Gary E. Knell

June 2008

Sesame Workshop was founded in 1968 as the Children’s Television Workshop by a group of educators, researchers and psychologists who shared a common goal: to use television as a tool to help children learn, and prepare them—especially those from low-income families—for school. Forty years later, Sesame Workshop is committed to the same goal, but today it is tapping in to the power of all the media available to children to produce entertaining and enriching content that will make a difference in their lives. Gary E. Knell, the company’s president and CEO, talks about Sesame Workshop’s new initiatives and its commitment to children around the world.

TV KIDS: What special challenges and rewards have the recent co-productions in Northern Ireland, Bangladesh and Indonesia presented?

KNELL: In each of these, our mission is to provide children with basic skills and hope for a better future in a local way that is culturally and developmentally appropriate. To do this, we harness the power of television to reach as many children in the world as possible. We appreciate that television was not invented to be an educational tool, but we know that many children who do not have access to formal schooling have access to television. So the question confronting all nations is not whether children learn from television, but what they learn.

Sesame Tree is the name of Northern Ireland’s own version of Sesame Street. It was developed to support the new Northern Ireland curriculum, specifically the foundation and preschool stages. The series’ content encourages children’s self-esteem, openness and curiosity about others. A range of voices is featured, including children from Northern Ireland’s Polish, Chinese and African communities that add to the richness of Northern Ireland today.

From encouraging healthy habits to dealing with the aftermath of a flood, Jalan Sesama tackles issues impacting the children of Indonesia. The first season also features live-action films of the orangutan conservation in Kalimantan and the one-horned rhinoceros conservation in Ujung Kulon. Both endangered animals are represented by Muppets of Jalan Sesama: Tantan and Jabrik.

In Bangladesh, Sisimpur embraces the joy of learning about literacy and numeracy, as well as topics such as health, hygiene and gender equity. The unique Bengali series features original Muppet characters such as a Bengal tiger and a curious jackal, innovative and locally produced animation and live-action films, as well as indigenous puppets created by world-renowned puppeteer Mostafa Monwar. Research we performed on this program reveals a growing popularity and educational impact beyond the scope of our dreams—in fact, those children exposed to the show were testing one year ahead of their counterparts not exposed to it.

All of our Sesame Street co-productions have something in common: we strive to make a meaningful difference in the lives of children by addressing their critical developmental needs. We produce innovative and engaging educational content delivered in a variety of ways, including television, radio, books, magazines, interactive media and community outreach. Proudly, we’ve effectively and efficiently reached millions of children, parents, caregivers and educators—locally, nationally and globally.

TV KIDS: What upcoming co-productions can you talk about?

KNELL: Through a new initiative that spans television, radio and community outreach, 5 million children in 2,200 Tanzanian communities have just been introduced to the Muppets of Sesame Street. Airing on Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation and Television Zanzibar, Kilimani Sesame addresses the educational and health needs of children ages 3 to 6. Malaria was identified as an especially significant educational topic for the project. Kilimani Sesame will present families with basic information about the disease and ways in which it can be prevented, recognized and treated.

TV KIDS: What has been the reaction to The Joan Ganz Cooney Center, the research center that examines the role of new technologies in learning and literacy development?

KNELL: Extremely positive. New-media platforms such as the web, cell phones and video games are transforming the way children learn and think. Focusing on the needs of elementary-age children, the center conducts and supports research, creates new-media properties, and stimulates a national dialogue on how interactive technologies can be utilized to help accelerate children’s learning. We just held our first annual symposium and it was a huge success!

TV KIDS: How can new media be used to help children learn?

KNELL: Kids today are spending almost as much time with media as attending school, so there is an opportunity to create more engaging and educational products than ever. Unfortunately, most of the new digital products currently in the market do not promote the vital literacy, creativity and problem-solving skills children need to succeed. How can we change that? First, by building partnerships between research and industry to leverage knowledge. Tens of millions of dollars of public expenditure on digital-media research are not benefiting industry practices and product design. Significant gaps in informational exchange between the research community and media developers are inhibiting valuable research from being seen and incorporated into products, thereby limiting the potential benefit to kids. Findings should be disseminated regularly to nonacademics and digital-industry leaders through publications and events.

Second, by placing new emphasis on educational video-game development. An untapped market opportunity exists with few video-game titles exhibiting an explicit educational purpose.

