"The Lure of School Marketing".

• Author: Michel, R. Gregory
• Position: Brief Article

Hardy, Lawrence

American School Board Journal, October 1999, PP. 23-27.

This article discusses the contracts between public schools and private vendors that result in commercial advertising in public schools. The article concludes that these deals always come with strings attached, and it lists the Web sites of groups that oppose commercialism in schools, as well as for-profit organizations that offer these programs. The author highlights several cases in which public schools received grants, free equipment, and free educational materials from private companies in exchange for the right to advertise or sell their products in the school. One example is Whittle Communications, the provider of "Channel One." Whittle offers schools free televisions and video equipment in exchange for their commitment to show a 12-minute daily news show to their students. The program includes 10 minutes of a youth-oriented news program and two minutes of commercials.

The right to place vending machines on school property is another area where...