My mediabistro Seminar is coming up

On November 6 I'll be teaching a 3-hour seminar on The Art of Executive Producing at mediabistro in New York. I really enjoyed the process of putting together this seminar, which I hope will function a bit like a toolbox for people at various stages of their careers. For those starting out, I'll address the kind of skills and experience one needs to accumulate in order to prepare for a career as an E.P. For those already moving down that road, I will be sharing tips and techniques for being most effective in the job.

Check it out (and refer your friends!) at How to Become an Executive Producer - mediabistro.com Courses and Seminars

Do-It-Yourself IMUS

I'm smiling to myself this morning, listening to Dierdre Imus and Charles McCord host the last day of the Imus show, which happens to be the last day of their annual WFAN Radioathon to benefit the CJ Foundation for SIDS and the Imus Ranch for Kids with Cancer. They are going to raise more money this year than they ever have in the previous 17 years. If you have to get fired, this timing couldn't be better!

The tone today is very serious - I am sure Don Imus is wishing that he had told Dierdre to lay back and let Charles take the lead. He can't say it to her while she's on the air, and Charles is courteously laying low - almost a non-presence on the show. Her sincerity and passion for the work with children are carrying her through what otherwise would be a dull, stumbling, amateur presentation.

So, if you want the show to feel like Imus in the Morning, you need to fill in the blanks yourself. I just heard Station Manager Joel Hollander come on and do a passionate defense of the work they do together, promising to carry it on (it was the death of Hollander's infant daughter, CJ, that inspired Imus's passion for finding the cause(s) of SIDS). Hollander was outspoken and supportive - brave coming from an executive who is still working for CBS Radio. If Imus had been there, he would have said "Joel, I'm starting to feel bad about all the times I have trashed you on the show.......but then again, you are a butt-kissing wienie." I was wishing Charles would have said it, but I'm sure many long-time listeners like myself were saying it anyway!

It's 10am, Charles is signing off WFAN for the last time. I will miss Imus in the morning, and look forward to his return in another forum, hopefully one that I can access in my car!

Day 3 - HIV & AIDS

(Dateline: Johannesburg. Posting from the World Summit on Media for Children)

The theme of Day 3 of the World Summit on Media for Children is Health & Wellness, which means that today was largely focused on HIV/AIDS. Dr. Gilda A. Glasinovich, UN Technical Advisor on Immigrant Populations (a well as a physician and oncologist) opened this morning’s session by saying: We are heading into the third wave of HIV, and 13-25 year olds are now the highest risk group. Two-thirds of the new infections here in African will be young women.She called out to all the teenagers and asked them to move forward in the huge lecture hall – this session is for you. Your role in society is to educate yourselves and educate others. The discussion right now is going to be on H.I.V. as it pertains to you.

Everyone moved up front, and we seemed poised for a real discussion that would involve the youngest participants. They are the constant target of HIV/AIDS public service announcements….any South African teen that you speak with will spout the SABC’s message: ABSTAIN, BE FAITHFUL, CONDOMIZE. I was hopeful that today we would get into a discussion about what is working for them, what is not, and how we can be more effective in protecting young people from HIV infection.

Early on, we heard from 16-year-old Lerato Ntuli, of the Alexander Township here in South Africa, who spoke on behalf of the organization FRIENDS FOR LIFE, which has provided support for her since she lost her mother to AIDS and became, in effect, the parent for her younger brother.

I lost my mother when I was only 6 years old…I feel like a lot has been taken away from me. I am only 16, and I am doing things that older people should be doing, because I have a younger brother. He asks me questions, and I don’t even know the answers to those questions. I told my baby brother (13) just the other day that the reason our Mom’s not with us any more is because of AIDS. He cried so much and asked me “Why have you been hiding it from me for so long?” I was trying to protect him, but actually I was shutting him out.

Lerato’s strength created a palpable swell of emotion in the teenagers in the room. She has made a conscious decision to overcome her circumstances and act as an agent for social change.

I have been neglected by a lot of people when I talk about my parents’ situation, but I realize those people don’t push me down, they make me stronger. I can prove to them that I can build myself up, make other teenagers aware that this is just a trial, there are better things to come if we all learn from it.

Unfortunately, we lost the opportunity for real dialogue created by her powerful testimony as a number of other adult speakers followed her, including a delegate from Libya who was determined to talk about a tragic, controversial incident in her country, and refused to yield the mike. By the time we got to “Question Time” for the teenagers, time was very limited and they were rushed through. Although young people came to the microphone and asked questions, the reply was basically “That’s a very good question. Next question?”

Such a missed opportunity. Here are some of the questions that were asked. Despite the fact that they were not answered in the room, we, as media producers, can certainly think about how we contribute to the answers via our work going forward.

