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Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient Joan Ganz Cooney
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Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient Joan Ganz Cooney
The visionary creator of Sesame Street, Joan Ganz Cooney, was the first recipient of the Nancy Dickerson Whitehead Medallion of Excellence in the Field of Mass Communication. Having graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education, but with little interest in teaching, Joan pursued a career in journalism. After a couple of years working as a reporter, writer and publicity director, her career path was cemented.
In 1966, Joan began conversations with the Carnegie Corporation, regarding the use of television to educate large numbers of preschoolers. After more than two years of research and development, the Children’s Television Workshop (CTW) and Sesame Street, one of the most innovative children’s shows ever, were founded.
Sesame Street premiered in late 1969 and by the end of the first season, the show was attracting an audience of seven million preschoolers. Today, Sesame Street reaches an estimated 235 million viewers each week in more than 85 countries. In the United States, the series is broadcast by some 300 stations.
Joan and CTW also created several other educational shows geared toward children such as The Electric Company and Big Bag. Children’s Television Workshop programs have been awarded 70 Emmys.
She is a trustee for several organizations, a director on corporate boards and has been a member of the President’s Commission for a National Agenda for the Eighties and the President’s Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse. In 1989 she received a Daytime Emmy for Lifetime Achievement and in 1990 was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. Most recently, Joan Ganz Cooney was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom , the nation’s highest civilian honor.
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Medal History
