Channel One
* The article “Measure to Ban School TV News Program Fails” (Aug. 24) left this reader with the impression that the California Teachers Assn., various school boards, PTAs and advocates of quality education in the state Legislature were sponsoring the Channel One ban without reason--needlessly sacrificing thousands of dollars of advertiser-sponsored education technology: satellite dish, video recorders, televisions, etc.
Assemblyman Robert Frazee’s (R-Carlsbad) characterization of the aforementioned public education advocates as “book burners” entirely misses the point. Rather as a University of Michigan study has found, Chris Whittle promised Channel One would deliver 10 minutes of news and two minutes of advertisements. What was delivered was 3.5 minutes of news, two of ads, and 6.5 minutes of music, movies, fashion and the like.
Do taxpayers really want and can teachers really afford to give up 36 hours of classroom time--12 minutes per day, 180 days per year? The average student already watches five hours of television per day! Shame on the legislators who voted against the Channel One ban, in favor of more junk television!
ROBERT M. BATH
Mission Viejo
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