• Sonia Antonio, who has been sponsored at this conference by Angolan Television (speaking Portuguese). I have presented a program on public television Angola for the last five years, in which we have the opportunity of dealing with various issues. I am no longer a child (24), but I remain a symbol of children’s issues in my country, because I started on television when I was very young. My question is: What can we, as producers of children’s programs, do to ensure that we sensitize children to the fact that HIV-AIDS starts with each one of us? How can we help them not contract it themselves?


• Nonhlanhla Nellovu (left), age 16, from South Africa, spoke clearly and forcefully. What are we doing about child-headed families – children like Lerato forced to find a balance between education and the sustenance of their families? The media can play an imperative role in making children aware of the resources available to them so they don’t have to resort to unfortunate measures in order to get income.

• Mollie Vincent Louis, from Haiti: Parents don’t give sexual education to their children, so they undertake sexual activity and adventures under the advice of their friends. I would like to appeal to broadcasters to come up with programs that are aimed at delivering HIV information to children. Parents must not hide facts about sex from children, because from about the age of 11, when they’re trying to find an image for themselves, it’s very important to explain to them what sex is all about.

• South African boy, name unknown. We need to go back to our traditions, and if we do, AIDS will not be a problem any longer.

• Mobile Sange Kesadin, South Africa. What about the children who are being abused by their parents, children who are being raped, children who don’t have homes, children who have no one to take care of them.? She broke down, sobbing, was embraced by Dr. Mzamane and Nonhlanhla (the girl who had just spoken about child-led families), and helped from the room.

For all of us who create media that is designed to be used with kids in classrooms, afterschool centers, or youth programs, this represented a worst case scenario – opening the door to an outpouring of feelings from children, then not being prepared to deal with their outpouring. I walked outside to talk to some of the teens that I had met earlier in the week, to get their reaction.

Nonhlanhla said angrily, What a waste of time. They have been saying since day one that they wanted to hear from us. Today is the first time we have had an opportunity to speak. I had a huge list of questions. There is no time for serious discussion.


Mpho Moshweu, age 18, of the Northern Cape, Kimberley Youth Support Program, is one of the very enthusiastic group that I met on the first day (in the white shirt, above). He was outspoken today, much more pragmatic and action-oriented than many of the adults I have talked with here. I don’t see how this can be a successful conference without any resolutions. Is there someone who is going to take this forward? We should be given tasks going forward, so that we can report when we get together again in 2010.
Mpho (pronounced mmmm-PO) also questioned the lack of connection between the conferences (the 4th World Summit was held in Rio in 2004). Where are the delegates from Brasil, telling us their conclusions? Mpho’s assessment on the abbreviated “discussion” of HIV was succinct and devastating. When you are addressing issues, you must know that time is not important. We will stay as long as the matters are being solved. What is the benefit of all those experts, if nothing is solved?

I think this raises a question, going forward, as to what is the purpose of inviting children to the Summit. Do they belong at a professional conference? If so, why are they not at a table with the adults? A mature teenager who brings real insight and potential input needs to be respected. Let’s not be guilty of killing their optimism and enthusiasm.

Media as a Tool for Peace Building

(Dateline: Johannesburg. Posting from the World Summit on Media for Children)

This afternoon was the best session that I’ve attended so far, “Media as a Tool for Peace Building.” There were many powerful speakers on the program, including my friend Dr. Charlotte Cole from Sesame Street International, L. Randolph Carter from the grass roots advocacy organization Search for Common Ground, our friend and producer Beathur Baker from the SABC, who facilitated powerful documentaries produced & directed by girls who have been victims of violence, and others, equally committed to peace building.

But for me, Sarah Crowe, who is a reporter for UNICEF Television, completely nailed the topic. She is a veteran, accomplished reporter who covers her stories with an acknowledged bias – UNICEF’s advocacy on behalf of children. In her words: Our goal is to influence the media agenda to cover children’s issues, which are often forgotten in the ‘fog of war.’ In areas of conflict, media is often used as a tool of war, spreading propaganda, division, stirring up hatred. Children are often the first to pick up on these messages…they intuitively know that they need to take a side. And, how do they flourish if they are constantly forced to flee from conflict? Do they wave a copy of the Children’s Bill of Rights when they’re being recruited as child soldiers?

What I found most eye opening was her view of the obligation that she believes journalists have AFTER a conflict has ended, and ‘peace’ is declared.

For a child to flourish in a climate of peace, more than peace is needed. The average person believes that the majority of civilian casualties are a result of conflict and violence. In fact, most of the children die from neglect, not bullets and grenades, because the war has cut them off from basic services. Diarrhea, malaria, malnutrition are the primary causes of death for children in conflict zones, and this continues after peace has broken out.

