Sesame Street and the Reform of Children's Television

Written by	Robert W. Morrow
Published	2005
Publisher	Johns Hopkins University Press
ISBN	0801882303

Sesame Street and the Reform of Children's Television offers a study of how the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) and Sesame Street, created in the late 1960s during a period of criticality toward then-available children's programming, offered a new approach to the genre.

Based on archival research and sample programs from the first 10 seasons of Sesame Street, Robert Morrow discusses the creation, ideas, technique, organization, and funding of the show. He goes on to discuss its role in the public discourse on children's television, its impact on the industry, and specifically its failure to reform commercial children's television.

Reviews

• "A riveting account of the genesis and early years of Sesame Street. Morrow's book reveals the uphill battle that educational television faced in the 1970s, the regulatory battles waged over children's TV, and the resentment that commercial broadcasters felt toward the Children's Television Workshop's success." -- Heather Hendershot, Queens College, CUNY Graduate Center

• "An insightful look at American children's television." -- Library Journal

• "An insightful look at American children's television. Recommended for upper-level sociology, education, and mass media collections." -- Morgan State University

Errata

• The inside back cover credits the performers in the cover photo as Jim Henson, Jerry Nelson, Caroly Wilcox and Frank Oz. The performer credited as Nelson is in fact Caroll Spinney. The mistake is repeated in the interior photo section as well.

External links

• JHU Press Page