Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop (or CTW), is a non-profit organization behind the production of several educational children's programs that have run on public broadcasting around the world (including PBS in the United States). Image File history File links CTW.JPG‎ Childrens Television Workshop. ... Not to be confused with Public Broadcasting Services in Malta. ...

History

Originally founded by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morriset to produce Sesame Street, the company, currently run by President and CEO Gary E. Knell, has since produced many other shows and a variety of multimedia content. The CTW name was changed to Sesame Workshop in 2000 to reflect the company's reach into new media and capitalize on the worldwide recognition provided by the Sesame Street name. Around the same time this happened, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting logo also changed. Joan Ganz Cooney (born 30 November 1929 in Phoenix, Arizona) is an American businesswoman and television producer. ... Sesame Street is an American educational childrens television series for preschoolers and is a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard, combining both education and entertainment. ... The Corporation for Public Broadcasting logo, used from 1969 to 2002. ...

Gathering talent

Moving to Carnegie Corporation of New York, the grant-issuing foundation, to act and advise independent of what is now Thirteen WNET, Cooney began laying the groundwork for the Children's Television Workshop. Carnegie hired Linda Gotley to help Cooney write the proposal. Barbara Finberg and Lloyd Morrisett, program officers at Carnegie would regularly react as funders, every few days trying to find holes in the proposal. During these days, segments like "One of these things is not like the other" were established. The Carnegie Corporation was founded by the will of Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding. ...

Despite the insistence of the US Office of Education that there was no money to fund the project, Howe persisted, and insisted the project be classified as a research project. Ford joined funding, as did the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which was being established just as Sesame Street was. Between those organizations and Carnegie, USD$8 million was raised to create a semi-autonomous organization. This organization was established to become completely separate, should they succeed.

At a press conference in March 1968, the Children's Television Workshop and Sesame Street were announced. Jack Gould, television critic for The New York Times gave the project front page space. "If you had Jack Gould in your corner, you could not believe what it meant," said Cooney decades later. ^[1] The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City by Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. ...

With Cooney, an assistant, and a secretary, CTW began production on the show. Cooney tried to talk George DeSarde of WCBS-TV to come to CTW as producer of the series. Within a few days of being graciously declined by DeSarde, Cooney received a letter from Mike Dann of CBS, who eagerly wanted to join as an executive producer.^[1] Dann and Fred Silverman decided Cooney should try to get David Connell as a producer. WCBS-TV, channel 2, is the flagship station of the CBS television network, located in New York City. ... Silverman, Time, 1977 Fred Silverman (born September 13, 1937 in New York City) is an American television executive and producer. ...

Connell had recently left Captain Kangaroo, and started his own company in an attempt to get out of the kids TV industry. After four meetings, Cooney talked Connell into signing on, after being assured creative freedom and no micromanagement on Cooney's part. Connell insisted on a few "non-negotiables". First, he wanted to include four hosts, both black and white, male and female, none of which would ever "own the show", as Bob Keeshan "owned" Captain Kangaroo, or Fred Rogers "owned" Mister Rogers Neighborhood. He also wanted "commercials" to promote letters of the alphabet. Perhaps most importantly, Connell wanted a guarantee that education and entertainment would never be separate elements of the program. Captain Kangaroo was a childrens television series which aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS from 1955 until 1984, then moved to the American Program Service (now American Public Television, Boston) to air syndicated reruns of past episodes in 1992. ... Robert James Keeshan (June 27, 1927 – January 23, 2004) was an actor who was the original Clarabell the Clown on the Howdy Doody television program, but who is most famous as the star and title character of the childrens show Captain Kangaroo. ... Reverend Frederick McFeely Fred Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003) was an American educator, minister, songwriter and television host. ... Mister Rogers Neighborhood was a childrens television show hosted by Fred Rogers which was produced by Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania public broadcaster WQED-TV and Fred Rogers not-for-profit production company Family Communications, Inc. ...

