"Sesame Street" producers are getting criticized for a parody that suggested Fox News was "trashy," and the ombudsman for PBS says that the criticism is justified.
Foxnews.com reported that in a two-year old episode that was rebroadcast on October 29, Oscar the Grouch starts the Grouch News Network, or GNN. The skit later featured CNN’s Anderson Cooper filling in for Oscar as he chats with "Walter Cranky" and "Dan Rather-Not."
But when another green grouch Muppet caller decides that the news is not grouchy enough, she says she is changing the channel to Pox News. "I am changing the channel," the irate muppet says. "From now on, I am watching Pox News. Now there is a trashy news show."
PBS ombudsman Michael Getler, like many viewers, thought he heard "Fox" instead of "Pox," but regardless, he suggested it wasn’t classy to suggest Fox was "trashy" in front of the little ones:
"I don’t know what was in the head of the producers, but my guess is that this was one of those parodies that was too good to resist. But it should have been resisted. Broadcasters can tell parents whatever they think of Fox or any other network, but you shouldn’t do it through the kids."
Getler suggested that the fuss over the show (including a widely spread blog post on Big Hollywood) seemed more newsworthy now that when it was originally aired due to the current White House suggestions that Fox is not a "legitimate" news network:
Now, on one level, Pox News as an alternative and competitor to the Grouch News Network would seem to be a clever and appropriate title. But you would have to be anesthetized as a producer not to assume that many parents will hear this, or assume this, to be a clever shot at Fox News. It's a parody, a play on words, and has a timely feel to it at this time, especially, because of the battle now going on publicly between Fox and the White House. So it's probably not surprising that last week's showing got more people's attention.
Maybe Sesame Street’s producers just like CNN better. Not only did Cooper appear later in the offending skit, Larry King directed his Twitter followers last week to his Sesame Street interview with the letter W.
—Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center.
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Sorry...
November 9, 2009 - 07:23 ET by heldmywThis just doesn't rise the the level necessary for me to raise ANY indignation.
What other cable news network has a name that is even remotely parody-able?
Besides, MSNBC is a constant parody of a news channel.
PBS, the liberal sandbox
November 9, 2009 - 07:47 ET by Tim GrahamThis might be seen as a harmless parody -- unless we know that Sesame Street's Manhattan makers are liberal elitists, which we do.
It's not like this will make the little ones demand CNN. It's just that PBS people can wink at each other over stuff like this and enjoy their taxpayer-subsidized liberal sandbox.
the Sesame Street propaganda machine
November 9, 2009 - 07:27 ET by spepperoh the horror-- Sesame Street being used as a propaganda machine by the MSM elitists-- oh my! But seriously, where's the surprise here-- it is owned by an elitist faction-- PBS-- Propanganda Broadcasting Service-- their bias, paid for by our lovely tax dollars, has been the rule there for years-- and they wonder why nobody wants to "contribute" to their cause-- hell, we contribute, forcibly, enough as it is--
The Difference
November 9, 2009 - 07:27 ET by GeneralAlThe difference is all the other networks and cable channels are parodies in themselves!
payback time
November 9, 2009 - 08:05 ET by AJBI've always wondered... every time I go into a store, I see shelves full of Sesame Street merchandise: coloring books, crayons, plush toys, games... SOMEONE somewhere is making a killing on merchandising this material. So, please tell me, how much of that is paid back to the government for airing their show for free on PBS? Anyone? Anyone? Buehler??
The letters F and U would
November 9, 2009 - 08:19 ET by USA4freedomThe letters F and U would like to thank the letters P B S..
Ronald Reagan, 1962: I did not leave the Democratic party, the party left me.
Insert: your name, 2008, and the Republican party.
Good one-
November 9, 2009 - 08:25 ET by muh-oonGood one-
And they supposedly don't
November 9, 2009 - 08:35 ET by motherbeltAnd they supposedly don't have sponsors and advertising ("brought to you by..."), but they're always saying This show is made possible by a grant from.....
What the heck is the difference between that and an ad?????
That's a really fine line.
