Jean Daugherty

Document Type

Article

Date

1996

Keywords

Television programming, Children's programming, Syracuse

Language

English

Disciplines

Film and Media Studies

Description/Abstract

General Manager Paul Adanti and Program Director Gordon Alderman thought that as part of our fifth birthday celebration we should develop a program for preschool children. Paul Adanti had only one request: he wanted a trolley car as part of the cast. Gordon Alderman, a graduate of Syracuse University's Drama Department and a man for whom television was more mission than medium, insisted it must broaden a child's world; it must help a child appreciate individual differences; and, "Ifit isn't fun," he said, "they won't watch." We didn't have a big budget, but we had resources. Our first job was to convene a panel of experts: representatives from parent-teacher associations, mothers' clubs, the Syracuse public schools, the public library system, Syracuse University's nursery school, and the Oswego State Teachers College (now SUNY Oswego). There was no such term as "couch potato," but the panel was concerned that children would become passive viewers as they were spoon-fed information. Those of us who were from the station, however, believed that we could help children develop imagination.

Additional Information

Syracuse University Library Associates Courier, Volume XXXI, 1996.

Source

local input

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