While attracting Connell, Cooney received a call from Lou Hausman, who worked for the Commissioner of Education; he suggested Jon Stone, also from Captain Kangaroo, a producer who had retired to Vermont, though no more than 35 at the time. Stone came to New York to speak with Cooney, but declined the opportunity to be an executive in the production. Stone wanted to be a producer, reporting to Cooney; Cooney suggested such an organization structure would only create "madness". Stone and Connell had a history of disputes, which were smoothed out, after the two re-met. Sam Gibbon, CTW's third alumni, had also initially declined joining any children's programming. According to Cooney, the day after Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot, Gibbon called her to say "if you still want me, I'm yours." He was primarily involved with integrating curriculum into the series. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Official language(s) None Capital Montpelier Largest city Burlington Area  Ranked 45th  - Total 9,620 sq mi (24,923 km²)  - Width 80 miles (130 km)  - Length 160 miles (260 km)  - % water 3. ... Martin Luther King redirects here. ...

Edith Sornow, who was not yet the film producer for Sesame Street, called Cooney, asking her to come to the Johnny Victor Theatre to see a reel of commercials by Jim Henson. Cooney had heard of Henson before then, but never actually seen his work; the commercial had not aired in New York, and she had never tuned into The Ed Sullivan Show when his Muppets appeared. After "almost falling on the floor laughing," she was open to getting him to sign on, but was doubtful he'd agree. Jon Stone, who'd worked with Henson on ABC television special Hey Cinderella!, discussed the idea with a reluctant Jim. Jim Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was the most widely known American puppeteer in modern American television history. ... NY redirects here. ... The Ed Sullivan Show is an American television variety show that ran from June 20, 1948 to June 6, 1971, and was hosted by former entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. ...

Gerald Lesser of Harvard became the head of CTW's board of academic advisors, and later brought in the Educational Testing Service. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Establishing curriculum

The Department of Education and other funders had decided they wanted to study children's comprehension of topics before and after watching Sesame Street, this was the format it took. Lesser also set up four two-and-a-half-day seminars over the summer with producers, to establish what was important to teach children. One session was on perception, another on reasoning skills, pre-reading and pre-math, and finally "affective skills", the period's term for emotional skills.

Cooney remembered seeing Jim Henson come into one of the seminars at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, and becoming worried by his appearance that he was one of the Weathermen, as a building in Greenwich Village had just recently been blown up. Cooney whispered her fears to Connell, who told her the leather-coated man was just Jim. Once the two met, Cooney says they automatically clicked, subsiding Jim's fears of being "ghettoized" into children television, where he much preferred general family audiences. Joe Raposo, who worked with Henson and Stone before, was added soon after. The hotels name with a single hyphen is engraved and gilded over the entrance. ... John Jacobs and Terry Robbins at the Days of Rage, Chicago, October 1969 (Photo credit: David Fenton; publicity photo for film Weather Underground) Weatherman, known colloquially as the Weathermen and later the Weather Underground Organization, was a U.S. Radical Left organization consisting of splintered-off members and leaders of... The Washington Square Arch Greenwich Village (IPA pronunciation: ), also called simply the Village, is a largely residential area on the west side of downtown (southern) Manhattan in New York City named after Greenwich, London. ... Joseph Raposo Jr. ...

Frank Pace of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting warned strongly against the broad curriculum Sesame Street aimed to teach, when the organization he chaired signed on to sponsor. "Pick only a few goals, and accomplish them. Don't try and do to much, show... only three or four or five goals." Cooney remembers Pace tell herself and Connell. Frank Pace, Jr. ... The Corporation for Public Broadcasting logo, used from 1969 to 2002. ...

International growth

In 1970, Mike Dann finally came to the Children's Television Workshop from CBS, in the capacity of international sales.