Another case for charity
November 9, 2009 - 09:51 ET by UnsaneAlso, there is this:
Name a PBS program (they have had such few good ones I don't watch - the last good one I remember was a great National Geographic special they had on Air Force One that aired on KLRN in April 2001!) that does NOT feature something to this effect: "This program is also made available with support from viewers like you! Thank you!"
Seems to me that not only re-investment from Sesame Street merchandise and sales of DVDs can go to support this entity, but so can CHARITY!!!
After all, I remember well in November 2000 when KLRN re-aired portions of the Cosmos series that Carl Sagan created back in 1980. I was watching this and reminiscing, as this was a deeply impressionable thing for me to watch at a young age - only to find it was interrupted ever 10-15 minutes with 10-15 minute segments of KLRN's pledge drive! Methinks the CPB can get on just fine with a mix of charity and re-investments from succesful programs...
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
Sesame merchandising
November 9, 2009 - 08:48 ET by Tim GrahamWe made this point back at the PBS-privatization debate back in 1995. There were over 1,000 licensed Sesame Street products, and no profits from those were directed back to PBS.
The dirty secret: PBS doesn't want their money. They want government money. They want private money, too, but not from producers. We called it "non-profiteering."
Stupid question, Tim....
November 9, 2009 - 09:25 ET by motherbeltWhere do the profits go?
An apology of sorts?
November 9, 2009 - 08:35 ET by Calypso JonesWell, isn't that nice. Little late though. The kiddies will not see or understand the retraction. So. The indoctrination is complete, for now. And in time, this will happen again and in other ways. Incrementalism.
That's how they brainwash
November 9, 2009 - 08:37 ET by motherbeltThat's how they brainwash kids.
Take a look at the ad where the father says his kids are pressuring him to buy a "green" washer and dryer.
The little girl holds up a picture and says "The polar bears, Daddy!"
Now where do you think she absorbed that idea?
Indoctrination starts early
November 9, 2009 - 08:56 ET by KC MulvilleThis is pure McLuhan stuff.
Let's anticipate the objection and answer it quickly: "this is just a TV show for toddlers." That's a dodge. Children form their most basic attitudes at this age. And whereas a toddler wouldn't know FoxNews from the Food Network, and this specific event isn't a big deal, it reminds us of the power of such early lessons. Then, knowing how important this is, we get alarmed when we see that socialization being hijacked by liberals.
I'm convinced that the reason we can't have an honest discussion about race in this country is because several generations have been socialized by this media (Sesame Street being a prime mover). And, whether by intention or not, the Sesame Street media's "multiculturalism" has been so hammered into the perspective of every toddler that they've been warned to never bring up the subject. Kids get the message. And the message has been that we're never expected to discuss (or even mention) the ethnicity or family heritage of any citizen. "Don't bring it up!"
Sure it's all smiles and the kids don't know any different. That's what scares us. I recall again the interview with Sting, the musician, where he was asked why he bothered with these celebrity-staged public protests. After all, the interviewer said, the dictators don't listen to your music. To which Sting replied: "But their kids do."
Don't let them wave it off as harmless. They know the power of the mass media. They didn't just accidentally fall into using it. They knew it was powerful and they sought to be part of it.
Have you seen kids cartoon shows lately?
November 9, 2009 - 09:09 ET by Calypso JonesIt's staggering the amount of pro-anyother culture, pro green, pro-environmental stuff is there. And i don't mean in a good way that encourages American values. THEY ARE TEACHING OUR KIDS CHINESE forcryinoutloud. They are making them into little wusses. it's disturbing. And how do you combat this? Because if you object, the response is, 'don't you want your kids to get along with everyone? to be good (world)citizens? no. i don't. I want them to be americans.
Controlling Culture
November 9, 2009 - 09:46 ET by KC MulvilleYou've heard the phrase "culture war." There's a good reason why it's called a war. Culture controls minds.
My favorite American philosopher, Willard Quine, told a story that explained "culture." The story is that a linguist wanted to study a certain African tribe. One day, the hunters went out, allowing the linguist to join them. They came to a clearing, and in the middle of the clearing was a rabbit. The hunters said to each other, "gavagai." The linguist wrote: "gavagai = rabbit." Later, the same hunters came upon a different clearing, and in the middle of the clearing was an antelope. The hunters then said to each other: "gavagai."