Sarah Crowe feels strongly that reporters have an obligation to continue their coverage once the guns are silent. She sees it as an often neglected duty, and believes that journalists must go back and follow up, reporting the previously unseen damage that has happened as a result of the war.

Her words reminded me of AP’s Ian Stewart earlier today, lamenting that his coverage of the society’s struggles and triumphs go unreported in the West. People so often talk about feeling helpless in the face of all the troubles in the world. Yet, no one wants to read these stories that explain the nature of the challenges, as well as how they can be overcome. We are not helpless. We are ignorant.

Informal Journalism Mentoring

(Dateline: Johannesburg. Posting from the World Summit on Media for Children)

Although I am still attending panels on topics of interest and networking with my peers here in Johannesburg, my attention has really shifted to all the young journalists who are here. There are several workshops scheduled for them in digital media – basic internet skills, blogging, even a mini-animation workshop. DK (no name, just DK) the hip, young Brit who runs the hot “media for teens, by teens” site Mediasnackers is here doing workshops in digital journalism. But it quickly became apparent that there wasn’t any provision for print journalism, although there are dozens of kids walking around here with cameras, notebooks and pens. So, I’ve taken it upon myself (and I’m sure I’m not the only one) to be an informal mentor for these aspiring journalists. The enthusiasm of these talented young people is irresistable!


Tasneem Amos, Josslyn Hlenti, Alfreda Rowena Nadar, and Sthabile Dlamini (above) are all from Durban, in South Africa. They told me that being here has really opened their eyes to all the different possibilities available to them in media, and they also auditioned to be on SABC’s daily program “Kids News” (which is broadcasting live from the convention center).













Tasneem: We haven’t heard back from Kids News yet, but I think they were quite amazed at our self confidence. I was, too.

Zodidi Dano and Nosiphino Nabata (below) are part of the group of children and teens who meet every Saturday morning at Bush Radio’s studio in Cape Town to create programs that reflect and represent themselves. The C.R.E.W. (Children’s Radio Education Workshop), which has been existence for eleven years, was born out of the South African bush radio movement, in which community activists and alternative media producers came together to utilize grassroots media to incite social change. These two young women are only part of the team that I met in Johannesburg. Every one of them is poised, well-spoken and well-versed in writing, interviewing, and technical radio production skills. As Nosiphino told me “Our job is to feed the children information that they need, that their parents don’t feel comfortable giving to them.”


The group above is from the Kimberley Youth Support Program, in Northern Cape, South Africa. As you can see by the energy of Mpho Moshweu, Stephen Hams and the others, they have brought a large helping of energy and enthusiasm to the Summit!

Cultural Exchange is Breaking Out All Over!

(Dateline: Johannesburg. Posting from the World Summit on Media for Children)

The excitement of kids talking to other kids is creating an energetic buzz that we can all feel. Everyone’s first instinct seems to be to talk to other kids about who they are…..two South African girls interviewing their counterparts from Al Jazeerah Children about their Arab cultural experience for a story to run on Radio JoJo, a community radio station here in South Africa….a Japanese girl interviewing her Ethiopian peer about their different cultural experiences….young radio journalists from Bush C.R.E.W. in Capetown (English speaking) and Kid Waves in Burkina Faso (French speaking) collaborating, with the help of translators, in amending the Children’s Radio Manifesto to incorporate themes of Democracy and Peace.

Most interesting to me is a project being undertaken by IPTV Ireland, who are creating a channel totally devoted to programming created by young people. This non-profit group, based in Kildaire, have brought together two groups of kids from Ireland and Tanzania who will each be shooting a video program about their initial impressions of the other group during the week. These two groups will continue to collaborate over the next six months, via the internet, to produce video programming together. It is a global, video version of the “community radio” phenomenon that is so prevalent and empowering for youth here in Africa. And, it will be available to all teens on IPTV.

Orsil, from Palestine

(Dateline: Johannesburg. Posting from the World Summit on Media for Children)

This morning we also heard from a teenager from the Palestinian Territories (whose name, Orsil, means “genuine”).

From the children of Palestine I bring a very short message about the suffering of the Palestinian children on a daily basis. Some of the children are still trapped in prisons or hospital beds, waiting for medication. I would like all of you to call for the end of occupation, and return of the displaced children. She started to weep as she said: We would like build bridges of peace between all the children in order to build a better future for each of us. Orsil concluded by placing her Keffiyeh (the traditional Palestinian headdress) over the shoulders of conference chairwoman Firdoze Bulbulia, who enveloped her in an embrace.

The teens who are speaking to us and reporting from this Summit are full of optimism, passion, and hope. They believe in the power of media to make a difference in the world. As the keepers of the current distribution channels, we need to nurture these young leaders, and ensure that their optimism, talent and energy are not lost.

Peace is more than the absence of war.....

...(peace) is about tolerance and understanding." These words were spoken by a teen, addressing a room full of journalists here in Johannesburg.