Later

In the 1980s, CTW created a series of video games under the name of Children's Computer Workshop, including Cookie Monster Munch and Alpha Beam with Ernie. Today the company also publishes Sesame Street Magazine in cooperation with Time Inc.'s Parenting magazine. At one time it also published The Electric Company, Kid City, 3-2-1 Contact (later Contact Kids), and Sesame Street Parents magazines. Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Childrens Television Workshop (or CTW), is a non-profit organization behind the production of several educational childrens programs that have run on public broadcasting around the world (including PBS in the United States), as well as Noggin. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Screenshot from Alpha Beam with Ernie Alpha Beam with Ernie was a video game for the Atari 2600 developed by Atari and Childrens Computer Workshop and released in 1983. ... Time Inc. ... The Electric Company was an educational American childrens television series produced by the Childrens Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop) for PBS in the United States. ... 3-2-1 Contact was an American science educational television show which aired on PBS from 1980 to 1992. ...

In August 1997, Fox Family started efforts to increase its quantity and quality of children's entertainment, "which could lead to an equity investment by Fox in the non-profit CTW in exchange for programs for its Family Channel." Nothing ever materialised.^[2] Fox Family was a cable channel in the United States (launched August 15, 1998) that aired shows from Fox Kids programming block such as Storytime with Thomas and The Three Friends and Jerry. ...

Notable people at Sesame Workshop

• Gary E. Knell, President, CEO
• Joan Ganz Cooney, Co Founder
• Lloyd Morriset, Co Founder
• Franklin Getchell, Executive Vice President
• Nina Elias-Bamberger, Chief Executive Officer
• Majorie Kalins, Series Administrative Officer
• H. Melvin Ming, Chief Operating Officer
• Susan Kolar, Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer
• Dr. Lewis Bernstein, Executive Vice President, Education, Research and Outreach
• Carol-Lynn Parente, Executive Producer of Sesame Street
• Terry Fitzpatrick, Executive Vice President, Distribution
• Daniel J. Victor, Executive Vice President, International
• Maura Regan, Vice President and General Manager, Global Consumer Products
• Sherrie Westin, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Office
• Myung Kang-Haneke, Vice President, General Counsel

Joan Ganz Cooney (born 30 November 1929 in Phoenix, Arizona) is an American businesswoman and television producer. ... Nina Elias-Bamberger, originally known as Nina Elias (born 1954 – died 2002), was the creator of Dragon Tales and other childrens shows on PBS Kids Channel. ... Sherie Weston is currently the Executive Vice President of Sesame Workshop. ...

Productions

Television series

• Sesame Street (1969-present)
• The Electric Company (1971-1977; Will be revived for Fall 2008)
• Feeling Good (1974-1975)
• Christmas Eve on Sesame Street (1978)
• 3-2-1 Contact (including Bloodhound Gang, 1980-1988)
• Square One (including Mathnet, 1987-1992)
• Zak Tales (1990-1991)
• Ghostwriter (1992-1995)
• Cro (1993-1994) (in conjunction with the National Science Foundation and Film Roman)
• William's Wish Wellingtons (1994-1997) (in conjunction with BBC1 and Hibbert Ralph) (owned by HIT Entertainment)
• Big Bag (1996-1998)
• The New Ghostwriter Mysteries (1997)
• Koki (1997)
• Dragon Tales (1999-present) (in conjunction with Sony Pictures Television)
• Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat (2001-2002)
• Big Bag (1996)
• Sponk! (2001-2002)
• Tiny Planets (2001-present)
• Pecola (2001)
• Play with Me Sesame (2002-present)
• The Upside Down Show (2006-present)
• Pinky Dinky Doo (2006-present)
• The Adventures of Bert and Ernie (starts 2007)
• Open Sesame