Culture is the collected assumptions of a group of people. It's only within that huge mush of assumptions that words and events have meaning. So, if you control the culture, you control the minds within the culture.
Liberals have aggressively hijacked culture. They want to shape worldviews. They start early, as early as possible. That's why this story is alarming -- the shapers of minds are politically adolescent.
Let's anticipate the
November 9, 2009 - 09:30 ET by motherbeltLet's anticipate the objection and answer it quickly: "this is just a TV show for toddlers."
SS isn't just made for toddlers; it aims at 4-6 year olds too. And they know that parents watch too.
In fact, some of their lines and parodies are specifically aimed at the parents. Does anyone think that toddlers and pre-schoolers "got" the riff on their character "Flo Bear"?
The older kids watching are the ones who will absorb the bias.
The Genesis of Fox
November 9, 2009 - 09:01 ET by throwfocusAnd then the Earth cooled. Not long after came the big three networks and no one saw bias. Then came Walter Cronkite who once gave his opinion. And the world gasped, but he is Walter Cronkite they said. His heart is clear even if his mind is decided. So the Earth was at peace. And time creeped on and CNN dawned and the world listened. And no one saw bias or so CNN reported. And the world was at peace or so CNN reported. But God was troubled by this. The people are not at peace he thought. The peoples' hearts are clear but there minds detect the bias. What must He do? And so God created Fox News, the fair and balanced network. But this did not create peace; it did not end the bias. It divided the people between those who seek news without bias and those who claim the bias of Fox justifies the bias of CNN or so CNN reported. But the people know Fox News would not exist if not for CNN, the Big Three networks, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time Magazine, Newsweek and NPR. And so while the world may not be at peace the people know why the world "is the way it was" because Fox reported it and CNN listened and God rested
The Genesis of Fox
November 9, 2009 - 09:14 ET by throwfocusAnd then the Earth cooled. Not long after came the big three networks and no one saw bias. Then came Walter Cronkite who once gave his opinion. And the world gasped, but he is Walter Cronkite they said. His heart is clear even if his mind is decided. So the Earth was at peace. And time creeped on and CNN dawned and the world listened. And no one saw bias or so CNN reported. And the world was at peace or so CNN reported. But God was troubled by this. The people are not at peace he thought. The peoples' hearts are clear but there minds detect the bias. What must He do? And so God created Fox News, the fair and balanced network. But this did not create peace; it did not end the bias. It divided the people between those who seek news without bias and those who claim the bias of Fox justifies the bias of CNN or so CNN reported. But the people know Fox News would not exist if not for CNN, the Big Three networks, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time Magazine, Newsweek and NPR. And so while the world may not be at peace the people know why the world "is the way it was" because Fox reported it and CNN listened and God rested
Get 'em young
November 9, 2009 - 09:55 ET by jaywlDo I see a pattern? PBS spends govmint money on pre-school and young school-age kids programing. Govmint money goes to Head Start. The NEA backs every liberal that promises govmint money and in return defends every teacher that that interjects liberal philosophy into the classroom. Another small group of wacko libs controls what is written in school books paid for with more govmint money.I would bet this list could fill page after page. In return these recipients of our tax dollars feed our children a steady diet of indoctrination. From the overt examples here to every manner of subterfuge the representatives of only 20% of our citizenry (the liberal self-identifiers) control the early education of most of our children.
How Much?
November 9, 2009 - 10:05 ET by DragonsbreathDid the head guy at PBS make last year?
Keep in mind it is a non profit....
"While Americans died at Fort Hood, Obama had a good laugh..."
There's an old saying
November 9, 2009 - 10:46 ET by nwahsPick your battles. This isn't one of them.
I can see it now - NewsBusters takes on Sesame Street for flagrant letter bias.
Get a grip. GNN was obviously a dig at CNN. This just dilutes the message of media bias.
And FYI, Sesame Street isn't the first to parody the Fox network as Pox. Dick Van Dyke did it in "Diagnosis Murder" many years ago.
