Frog'ed

Scott Evans

February 22, 2012

Now that you've seen our piece on the rite of passage that is dissecting frogs, you know that for most students, it’s a cool interactive way to learn about the different systems of an organism -- muscular, circulatory, skeletal, digestive -- you get the idea. But it’s also the time, at least in my class, that pranksters live for. Unfortunately for me, it was my turn to get prank’d.

Before "Frog Day," we'd planned what we were going to do, when we were going to do it and exactly how to dissect the frog. We discussed in great detail what to expect and how to be careful with our utensils. We had one frog per group of two. The first thing we were to do was to pin their limbs down with clamps to hold them in place. Aside from the smell, there was nothing particularly memorable about this process. But I'll remember what happened next forever.

I was a little anxious to get to started and before the prompt and warning of our biology teacher, I went in. I was met with a spray of froggy juice in the face. GEERRROSSSSS!! I can’t even describe to you the sound I made because I blocked it out of my memory because of the trauma. And unfortunately that was not the end of it for me.

The rest of the day I walked around school smelling like old frog. The end of the day arrives I got on the bus, still smelling like old frog. After my eventful I day I figured the best thing to do was take a nap. Which I did, until my mom came home screaming!

One of my friends put the frog in my backpack. When my mom, curious as to what the awful smell coming from my backpack was, found out. I thought it was me smelling because of the frog, er, liquid on my clothes, when really, the frog was in my back pack. Needless to say I never used the bag again and couldn’t participate the next day, because everyone thought I took the frog home. Of course, none of this would have happened if I had I just waited to start like we were supposed to.

Lesson learned.

COMMENTS Tags: Inside Channel One News

RAK Week

Karen Knapstein

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February 14, 2012

Yesterday, we told you about Generosity Day, a new campaign that wants to expand the meaning of Valentine's Day.

Today, we found out about Random Acts of Kindness Week! Not that anytime isn't a good opportunity to pay it forward, but the idea of setting aside a week a year to really go all out is just great.

In that spirit, here's a list of seven things you can do to participate:

1. Pay for the drink of the person behind you in the lunch line.

2. Write a note to your fave teacher, thanking them for all the hard work (or for their sense of humor, or whatever it is you like about them.)

3. Make a point of an extra special thank you for your mom or dad or grandma or whoever is slaving over the stove in the kitchen for your dinner.

4. Gather up gently used clothes, books or toys and donate them to a shelter. (This also works in your favor, since you'll be cleaning and de-cluttering your room.)

5. Volunteer to help out a friend with their chores.

6. Can you drive? Offer someone who normally take the bus a ride to school. Remember to buckle up!

7. You're on Facebook already, so take a few minutes to write a post on a friend's wall about why you like them.

How easy are those? Let us know if you did any of them and how it went, and share your own ideas in the comments. Here's to kindness!

COMMENTS Tags: Headlines, Giving Back

Happy Valentine's Day!

Karen Knapstein

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February 13, 2012

Did you know that 40% of all Valentine's Day cards are purchased by parents? And while we're pretty sure one reason for that big number is all the boxes of Care Bear cards kids share with each other in elementary schools around the country, there are actually some pretty surprising stats surrounding it. Here's a rundown.

496 A.D.: The year the first Valentine's Day was celebrated. Sort of. February 14th was the day set aside to honor early Christian martyrs named Valentine -- there were actually three of them. The holiday became associated with romance in the fourteenth century after Geoffrey Chaucer wrote a poem about it.

110: That's how many calories are in the average box of little candy hearts. The New England Confectionery Company makes about 8 billion of them, complete with their short and sweet messages, each year.

15: The percentage of women who reportedly send themselves flowers each year on the holiday. While we're not sure about the source of that particular fun fact, we do think fresh flowers are always a good idea.

$13 Billion: You guessed it. That's about how much money people will spend this year to celebrate Valentine's day.

$0: That's how much it costs to be a part of something called Generosity Day, a campaign trying to shift the focus of Valentine's Day from flowers and chocolates and pricey dinners to thoughtfulness and "pay it forward"-style good deeds.

