Museum of the Moving Image to Feature Conversation with Joan Ganz Cooney

Museum of the Moving Image will present a conversation with television pioneer Joan Ganz Cooney, co-founder of Sesame Workshop and originator of Sesame Street. Moderated by CBS reporter Lesley Stahl, the program will take place on Wednesday, May 2, 2012, at 7 p.m. in the Museum's main theater. Cooney will discuss her career and talk about her current work with the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, which is dedicated to advancing children's learning in the digital age.

Tickets for "Children and Television: An Evening with Joan Ganz Cooney" are $25 public / $15 Museum members (free for Silver Screen members and above). Advance tickets are available online at http://movingimage.us or by calling (718) 777- 6800.

"Mrs. Cooney's work has had an enormous influence in the world of education and entertainment," said Carl Goodman, the Museum's executive director. "Her innovations in children's television have shaped generations of people here and abroad. She shares the Museum's common interests in education and the moving image, and we are thrilled to present this special conversation, moderated by Lesley Stahl, one of the most respected journalists in television."

In 1968, Joan Ganz Cooney co-founded the Children's Television Workshop (now called Sesame Workshop), "the single largest teacher of young children in the world," and created Sesame Street. The show has been broadcast daily since 1969 in the United States on the more than 300 stations of the Public Broadcasting Service and is seen by millions of children in more than 150 countries. One of the first television shows with a multicultural cast, Sesame Street addresses a wide spectrum of children's issues using the power of media and the appeal of humor, music, and the Sesame Street Muppets to engage children.

Following the successful launch of Sesame Street, Cooney and her colleagues created other award-winning children's series on network and public TV such as, The Electric Company, 3-2-1 Contact, Ghostwriter, Big Bag, Dragon Tales, and other programs that bring science, mathematics, reading and new experiences to life. Cooney has received numerous awards including a Daytime Emmy for Lifetime Achievement in 1989, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, and, in 1990, was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame and received the Founders Award from the International Council of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Mrs. Cooney is presently a Director at the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, a Trustee of the Paley Center for Media and The New York Presbyterian Hospital, and is a Lifetime Trustee of WNET Channel 13/Educational Broadcasting Corporation and of the National Child Labor Committee.

CBS reporter Lesley Stahl has been a correspondent on 60 Minutes for more than twenty years. Previously, she was the CBS White House correspondent during the Carter and Reagan presidencies and the first year of George H.W. Bush's presidency and served as moderator for Face the Nation, CBS's Sunday public-affairs program. She has interviewed many world leaders, including Margaret Thatcher, Boris Yeltsin, Yasir Arafat, and President George H.W. Bush.

Museum of the Moving Image advances the understanding, enjoyment, and appreciation of the art, history, technique, and technology of film, television, and digital media. In January 2011, the Museum reopened after a major expansion and renovation that nearly doubled its size. Accessible, innovative, and forward-looking, the Museum presents exhibitions, education programs, significant moving-image works, and interpretive programs, and maintains a collection of moving-image related artifacts.