"And FYI, Sesame Street
November 9, 2009 - 14:05 ET by ckc1227"And FYI, Sesame Street isn't the first to parody the Fox network as
Pox. Dick Van Dyke did it in "Diagnosis Murder" many years ago."
Ahh yes, "Diagnosis Murder".....that other well-known kids show funded by taxpayer dollars.
I don't have a problem with
November 9, 2009 - 11:11 ET by redmikeI don't have a problem with this story. It sounds to me like Anderson Cooper is just driving viewers away and helping the ratings of Pox News.
→ Redmike
November 9, 2009 - 11:18 ET by Cool ArrowI'm OK with "POX News"
It's people like Andy Pooper, giggling about his boyhood visits to a cocaine den with Michael Jackson that make CNN a joke.
Well, publicly admitting he has problems talking when he's teabagging says a lot too.
LYDSEXICS UNTIE!
PBS
November 9, 2009 - 11:17 ET by GothampcPBS knows that it doesn't have advertising, therefore no boycotts or angry sponsors, and is paid by taxpayers and donations, so they can pretty much get away with broadcasting whatever they want.
Ouch!!!!
November 9, 2009 - 11:27 ET by kengieThat silly word "Truth" hurts!!! Every dummy (muppet) knows that.
"Palin is just a pole dancer, a good one at that!" ~ Mike Huckabee
Good Thing Not MSNBC
November 9, 2009 - 11:44 ET by TuariIt's a good thing they didn't try to parody MSNBC. I wouldn't want my kids to learn about STD's, hookers, and all sorts of nasty things at that young of an age.
PUBLIC broadcasting
November 9, 2009 - 11:45 ET by Paul BAs long as PBS is feeding on the public trough, this remains doubly inappropriate. Liberals constantly think they can use my tax dollars against me.
Re; Sesame A--HOLE street, and the singing praises for Obama
November 9, 2009 - 15:37 ET by BearoneHello,
Day in and day out we are bombarded with the fact that this man really was way over his head when he waked into the White-House, and now it is comfirmed. With this child like attempt to polarize the publics view of FoxNews he-(OBAMA)-Has weaken himself in many a ways even in his own communites. Please look at where that young man was killed at reently. That was the communites that he was a community organizer in. Ladies and gentlemen please do not----FALL FOR THESE CHILDISH THINGS THAT THIS MAN AND HIS CRONIES ARE TRYING TO DO TO THIS NATION. THEY ARE TRYING TO DECIDE WHO IS IMPORTANT ENOUGHT O BE CONSIDERED A NEWS NETWORK, WHAT ABOUT MSNBC? VALERIE JARRETT YOU ARE A TRUE AMERICAN JOKE, AND ALL THE OTHER JOKERS, AND CRONIES HE HAS LURKING AROUND IN THE SHADOWS, AND THAT IS WHAT HE IS TRYING TO DO--CREATE A SHADOW GOV. THAT HE CAN RUN AT ANY TIME AND ANY WHERE. DOES ANYBODY TRUST THIS MAN, OR HIS CRONIES? E-MAIL ME AND
LET ME KNOW. E-mail address is bearone7777@yahoo.com.
Thank you very much.
Larry D. Crumbley
To Be Fair, CNN And MSNBC Are Also Trashy...
November 9, 2009 - 23:50 ET by The7SticksNo offense, but do you honestly think that Fox News has stuck to its course of being fair and balanced since the Obama election? It used to be a fair and balanced network when MSNBC and CNN were attacking President Bush ad nauseum. Now, Fox is using CNN and MSNBC's tactics on President Obama, while MSNBC and CNN are just kissing up to him. Truthfully, though, what Fox has become in reality is a personality-driven network. As some people say Obama's popularity is motivated primarily by personality, so too is Fox News' reporters and commentators. I heard this first months ago on Phil Hendrie's show before the MSM picked up on it.
So yeah, it's true that Fox News is a trashy network. Then again, so is MSNBC and CNN, which obviously being allegorically similar to Oscar the Grouch has to be a bit of a black eye.