What do you think? Will you be celebrating tomorrow? What will you do?

COMMENTS Tags: Headlines

Jeans for Teens

Karen Knapstein

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February 06, 2012

If you've ever been to the mall, you've probably been to Aèropostale. And if you've ever been to Aèropostale, you probably know about their Teens for Jeans programs -- when you bring in a pair of gently used jeans to donate, the store will give you a $25 credit towards a new pair for yourself.

But did you also know that in the four years since the program was started, they've collected and donated more than 1.5 million pairs of jeans?

And that there's also a contest going on that could mean cash for your school and new jeans for every student that goes there? It's true!

So be like Ian Harding and Brendan Robinson and swap a pair of your jeans. Find out how here, or just make sure to stop by Aèropostale -- you've got until February 12th.

COMMENTS Tags: Giving Back

How to Rock

January 23, 2012

Most of us have either rocked braces or glasses, if not both, but have you ever wondered what it would be like to rock a stage?

Kacey Simon (Cymphonique Miller) knows what's its like to do both. On the new show, How to Rock, Kacey goes from being BFFs with all the right people and hosting her own segment on the school's news network, Channel M News (hmm...) to social outcast, all in a week's work. The culprit? You guessed it: glasses, braces and a wicked lisp that not only sounds silly, but virtually ends her broadcast career and knocks her to the bottom of the social stratosphere. Kacey's challenge is to find a way to deal with her new look and status and still be her same rockin' self.

We loved the premise of the show (and the book!), but the braces and glasses thing got us thinking. Can you be on TV with braces and glasses? Then we remembered we work at a TV news show and we could get the answer straight from the source.

Here's what Jessica Kumari had to say about rocking braces and glasses:

Have you ever had braces or glasses?

"Yes. I got them in the same year and I was terrified that I was going to be a big dork, the stereotype, you know? But what happened is that because I got them so young, before anyone else, they were cool. Also, I had the kind that you could change the rubber bands on so I could customize for holidays – black and orange for Halloween, red and green for Christmas, and that was fun too."

What kind of affect did they have on your self-esteem?

"Like I said, at first I was scared that people would judge me, especially with the glasses. Also, my mom was sort of anti-glasses so I was a little worried about that. But I needed them! I literally couldn’t see the board. I used to pretend that I had to sharpen my pencils so that I could I go up and see it. But it was worth because as soon as I got the glasses, not only could I see the board, but I also became a rock star at Nintendo because I could finally see what was going on in the game.

I’m basically blind without my contacts now."

How did you feel when your braces finally came off?

"It’s funny – I was like one of those transformations that you see in movies. I got contacts and my braces off at the same time. And then I got a perm. It was crazy. I was suddenly really popular with the boys, and then the girls liked me too because of the boys."

Do you have any advice for dealing?

"I realized when I suddenly super popular and feeling great about myself that feeling confident is half the battle. Once you have that feeling, even if you have to fake it at first, you eventually really become confident. And then it doesn't matter what you look like."

So that's that. Seems like we've all been there at one time or the other -- and we're looking forward to finding out what happens to Kasey on the show. Remember, the brand new series premieres TONIGHT @ 8:30pm/7:30c on Nickelodeon.

COMMENTS Tags: Inside Channel One News

Bring on the Wings!

Shelby Holliday

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February 03, 2012

Super Bowl Sunday is supposed to be all about football, but let's be real...the big game would be nothing without food. In fact, Americans are expected to scarf down 30 million pounds of snacks and enough fat to equal the weight of 13,000 NFL offensive linemen... yikes.

If you need proof, just look at the projected numbers for Sunday. Americans are expected to consume:

142 million avocados, or the equivalent of 71.4 million pounds. That's enough to cover Lucas Oil Stadium end zone to end zone in more than 27.5 feet of avocados.

Also on the menu? 11.2 million pounds of potato chips, 8.2 million pounds of tortilla chips, 4.3 million pounds of pretzels, 3.8 million pounds of popcorn and 2.5 million pounds of nuts, 1.25 billion chicken wings and and 3 million + pizzas.

