.
About Channel One
Peabody and Webby award-winning Channel One is the preeminent news and public affairs content provider reaching more than 7 million teens in middle schools and high schools across the country, nearly 30 percent of teenagers in the U.S. In recent months, Channel One News has covered fast-breaking world events from regions such as Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Jordan, Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea, Myanmar, and Qatar. Channel One News programming has been featured on leading networks and news programs, including CNN, ABC News, the WB, Nightline and The Today Show. Visit ChannelOne.com to learn more.
About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Knight Foundation promotes excellence in journalism worldwide and invests in the vitality of U.S. communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. Since 1950, the foundation has approved nearly $300 million in journalism grants. For more information, visit www.knightfdn.org.