We have begun Day 2 of the 5th World Summit on Media for Children. Today's theme is PEACE BUILDING (Policy & Politics), and first up this morning was Prince Collins, a Liberian journalist. He introduced an ex-child soldier named Tipi Tappia, which whom he has been working. Liberia, a small country on West Coast of Africa, has endured fourteen years of bloody civil war, with more than 250,000 people killed. In Tipi Tappia’s own words:
I was 12-years-old when I joined the rebel force. I was taught how to shoot and kill; I was a very desperate kid during the war in my country. A volatile mix of cocaine and gunpowder is given to children to make them fear less in battle.

Because child soldiers witness death, killing and sexual violence, they suffer serious long-term psychological consequences, and often drug dependency. Re-integration is a complex process of atonement and rebuilding of communities. Tappia was accepted into a media program in which 50 former soldiers are working in radio, learning how to be journalists.

Tappia says this has saved his life. Right now we are good boys and girls, we don’t kill any more, we are free of the influence of harmful drugs. We are now doing positive things in our community, and we ask forgiveness of those we hurt during the war. Before I close, I want to appeal to all warlords to stop using us children to accomplish their inner motives. Please stop making us kill.

He was followed by American AP war correspondent Ian Stewart, who read gripping excerpts from his book "Ambushed," about being injured in Sierra Leone by child soldiers. He has reported extensively about conflict across the African continent, and also about the consequences for civilians who are tortured and children who are forcibly taken into the armies. He concluded by saying: The sad part for me is that I couldn’t get those stories into the newspapers in the West. Despite all the conflict and tragedy, there is a lot of hope in Africa. The world needs to see it.

Meet Richmond Moses

This 16-year-old approached me and asked if he could interview me. I said, “You can interview me if I can interview you.” His response: “Of course, you can write about me. I am an interesting person!” Richmond is from North West Mafikeng, and journalism is his passion. “Not my talent – my talent is music – but my passion is to be a journalist.” He sings rap and hip hop music, and was delighted to meet someone “from another continent,” especially from New York. Richmond’s computer is currently broken, but we have exchanged email addresses so that he can eventually share his writing. He is, indeed, an interesting person.

(Dateline: Johannesburg. Posting from the World Summit on Media for Children)

Child Speakers at the World Media Summit

(Dateline: Johannesburg. Posting from the World Summit on Media for Children)

Along with the dignitaries and media experts, three teenagers also spoke at the opening session. An 18-year-old Swedish woman named Ida told of her participation in a study in which they analyzed the portrayal of youth in four daily newspapers. Their findings:

1. Children and their views are seriously under-represented in the media.
2. When they are represented, adults are often speaking for them, denying children their own voices.
3. Teens are often portrayed stereotypically, specifically as violent, superficial, and depressed.
4. Teens are most typically presented either as victims, or as perpetrators of crimes.

Ida said that she is concerned because people who are not connected to youth are forming their opinions based on what they read. When I read about myself as part of a group that is violent, depressed and ignorant, I get very angry.

She had three recommendations for the media present in the room.
• Include our opinions in general issues affecting the community, not just youth issues.
• Avoid stereotypes of both youth and gender.
• Make sure we speak for ourselves, and are allowed to express ourselves in our own way.

This last point, that “we express ourselves in our own way” has been a recurring motif as I have talked to teenagers throughout the day.

A Study in Contrasts

(Dateline: Johannesburg. Posting from the World Summit on Media for Children)

The King of the Pedi People made a grand entrance, with entourage, and was seated at the head table just in time to hear Roy Disney’s keynote.

Opening of the 5th World Summit on Media for Children

Sunday in Johannesburg, and the opening session is underway. The theme of this year’s Summit is “Media as a Tool for Global Peace and Democracy.” As always, the conference is built around the idea that children are entitled to high quality media that is made specifically for them, that provides room for their opinions, and that promotes and protects children’s rights.

It was hard not to feel a little cynical, given the lofty goals, to find that our hosts were all aflutter at the magnitude of the keynote speaker – Roy Disney. How ironic that this conference would revere the Disney company, which has hardly been a champion of diversity and authentic, local experience. Rather, Disney’s “It’s a Small World” approach to global culture epitomizes the touristic, isn’t that quaint?! American view of developing countries as markets to be acquired and exploited. It is hard to imagine why that is relevant here, and it felt very sad that it was seen as a huge coup to have him. (Early on in his presentation, he actually said I believe it can be legitimately said that Mickey Mouse has been a force for Global Peace and Democracy. Adolf Hitler denounced Mickey Mouse as an enemy of the state.).