In fact, pizza is so popular that Pizza Hut expects to sell 2 million pies - that's enough pizza to lap the historic speedway in Indianapolis 176 times.

And here's one more fun number for you...

20%. That's the increase in sales of Pepto-Bismol, Tums and other antacids the day after the Super Bowl, according to 7/11.

Bring on the Super Stomachache!

COMMENTS Tags: Headlines, Sports

Behind the Scenes: Daniel Radcliffe

Kristen Brody

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February 01, 2012

image: Behind the Scenes: Daniel Radcliffe

On a cold, grey November day our producers Sarah and Jason and Shelby Holliday and I headed out to meet Daniel Radcliffe. It was one of my first producing shoots with Channel One and I was beyond thrilled to kick things off with the “Chosen One.” The shoot was scheduled at a fancy building in Manhattan where Daniel was attending a workshop put on by The Trevor Project.

It was a great day and a wonderful experience. I feel so thankful that I got to meet Daniel, and learn about The Trevor Project from him. Here are some pictures from the day. Guess which one’s my favorite?

COMMENTS Tags: Headlines, Sports

Hanging with Gravity 5

February 01, 2012

Want an inside look at "How to Rock?" Watch the video for a tour of the set from leading lady Cymphonique Miller.

If you want to know more about Gravity 5, you'll have to watch the show...

(It premieres Saturday on Nickelodeon!)

COMMENTS Tags: Headlines, Sports

Jessica Kumari

Clearwater Beach, Florida native Jessica Kumari cultivated a passion for news at her campus TV station at Georgetown University. She then moved to New York City and joined the prestigious NBC Page Program before serving as a production assistant for Brian Williams.

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Shelby Holliday

Shelby Holliday is passionate about all things Millennial. From politics to prom, her favorite assignments involve talking to students and discussing issues that affect young people.

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Scott Evans

Scott Evans has been working in entertainment and media since the third grade. After studying communications and theatre at Purdue University, he worked as a NBA On-Court Host for the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever. He most recently worked as the West Coast Correspondent at the millennial news organization, One Minute News.

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Jason Witmer

Producer Jason Witmer has worked in just about every type of journalistic medium including writing for magazines and producing pieces for NPR. He fell in love with video as a medium at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism before spending three years at the Houston Chronicle. He is happy to be at Channel One now, a show he grew up watching.

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Sharon Song

Sharon Song is the headlines reporter at Channel One News.

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KK Libby

KK Libby is a producer at Channel One News.

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Kristen Brody

Kristen Brody is a graduate of the University of Missouri's journalism school and a Production Associate at Channel One.

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Gary Hamilton

Gary knows something about that famous Texas pride, he was born and raised in Houston (where he grew up watching Channel One in Middle and High School) and then he graduated from Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas and studied abroad at Oxford University in the U.K.

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Jessica Rojas

Jessica Rojas is a born and bred New Yorker whose love of all types of music, dance and entertainment took her to Los Angeles where she studied at the University of Southern California. Her love of music is what brought Jessica back to New York to share that passion with you at Channel One.

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Sarah Mirza

Producer Sarah Mirza is a graduate of Wellesley College and the Master's journalism program at Boston University. She loves to write and lives for those adrenaline-fueled breaking news situations.

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Kristin Sachau

Producer Kristin grew up in San Diego, California and graduated from San Diego State University. When she got involved with documentary filmmaking, she realized she had a passion for storytelling and she's been doing it every since.

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Kitama Cahill-Jackson

Digital Journalist Kitama Cahill-Jackson got into filmmaking when he was in high school, then studied documentary filmmaking at Hampshire College. He then worked on documentaries for the next few years and then got his master’s degree from Columbia Journalism School. One of his favorite things about being a journalist is that he gives shy people a platform to tell their story to the world.

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Evan Groll

Associate Producer Evan Groll started at Channel One as an intern. He enjoys covering international news, human interest pieces and stories centered around social injustices (or even better, a combination of the three).

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