Propaganda?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_One_News#Controversy
Though I would not be surprised to learn that it has the same sort of biased reporting we see in other news media.
I remember it as not being very biased, just watered down, often with some kind of "teen" angle.
Channel 1 was basically a vehicle to deliver captive audiences of teenage schoolchildren directly to advertisers. They bribed schools with TVs and justified the programming with the minimum proportion of educational news content, so they could use school to force feed teenagers Clearasil ads. The news content was just the sugar coating on the pill to make it palatable to schools and teachers.
IIRC, Anderson Cooper (of CNN) got his start there in the 90s.
You mean education time, right? You're using up classroom time to watch commercials.
I don't understand how enjoyable they were is relevant. Of course a bunch of eight year olds getting sold sugary drinks to enjoyed them more than learning, that doesn't remotely address why it is wrong.
Targeted advertising back then (can't speak for that same age group today) was largely boring. They may have moved units by showing us how fun their toys were or how deliciously awesome their products tasted, but they were still just filler between programming in our eyes. The commercials for Channel One were largely entertaining.
Yes, they pushed a product in hopes of us getting our parents to line their pockets during education time. I don't think that anyone can deny that that's pretty scummy. Point is that at least their scummy practices were entertaining. Silver lining and all that junk.
Never saw it, but I can imagine it feeling like propaganda.