Yet, the irony of his position was not lost on Roy Disney, and he ultimately rose to the challenge. His framed his address as an appeal for improving the quality of media designated for children. I would add an adjective to your theme – “quality.” That is, quality media as a tool for global peace and democracy. Without that qualifier, media can be a repressive force or even a tool for propoganda. When held to high standards, media can be a powerful force for good.

And in closing, Disney said:
There’s tremendous opportunity for progress today. For the first time ever, we have instant, worldwide communication….Many adults are simply incapable of conquering their fears and prejudices, but the children can. If they are exposed to responsible, quality media, this can at last become the Century of Peace. This is just not another Disney fairy tale. It is up to us, one by one, to make this a reality.

Grudgingly, I must say that he was more relevant than I ever could have imagined under the circumstances.

There are 300 teenagers between the ages of 13 and 16 present here. They were addressed directly and powerfully by Dr. Mbulelo Mzamane, the South African author of "The Children of Soweto" and "The Children of the Diaspora and Other Stories of Exile" (and former Vice Chancellor of the University of Fort Hare). Dr. Mzamane appointed himself the “Children’s Ombudsman” for the duration of the Summit.

You hear that children? From now on, I am your spirit medium. If anything is not going right, come to me. It’s a revolution! Make use of this opportunity.


My children, you are as helpless as you allow yourself to be. You have to remember, it is all inside you. There is a legacy in this country of child activism. In fact, in rewriting our history, as we are doing now, it is quite clear that it was at the point that children and women got involved in our revolution that decisive and qualitative changes came about. There is no such thing as “I am too young.”

The central issue for you is going to be how do you make your participation in this conference meaningful? How do you make sure that grownups have not just brought you here simply to make themselves feel good?

Are you going to let someone like Roy Disney be a ventriloquist for you? How do you participate as children in the creative process? Why don’t they ask you what you want?

We know what the problems are, children. What we want are solutions.

And finally, do not try and cleave to one another because you are from the same village, or from the same country. Mix as much as possible with other children from other countries. It is only through interaction that you grow.

Inspiring words from Dr. Mzamane.

Teen Voices from Africa

I AM AN AFRICAN
I am carved from the branch of the Baobab
And refreshed from the waters of the Nile
And it is below the equator where my ancestors
Chose to settle, where they chose to be African
God meant for me to be an African
Why else would my heart sound like an African drum
And my skin be kissed with the colour of her soil
Or my feet move like a stampede of wildebeest
And my voice sing like the majestic Serengeti Rains?
- Keenan Harduth, 17

I AM AN AFRICAN
I am an African because I owe my being to the blacks and the whites. I owe my being to the Zulus, Xhosas, Vendas, Tsongasan and the Pedis. I am an African because I was born in Africa. I am proud to be a child of the Dhlamini family. I am proud to be black and I am proud to be a girl.

I sing our song, I read our books and I speak our languages. I was born to be African. I was born in Johannesburg - kwa nyama ayipheli ku phela a mazinyo e ndoda (at the place where meat does not finish, but only men's teeth). Africa is a beauty of nature and a beauty of the land.
- Precious Dhlamini, 13

(Dateline: Johannesburg. Excerpted from the programme booklet for the World Summit on Media for Children)

DJ - R.I.P.

Dennis Johnson, the great NBA guard, passed today.

I've always loved this quote from him, about playing in big games:
“I hate to lose,” he once said. “I accept it when it comes, but I still hate it. That’s the way I am.”

Additionally, this afternoon, I was very surprised to see how the news of his death played out on the Internet. My homepage is msnbc.com, and there was a "Breaking News" headline reporting his death, without any details. I quickly clicked on cnn.com and espn.com, neither of which anything except the headline. While I waited, I wondered how old DJ was, and decided to check Wikipedia. Amazingly, his bio there was already updated, including the date and likely cause of his death, attributed to Danny Ainge.

We are only beginning to understand the implications of this era of user choice and control, when basketball fans don't need to wait for the vertically integrated media conglomerates to report the news, because they can do it themselves. This is a very signifcant time in the development of media and how it is integrated into our lives.

Legacy Media - Doth Protest Too Much?

CNN.com: The demise of old media is greatly exaggerated - Feb. 14, 2007

At the Kidscreen Media Conference last week, a number of colleagues and I were discussing the hyper-critical coverage of children's media in the traditional print press. One executive suggested that print writers are threatened by digital media, and bring that bias to their coverage.

It reminded me of a quote that I've always loved from David Lee Roth, back when he was the lead singer of Van Halen. Roth said: Do you know why music critics write glowing reviews about Elvis Costello? Because music critics LOOK like Elvis Costello.

