Children’s television pioneer and Sesame Street creator Joan Ganz Cooney is the recipient of this year’s Be More Award from PBS. She accepted her honor at the PBS National Meeting, continuing in Austin. From the podium, PBS President Paula Kerger said Cooney’s work from 1968 to 1990 at her Children’s Television Workshop makes her “one of the single greatest educators of children in the world.” Former Be More winners include Bill Moyers and Neil DeGrasse Tyson.
Frontline’s David Fanning received the 38th annual Ralph Lowell Award from CPB last night in Austin. The prestigious honor has been presented since 1975 (when Cooney won) for outstanding contributions to public television. Fanning began his career in journalism at a newspaper in his native South Africa before beginning his career in pubTV in 1973. Other Lowell Award winners include Julia Child in 1998; Newton Minow, 1982; and Fred Rogers, 1975.