Joan Ganz Cooney Pioneered Children's Programming

Come and play
Everything's A-OK
Friendly neighbors there
That's where we meet

Can you tell me how to get
How to get to Sesame Street

Born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1929, Cooney found inspiration from a priest named Father James Keller. Keller was part of a Catholic group working to encourage Christians to work in communications.

"Father Keller said that if idealists don't go into the media, no idealists would," Cooney told Michele Morris of Working Woman.[1]

Cooney earned a BA in English from the University of Arizona in Tucson then went right to work as a writer for the Arizona Republic in Phoenix.

Seeking bigger opportunities, Cooney moved to New York City where she worked as a soap opera publicist for both NBC and CBS networks. She also promoted a variety show called the U.S. Steel Hour for several years. The variety show itself would provide a basis for her future endeavors.

During the late fifties and early sixties, the nation began experiencing a new educational television movement. Cooney knew she wanted to be a part of that movement. She also knew she needed some solid experience as a producer.

So Cooney bluffed her way into a job as documentary producer at Manhattan's public television station, Channel 13.

Cooney later told Ray Robinson of 50 Plus, "I've never been qualified for any job I've been hired for."[1]

Whether Cooney was qualified to be a television producer or not seemed beside the point. She won her first Emmy for "Poverty, Anti-Poverty and the Poor," a three-hour documentary.

By 1966, Cooney had established herself enough to be acquainted with Lloyd Merriest who was Vice President of Carnegie Corporation. The Carnegie Corporation was researching children's education. Carnegie gave Cooney a grant to conduct a study on educational programming aimed at disadvantaged children.

"I saw in a flash that that was where the power and influence of the medium was going to be," Cooney told Working Woman. "I could do a thousand documentaries on poverty and poor people that would be watched by a handful of the convinced, but I was never really going to have an influence on my times. I wanted to make a difference."[1]

Cooney spent three months speaking with educator, researchers and television producers in the United States and Canada. Her research supported her theory that television could teach, as, by example, children could learn and sing ad jingles.

Cooney began putting together a proposal for a weekday, educational variety show with a target audience of disadvantaged children, as well as pre-scholars. She was laying the groundwork for the Children's Television Workshop. The show was actually to be modeled after Laugh-In, a comic variety show from the sixties.[1] The show was to be fast-paced with comedic touches aimed at children.

Cooney and Merriest worked together to raise the money for the first year of production of the show, an estimated $7 million. They appealed to the U.S. government's Office of Education, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Carnegie Corporation and the Ford Foundation.

In November of 1969, Sesame Street was launched. Immediately, it was known for its diversity, including Hispanic, black and white actors and those now-well-known muppets, Bert and Ernie, Big Bird, Kermit the Frog and the Cookie Monster, all brainchildren of the late Jim Henson.

By 1998, Sesame Street had won a record 71 Emmys and was being broadcast in 141 countries. Ever-changing for the times, Sesame Street initially had a five or six subject curriculum. Today, it boasts covering over 200 subjects ranging from geography to basic colors.

Michelle Morris of Working Woman magazine said, "Because she [Cooney] encourages the creative team to deal with current issues, such as changing male and female roles, sibling rivalry, child abuse, and death, the show stays fresh and contemporary."[1]

The Children's Television Workshop has also produced educational shows such as The Electric Company, 3-2-1 Contact, a science show and Square One TV, a show about math.

But Sesame Street remains the flagship creation of Children's Television Workshop. The program has had numerous celebrities make guest appearances on the show. Robin Williams, Susan Sarandon, Jay Leno and Lena Horne are but a few who have periodically joined the cast. Sesame Street also boasts a viewing audience of 11 million weekly and merchandise from the program can be spotted almost everywhere.

Cooney was married to Timothy Cooney for eleven years. They divorced in 1975 but Cooney still supports him with alimony payments.

Cooney also served on the boards of Chase Manhattan Bank, Xerox and Johnson & Johnson. She stepped down as CEO from Children's Television Workshop in 1990 but remains active in CTW projects.

She married second husband Peter G. Peterson in 1980. Unable to have children of her own, she is stepmother to Peterson's five children. Cooney is also a breast cancer survivor.

Cooney was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1998.

She also bogs on the website, Women on the Web.

[1] Answers