Media World: After 40 years, it's not always a sunny day on Sesame Street
It should be a year of celebration on Sesame Street. With First Lady Michelle Obama kicking off the season for the show's 40th anniversary next Tuesday, the program has no shortage or accomplishments to smile about. Sesame Street has won more than a hundred Emmys, and a handful of its staffers have been there from the beginning, including award-winning cameraman Frank Biondo, and Caroll Spinney, who still plays Big Bird at age 75.But even as the beloved children's public-TV show turns 40, its milestone is tarnished by the March announcement from Sesame Workshop, the New York–based nonprofit behind the show, that it would lay off a fifth of its staff of 355. Turns out you can't always count on a sunny day sweeping the clouds away.
During a taping at the company's Queens, N.Y. headquarters last month, Sesame Workshop's VP of corporate communications, Ellen Lewis, understandably seemed determined to keep coverage upbeat. The layoffs, she says, are "old news."
Cloudy Days?
But try as it might, life on Sesame Street has not escaped economic reality. Today's preschool parents are increasingly reluctant to purchase new toys and videos featuring Elmo and his furry friends (including Rosita, pictured with Elmo above), some toy-industry experts say, when consumers' finances are tight, and perfectly good used Muppets can be found on Craigslist and eBay.
Forty years ago, the Sesame Street characters didn't have many rivals competing for the attention of its young audience. But that was before Elmo went up against Barney, Dora, and the Tele-Tubbies.
Sesame Street's cast and crew -- including Kevin Clash, the voice of Elmo -- say that this year's layoffs haven't hurt the show's quality, and that Sesame Street is functioning fine with fewer people. "We tried to simplify our show a little bit," says Carole-Lynne Parente, Sesame Street's executive producer.
Sesame Workshop may be a non-profit, but it's got money and influence. In May, the Muppets mingled with Sheryl Crow, Mike Bloomberg, and Al Roker at the annual Sesame Gala fundraiser in New York City. And although the overtime budget has been slashed, some employees are paid quite well. CEO Gary Knell earned $739,008 in 2007, according to Sesame Workshop's 2008 filing to the IRS. Head writer Joey Mazzarino, who plays Murray the Monster and directs, earned $559,366, and Big Bird (a.k.a. Spinney) earned $317,657.
Plunging PBS Ratings
But government support has slackened, as production costs soared and ratings for the show's network, Public Broadcasting System, plunged. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting awarded Sesame Workshop grants totaling $18 million last year, and Sesame got a $2.5 million grant to support Families Stand Together: Feeling Secure in Tough Times, its acclaimed special about the economic crisis, in which Elmo's mommy got laid off.
Even as ratings for PBS affiliates have been plunging -- viewership at one member station, Houston's KUHT, plunged 84 percent between May 2008 and May 2009, according to Current.org -- Sesame has found a ready source of cash in merchandising its beloved Muppet characters. Sesame's 2007 revenue was $136.9 million -- up $135.6 million from a year earlier.
Still, that was before 2008's Wall Street meltdown and the national recession. And Sesame's merchandise competes in highly competitive markets. Sales of infant and preschool toys fell 6 percent, to $3.15 billion, between January and August, according to NPD Group; U.S. toy sales overall fell 3 percent to $21.5 billion.
The 40th Anniversary
On November 10, the 40th anniversary date, Sesame Workshop will release a DVD, Sesame Street: 40 Years of Sunny Days. And despite the hard times and hard numbers, the Sesame Street set remains relentlessly sunny.
"I just love what I do," says Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, the voice of Abby Cadabby since 2006. (During our interview, she improvised a routine to amuse a young visitor to the set -- a boy who conversed with Abby Cadabby and paid no attention to Carrara-Rudolph. That's a typical reaction from kids, she says -- and from some adults.) "I have the joy of playing a wish fairy on the show," she says, "and it's a full-time job to grant wishes on and off Sesame Street every day."
Clash, the show's director and Muppet Captain, is a large, hulking man whose deep baritone voice is the polar opposite of his alter ego's bubbly falsetto. "To be able to see, touch, and tickle one of their friends from Sesame Street is far more interesting than paying attention to the guy behind the red monster," Clash says.
During our brief interview, Clash ate a bowl of chicken-noodle soup: therapy, he explained, to keep from wearing out his voice while performing the pipsqueak of the ubiquitous Elmo. "Three hours is my limit," he says.
Still, he did find the time to record a voicemail for my three-year-old son. It may be partly cloudy on Sesame Street, but in my household, at least, Elmo is on voicemail -- and a fan from the newest generation can't contain his excitement.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-04-2009 @ 4:04PM
LARRY LEDFORD said...
What short memories some people have. The Republicans ran the country into war, into record national debt and into the ground, with the most blatant corruption on record. Mr. Bush stood for nothing other than his own ego. Dick Cheney maneuvered Halliburton into a position of unchecked government contracts. And Republicans in Congress did nothing to stop them.