Sesame Street is an American educational childrens television series for preschoolers and is a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard, combining both education and entertainment. ... The Electric Company was an educational American childrens television series produced by the Childrens Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop) for PBS in the United States. ... Christmas Eve on Sesame Street scene with Oscar (in garbage can) and Big Bird at the 86th Street station Christmas Eve on Sesame Street is a Sesame Street Christmas special first broadcast on PBS on December 3, 1978. ... 3-2-1 Contact was an American science educational television show which aired on PBS from 1980 to 1992. ... The Bloodhound Gang opening title, as seen during an episode of 3-2-1 Contact. ... For other uses, see Square One (disambiguation). ... Mathnet was a segment on the childrens television show Square One. ... Zak Tales is a childrens television program created in 1990 by DiC Entertainment and Childrens Television Workshop. ... Ghostwriter was a television series co-produced by the Childrens Television Workshop and the BBC, originally aired on PBS in the United States from October 1992 to February 1995. ... CRO could stand for: Cathode Ray Oscilloscope - displays on a screen rapidly changing electrical signals with the help of Cathode Ray Tube Chief Risk Officer or Chief Research Officer of a company Companies Registration Office - Irish company registry office Contract Research Organization - organisations predominant in the pharmaceuticals and clinical research... NSF is an abbreviation. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Williams Wish Wellingtons was an animated BBC childrens television series made by Hibbert Ralph Entertainment (the creators of Spider) that aired from October 25, 1994 to November 28, 1996. ... BBC One is the primary television channel of the BBC, and the first in the United Kingdom. ... The new HIT Entertainment logo, introduced in June 2006. ... Big Bag was a preschool programme. ... Ghostwriter, television series co-produced by what was then the Childrens Television Workshop and the BBC that aired on PBS in the United States from October 1992 to February 1995 and as reruns for some time after. ... KOKI is the Fox affiliate in Tulsa, Oklahoma. ... Dragon Tales is an animated childrens television series chronicling the adventures of the human children Max and Emmy (brother and sister respectively) and their friend Enrique. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Sagwa the name of a cat in the childrens book Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat by author Amy Tan (who wrote her novel The Joy Luck Club). ... Sponk! was a television show on Noggin, and stayed on The N for sometime. ... Tiny Planets is a United Kingdom television show aimed at pre-schoolers produced by Peppers Ghost Productions, Ltd. ... A Japanese CGI series with cube shape anthromorphic animals in a place call Cube Town. ... Play With Me Sesame is a childrens television series spun-off Sesame Street. ... The Upside Down Show is a live action daytime childrens show which airs on Noggin. ... Pinky Dinky Doo is a childrens animated series that currently airs on Noggin. ... Open Sesame is a childrens television series comprised solely of the skits and segments of the legendary American television series Sesame Street. ...

Telefilms and miniseries

• Out to Lunch (1974 telefilm)
• The Best of Families (1977 mini-series)
• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1979 telefilm)
• The House of Dies Drear (1984 telefilm)
• Elmo Saves Christmas (1996)
• Elmopalooza (1998)

This list excludes Sesame Street co-productions outside the United States. Out to Lunch is a 1974 made-for-TV movie comedy. ... The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels for children written by C. S. Lewis. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... This article, image, template or category should belong in one or more categories. ... Elmopalooza is a Sesame Street special that aired on ABC on February 20, 1998. ...

Theatrical films

• Sesame Street presents Follow That Bird (1985) (in conjunction with Warner Bros. Pictures and Henson Associates)
• The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999) (in conjunction with Columbia Pictures and Jim Henson Pictures)

Follow that Birds DVD cover Sesame Street presents Follow That Bird is a film directed by Ken Kwapis, starring many Sesame Street characters (both puppets and live actors). ... Warner Bros. ... Henson Associates (commonly abbreviated ha!), is the former name of The Jim Henson Company, which held from 1976 to 1988. ... The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland was the second movie based on the characters of the childrens television series Sesame Street (after 1985s Follow That Bird). ... The Columbia Pictures logo from 1993 to the present Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. ... Jim Henson Pictures is a United States-based movie studio, specializing in family films. ...

Footnotes

1. ^ ^{a b} "Archive of American Television Interview with Joan Ganz Cooney", an interview by Shirley Wershba for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation.
2. ^ Ross, Chuck. "Fox eyes linkup with CTW to boost its kids offerings", Advertising Age, August 11, 1997. , accessed through EBSCOhost.

External links

• Sesame Workshop
• Muppet Wiki: Sesame Workshop