Date of Award
Spring 4-28-2025
Document Type
Honors Project
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Communication and Digital Studies
Department Chair or Program Director
Zach Whalen
First Advisor
Dr. Emily Crosby
Major or Concentration
Communication and Digital Studies
Abstract
Sesame Street has been around since 1969 and is still creating new episodes. Joan Ganz Cooney created the program in an attempt to use television to educate and entertain children simultaneously. The show set out goals to create smarter, kinder, and stronger kids. It uniquely featured a diverse cast and was targeted towards disadvantaged youth. However, the world has changed a lot since 1969. In this research, I use a qualitative content analysis to determine how exactly the show has evolved and adapted to target today’s children versus the children in 1969. Additionally, the paper hypothesizes reasons why the show has needed to shift and argues for the preservation of PBS, a network threatened with budget cuts.
Recommended Citation
Wingold, Blaise C., "Sesame Street: From Puppets to Pixels" (2025). Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects. 636.
https://scholar.umw.edu/student_research/636