The person I read on the topic of digital/social media is Mary Hodder, founder of dabble.com. She is a big thinker.
Mary Hodder: Napsterization

Super Bowl - The Lost Ad

This was my favorite commercial pitch - would have loved to have seen it produced.

wonderful pitch

Super Bowl Ads

I vote for the series of ads from Careerbuilders, with the office workers battling in the forest, adorned with binders, clips and other office supplies. They moment when one of them yelled "Hey, he's the delivery guy - he doesn't even work here!" made me laugh out loud. Absurd in the best possible way.
Careerbuilders (It's a Jungle Out There!)

And, in spite of myself, I liked Kevin Federline's commercial for Nationwide. It worked.
Federline

Leaving Sesame Workshop......again

This is the place where I've consistently done the best work of my life. And yet, this week, we reached a mutual decision that I should resign as Creative Director. I always knew that trying to innovate and re-invigorate an iconic brand would be very difficult, and it certainly was! For the most part, I loved the challenge and feel very proud of the work we’ve done over these past two years. In the end, I was not able to retain the confidence of management in my creative agenda. I hate to leave the people - some of the best I've ever worked with - and some of the projects. Won't miss any of the rest of it. For now, it's time to move on and dig into some of the new ideas I had been dying to pursue and couldn't in that position.

Somehow, I feel like the Workshop and I are not done with each other yet. Who knows, maybe the fourth time back will be the charm!

I'm back....and working on Sesame!

Well, it must have been a busy three years since I've posted regularly!

Life is settling down, so many things have changed....I feel like I want to start blogging again. I think I'll start with a link to the cover story from the Arts & Leisure section in last Sunday's NY Times. That is one way of catching up with whereI am these days.


NY Times
August 6, 2006
A Girly-Girl Joins the ‘Sesame’ Boys
By SUSAN DOMINUS



LIZ NEALON, executive vice president and creative director of Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind “Sesame Street,” wasn’t sure exactly what she wanted in a new Muppet for the show’s 37th season, which starts on Aug. 14. But she did have one major goal: She wanted the creative team, at
long last, to come up with a female Muppet star. The show did already have a number of female characters, including Zoe, a rambunctious, orange, furry friend of Elmo’s, and Rosita, an emerald-blue, bilingual Muppet with a sweet, friendly soul.
“We have our wacky, and we have our gentle,” Ms. Nealon said in a recent interview. “But we wanted a lead female character. If you think about ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show,’ some girls relate to Rhoda, who’s our Zoe, and some girls really relate to Mary, who’s a girly girl. And we didn’t have that girl. We made a definite decision to sit down with the writers to figure out what this character might be.”

The feminist-minded parent might not only applaud the decision to make a more high-profile female character, but wonder why on earth it took so long. “Sesame Street,” created to help underprivileged kids prepare for kindergarten, has over the years gone out of its way to include images of children of every creed and color, and every level of physical ability and disability. Yet its producers acknowledge it has never come up with a single female character with anything close to the name recognition of Big Bird or Cookie Monster or Ernie and Bert. (The closest that the Jim Henson Company, which designs Muppets for “Sesame Street,” has come is Miss Piggy. But she starred on “The Muppet Show,” not “Sesame Street,” and probably for good reason. You have to go back to “Dynasty” reruns to find a more jealous, vain and domineering female role model on television.)

Even bastions of liberal creativity like “Sesame Street” are apparently vulnerable to the realities of show business, including a disproportionately high ratio of male to female puppeteers, said Rosemary Truglio, executive vice president for education and research at Sesame Workshop. (Miss Piggy has always been played by male puppeteers, starting with Frank Oz.) And a show as politically sensitive as this one has an added challenge: finding female characters that make kids laugh, but not laugh at them as female stereotypes. “If Cookie Monster was a female character,” said Carol-Lynn Parente, executive producer of the show, “she’d be accused of being anorexic or bulimic. There are a lot of things that come attached to female
characters.” For example, said Deborah Aubert, associate director of national programs and training services at Girls, Inc., a nonprofit advocacy group. “It would be hard to have a female character with Elmo’s whimsy who didn’t also seem ditzy.”
But it’s not just a high-minded interest in gender equality that drove the search for a strong female character. The success of “Dora the Explorer,” a show built around a strong female lead, has not gone unnoticed by its competitors at “Sesame Street.” “ ‘Sesame Street’ is living in an increasingly competitive market,” Ms. Nealon said. “We used to be the only game in town, and now we’re having more conversations about where are all the points of appeal of our cast. We’re trying to be as absolutely broadbased as we can be.”

The feminist parent might also wonder whether “broad-based” will boil down to characters with predictable girly-girl looks and interests. But Ms. Nealon said she wasn’t worried. “I came of age during that 70’s generation when you just had to do everything you could do to be taken seriously,” she said. “But the world has changed since then. My daughter is comfortable with clothes and hair and makeup and totally embraces her femininity, but can still be strong and completely competitive in a world populated by men and women.”