Chris Christie's campaign for governor in New Jersey, promised nothing but more of the same; divisive hatred, anti women's rights, anti gay rights and continued tax breaks for the rich.
It's hard to believe that anyone who understands state government and New Jersey's dire economic, educational and social situation could vote Republican after what should have been learned in the eight years of that party's control (I won't say leadership, because there was none).
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11-05-2009 @ 6:23AM
JDen1952 said...
What does all of your political rantings have to do with Sesame Street? Get over it, pal. No one cares what you think.
11-05-2009 @ 8:08AM
christine said...
They didn't run this country into war. We were attacked by having planes flown into buildings and thousands of people killed. I don't know why people seem to forget that little part of history. I guess it's easy not to take notice if none of your family were the ones that died on 9/11. I'm not saying I like war but sometimes you get pushed into it even if you don't want it. If someone attacks me you bet I'm gonna fight back. I'm not going to stand there and let them kill me or my family.
11-07-2009 @ 2:04AM
B. Georgeson said...
I am a teacher (retired) trained at Universities in California.
After young children have watched "Little Fuzzy Hand Puppets" on their TV sets should then go to school and learn somthing that can make both them and the nation stronger! By doing this they and the country they now live in can make a living, then both will survive!
"World War Two" was won using Engineering and Productiion Skills that were learned in "Metal, Drafting and Electronics and other shops". Also; The US outproduced all other Nations in War and and in Peace! What weak leaders allowed this to happen to America? Both in the areas of education and manufacturing.
Also: Thank God for those schools that still allow America to teach Math, Science, English, Physical Education Music
and other subjects that help the learner with physical and mental growth. (There are so many other subjects as well).
"We live in a Three Dimensional World. We need a 'Three Demensional Education' ". ..... Thanks for your time!
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11-05-2009 @ 7:10AM
Alice said...
I hope Sesame Street continues to reach children from around the world with the timeless lessons of friendship, tolerance, humor, integrity and creativity. Children of every generation need to learn those attributes.
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11-05-2009 @ 7:23AM
Toni said...
I grew up with Sesame Street as did my children and now my 2 year old granddaughter is another Elmo fanatic! Say what you will, but I for one think it's a wonderful program and that children DO learn from it.. even at the tender age of 2. When my granddaughter hands me a bite of her cookie and says "elmo share his cookie" I know something good is still happening on Sesame Street and I hope it continues for the next 40 years.
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11-05-2009 @ 7:34AM
Colin said...
I am 46 as of the 2nd. I remember Sunny Days, everything's, A-Ok. Friendly neighbors that's where we'll meet can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street. At least that's the way I remember it in my head. During the first days of this program with all the violence of forced bussing, forced integration of far East Side black kids in Oklahoma City to my suberbs of Mayfair, that was about the only good thing I can remember of those days.
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11-05-2009 @ 7:48AM
Arlene said...
I used to support public television. But when they started having programs in spanish I stopped. I want my money to go for children to learn English, math etc.
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11-05-2009 @ 7:58AM
Colin said...
I am 46 as of the 2nd. Sesame Street is probably the only good thing I remember from those early days of the show. We lived with Vietnam, forced bussing, which introduced innocent white kids to violent black kids and created many of the white supremist alive today, and divorce which was pretty much unknown in the suberbs of Oklahoma City until the 70's. Yeah so, Sesame Street was a haven of innocence in a world of chaos. Bitter you say? Nah, I've just learned to not mess with things that aren't broke or,at the very least don't fix them with a sledge hammer! Long live Mayfair Elementary!
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11-05-2009 @ 8:51AM
KingFunky said...
"Sesame's 2007 revenue was $136.9 million -- up $135.6 million from a year earlier."
Wow, they only had sales of 1.3 million the year before? That's quite an increase, I am going to buy stock!
Editors, schmeditors.
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11-05-2009 @ 8:20AM
Bizyfe said...
Don't get me wrong, I love Sesame Street. However, I wonder how much it has contributed to children of today having an attention span of about 5 minutes at most. Not preschoolers, but elementary schoolers and even middle school children. Sitting quietly so the teacher can teach is a thing of the past. I'm not talking about 8 hours of silence, just periodic times during the day.
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11-05-2009 @ 8:20AM
Christine said...
I agree. I never let my children watch Sesame Street for that reason. At that young an age I wanted them to learn english and not spanish. I ran into that problem with my oldest daughter when we moved back from Europe. She was exposed to German alot and got her words mixed up when we came back. She spoke half english and half german. I don't think it's important for children to learn spanish at such a young age. This is an english speaking country and when I lived in Germany I didn't expect the Germans to learn to speak english just because I was there. It was the same with my great grandparents when they came from Norway. One of the rules to get citizenship was you have to speak and read english. If not you couldn't get your papers to live here. Now we have to kiss everyones butt to make them feel welcome here and heaven forbid we say anything or else we are raciest. I'm tired of people playing that card.
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