Third, by encouraging intergenerational interaction. The majority of digital-media products on the market are designed for use by one child in front of one screen. With research documenting the benefits of adult-child interactions and relationships, the industry should break the mold of the traditional model of one child per screen and encourage interaction.

And finally, by protecting children from undocumented educational claims and commercialism. Changes in the advertising landscape support action to ensure that marketing claims about the educational value of digital products are validated by independent research. Industry and regulatory standards should be devised to monitor the media in an effort to protect children from improper commercialism in digital products.

TV KIDS: What can you tell us about the updated The Electric Company? What are your goals for that show?

KNELL: The Electric Company is a multimedia initiative designed to help struggling readers ages 6 to 8 develop their literacy skills. Curricular goals are aimed at decoding spoken words, expanding vocabulary, strategies for comprehending text and motivating children to want to read and express themselves through text. As with all Sesame Workshop productions, we aim to do this in a way that is engaging to our audience. In this case, the show will be produced in the form of a modern, engaging musical narrative of life from the streets of New York City. Each episode will feature a three-part story line (beginning, middle and end) and short pieces including “beat-box” segments, animated shorts and sketch fantasies. The initiative will focus on TV, outreach and broadband platforms, and will extend over time to books and other print materials, portable media, handheld and other console games.

TV KIDS: What are the greatest challenges facing children today and how can Sesame Workshop serve them?

KNELL: According to the National Center for Education Statistics, literacy still remains a critical educational need in the U.S. Sesame Street has always been committed to putting young children on a positive trajectory for learning. Our recent seasons emphasize the fundamentals of early literacy such as rhyming, vocabulary and letter sounds known to be predictors of later reading skills. Developing a rich vocabulary and a love of words at a young age helps children become better prepared for school and more successful readers.

Worldwide, we’ll be focusing more on “green” issues and how, through media content, we can help create an environmentally sustainable future for our children.

TV KIDS: How has Sesame Workshop’s consumer-products division kept pace with the many entertainment outlets available to children? What new product lines are you excited about?

KNELL: In such a competitive market, Sesame Workshop is proud to have such a long and trusted history with parents. Research has always been and will continue to be our anchor and our compass. Sesame Workshop pioneered a model for Sesame Street that has proven successful for decades. We attribute much of that success to our collaborative, research-intensive approach to the development of programs and activities. The Workshop’s offerings reflect both a deep understanding of children’s developmental needs and the best ways to address those needs. As a result, Sesame Workshop’s programs and products are richer, more thoroughly researched and tested to ensure they engage children in a way that maximizes learning.

One wonderful example of this is Healthy Habits for Life (HHFL), an initiative we launched four years ago this month. HHFL utilizes a coalition of partners and an advisory board of health, nutrition, fitness and education experts to develop and distribute multimedia, age-appropriate content targeted to preschoolers and their caregivers, empowering them with knowledge and positive attitudes about their bodies.

The latest HHFL activities include the launch of the 2008 Cherry Program with Stemilt Growers, the nation’s largest cherry grower. [We are also expanding] Sesame Street Organics 100 percent fruit juice boxes, which are fortified with calcium and contain a full day’s supply of vitamin C. In addition, Sesame Street Organics will be packaged in kid-friendly 125 ml. juice boxes—the recommended beverage size for kids 2 to 5. Another activity is the expansion of the Earth’s Best line of all-natural and organic food, which now includes soup, frozen entrees and organic yogurt rice-crisp bars specially formulated for children.

For the Licensing Show, we’re excited to focus on Abby Cadabby, Sesame Street’s resident fairy in training. Serving as a role model for young children and especially for girls, Abby appears in each episode of Sesame Street this upcoming season, helping teach the importance of early literacy and language skills. Look for fun new Abby plush, apparel and stationery.

TV KIDS: What are your goals for the company for the next 12 to 24 months?

KNELL: As a nonprofit educational organization, Sesame Workshop dedicates and prides itself on reaching children around the world with content that will prepare them for school and life and help them reach their greatest potential. Over the next 12 to 24 months, we will continue to expand our reach and explore other countries, like Afghanistan, where products like ours can really make a difference in the lives of children.

More than ever, children today have access to multiple media platforms, like the Internet and mobile phones. Sesame Workshop has invested in expanding our broadband and portable-media content and reach. Viewers can log onto www.sesameworkshop.org and view hundreds of their favorite Sesame Street clips anytime. Caregivers can download new segments, like What’s the Word on the Street?, on iTunes and view them anywhere. Our goal is to reach children around the world with relevant education content that will make a meaningful difference.