The Muppet that after nine months of research was selected to embody those characteristics is not technically a girl: she is a 3-year-old fairy named Abby Cadabby. Neither monster like Zoe nor humanoid like Prairie Dawn, the calico-wearing blonde who first showed up in 1970, Abby is a purely magical creature, complete with tiny wings, a magic wand and sparkles in her hair. There’s something suspiciously marketable, of course, about a new character who happens to be a fairy, just now in the midst of a girlish craze for tutus, tiaras and all things princessy, and as Disney prepares a big marketing push for its 2007 movie starring Tinker Bell. But the idea came not from some Mattel consultant but from a 30-year veteran of “Sesame Street,” Tony Geiss, whose most significant previous creations were the Honkers, monsters who communicate by honking their noses. One day the writers were tossing around the idea of a girl who was new in town, perhaps trying to fit into a new classroom. After the meeting broke up, Mr. Geiss approached the show’s head writer, Lou Berger, with the idea of making her the daughter of the fairy godmother, a character who is invoked but never seen. Her origins in fairyland would provide plenty of story lines about difference, without the show “having consciously to introduce somebody from Indonesia or India,” Mr. Geiss said. Mr. Berger and the team liked the idea and told Mr. Geiss to develop it further. A few days later he presented the full picture: a fairy in training, capable of hovering only when very happy, able to turn any object into a pumpkin but unable to change it back with any reliability. Her family had recently moved to Sesame Street for the schools, leaving behind Fairyside Gardens, an elves’ and fairies’ housing community in Queens (a bit of back story that’s mostly been dropped). “When I did a little presentation, I was calling her Daisy,” Mr. Geiss said. “Everyone said, no, that’s not it, and then we sat around as if we were coming up with names for a new baby. Patsy, Dixie, Leonora. ... ” Finally someone threw out Abby, and Mr. Berger followed that up with Abby Cadabby. “It had a vaguely magical sound to it,” Mr. Geiss said. The combination of “correctness and exhaustion” kicked in, he added, and Abby Cadabby she’s been ever since.

As a newcomer eager to learn, the writers knew, she would provide the perfect opportunity for explanatory lessons. She would also provide a way to talk about female friendships (including “What does it mean to bring a girl into the group?,” Ms. Truglio said, and to show healthy models by which girls could resolve conflict). The show had tried to introduce a character for just that purpose in 2000, the short-lived Lulu, a shy monster who “had a kind of quirky personality,” Ms. Truglio said. “She wasn’t that attractive.” With the approval of Ms. Nealon and Ms. Parente, and the product and publishing divisions of “Sesame Street,” the production team decided to take the idea of Abby Cadabby to the Jim Henson Workshop. Various sketches and fabric swatches of the Muppet-to-be were circulated for input from the writers and executives on the show. There was some retreading of what Mr. Geiss calls the big-nose versus small-nose debate. “Some people think the big nose is funnier,” he explained, but Abby’s is small, a nod toward the more feminine aesthetic for which the producers were hoping. Careful attention was paid too to how much eyelid would be visible; the more eyelid, the more vulnerable-looking the character. “Her eyes look up,” Mr. Geiss said. “They can look beseeching, and they can be sad as well as happy.”

Sherrie Rollins Westin, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Sesame Workshop, recalled seeing an early version that was a little too “bug-eyed” for her taste. One version had too much of a snout, rendering her worrisomely insectlike, given the wings in back, Ms. Truglio said. All versions featured various shades of pink- or lavender-toned skin, colors that would “work well next to Elmo,” who is red, Ms. Truglio said. “That was not up for discussion.” Once they narrowed the sketches down to two images that they thought worked, they showed them to 77children aged 2 to 5 and in one-on-one interviews asked them what they liked and didn’t like about Abby’s looks. The kids were particularly enamored of her turquoise dress; they also preferred a button nose to a flatter, more truncated version, and her hair in two pompoms, rather than in one big bunch atop her head.

Armed with that information, the team began to design the actual Muppet, a budget commitment of “tens of thousands of dollars,” said Ms. Parente, the show’s executive producer. They also began creating a 10-minute segment that they further tested on 53 3-year-olds. The resulting confection is a Muppet with the pretty pastel aesthetic of an Easter egg, complete with pink skin (compared with Zoe’s orange), purple and pink sparkly pompoms (Zoe’s hair juts out from the sides of her face ) and a Thumbelina-style petal-layered turquoise dress. (Zoe wears a tutu that’s charmingly incongruous on her bouncy little body.) Abby Cadabby’s lashes are long and feminine, her voice pitched somewhere between Elmo’s dog-range high notes and Zoe’s scratchy old-womanish tones. In the first segment created, Abby played hide-and-seek, making ample, if not totally proficient use of her magic wand. “The kids were pretty glued to the show,” Ms. Truglio said. “They loved that she could do magic,” she added. “But if you asked them how they imagined playing with Abby Cadabby, they mentioned regular kid stuff like playing catch. So we knew they liked her as a personality.”

For all the educational consultants and child psychologists the show could have enlisted, the success of the character seems to rely largely on the one simple quality no other Muppet can claim: she’s very, very pretty. As played by Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, a new Muppeteer, she’s enthusiastic, eager, occasionally bashful but never coy (and certainly never divalike along the lines of Tinker Bell). “I’m ready, I’m ready, I’m ready!” she answers Baby Bear emphatically in one segment when he asks if she’s prepared for her first day of school.

In the past the show has bent over backward to counteract stereotypes, with the tomboyish Zoe or the highly opinionated Elizabeth. “But political correctness hampers creativity,” Ms. Nealon said. “Abby Cadabby owns her own point of view, but she’s also comfortable with the fact that she likes wearing a dress, and as we’d tried to model strong female models, we neglected that piece of being a girl.”

On the set the joke was about the new toy on the block, as opposed to the new Muppet character, a dig at the obvious marketability of the new pretty-in-pink creature. Some of the writers, Ms. Parente said, worried about moving away from the show’s merely surreal characters to one with a full-blown dependence on actual magic. Others were concerned about the character tipping over into a saccharine sweetness. “What’s always been great about ‘Sesame Street,’ ” said Noel MacNeal, a longtime “Sesame Street” Muppeteer, “is that there was always a softness and gentleness to its characters, while still having enough edge. It wasn’t too cute. I just hope with Abby Cadabby, they’re not going to make a mistake they’ve made before when they tried to compete directly with ‘Barney,’ which was so cutesy.” (He was referring to his
take on why the show added a new set in the early 90’s to give the street a clean new look. A few years later Ms. Parente reverted the set back to its old chipped-paint aesthetic.) But for the most part the traditional “Sesame Street” team of performers and writers has rallied behind the character.

The producers’ hopes of course are pinned on the possibility that Abby Cadabby could be the female equivalent of Elmo, a huge money-maker for the nonprofit organization behind the show. First to roll out will be storybooks featuring Abby Cadabby; if they succeed, videos and toys will follow. Maura Regan, vice president and general manager of global consumer products for Sesame Workshop, said she was confident about Abby Cadabby’s market readiness. She’ll be strong in spring, Ms. Regan theorized, because she has a “wood nymph quality,” and added that her pink coloring made her great for
merchandising around Valentine’s Day and Christmas, when she will pair well with red Elmo. Then of course there’s the fall back-to-school theme of a new girl getting to know her classmates. Ms. Regan’s team has already started working with the toy company Fisher-Price on a rough mockup of a doll. Most important, she said, is getting a cuddle-ready expression on the toy’s face; then there’s the challenge of capturing her feathery, fluffy, sparkly hair without creating a safety hazard. “There are so many cute things out there,” she added, “but in order to make them want one doll over another, I think the real deciding factor is how much they’ve connected with the Muppet from the show. And you’ve got to be able to capture that.”
Could Abby’s sales rival those of the show’s marketing juggernaut, Elmo? Ms. Regan obviously hopes they can. But in an aside, as she demurred from making predictions, she gave a hint on just how much rides on the outcome. “I don’t want to jinx myself,” she whispered. “That would be terrible, terrible, terrible.”

Whoever would think that I'd be the one credited with creating a "girly girl"? Curiouser and curiouser, this life!
liz

Photograph © 2006 Sesame Workshop. All Rights Reserved.

Out There

It is four days until the American premiere of my new series, Out There. We just got a "Best Bet" mention from TV Guide, which is huge, and we're waiting for other reviews. Ironically, Sesame Workshop officially replaced me as the Executive Producer today. Michael Bourchier, the Australian producer with whom we partnered on the first season, is going to take over. I am very happy with this choice. Michael will ensure that if the show goes forward, there will be continuity and quality.

I must say, though, that I'm heartbroken. It was my choice not to return to the show (I need to earn a living, and they're not ready to re-up for another season) - but I am still so sorry. The realization that I won't be going back to Australia this year is a shocker, as they'd say in Oz. It feels like a kick in the gut. My favorite director (Stephen Johnson, raised in an Aboriginal community) emailed today to say that he thought he saw me chasing a dragonfly outside the window and thinks my spirit must be dancing.....which just made me feel worse. I heard a kookaburra call on an American cartoon yesterday (it's used here to evoke a jungle atmosphere), and my heart ached to be back in the bush. I feel so connected to that hot, dry, majestic country.

For the moment, I am in mourning. I've been listening to the Australian roots music CD "Dirt Music" in my car, and just living in that melancholy vibe. I am quite certain that although I have finished this particular project, I'm not done with Australia yet.

Photograph © 2003 Sesame Workshop. All Rights Reserved.