Examining Sesame Street's impact after 40 years

Stuart Loory, Lee Hills Chair in Free-Press Studies, Missouri School of Journalism: The television program Sesame Street celebrated its 40th anniversary this week. It started as a preschool children’s program featuring huge puppets living in a rundown section of Brooklyn, New York. It has now been syndicated to some 140 countries throughout the world, where it has taken on new characters and subjects. That raises the matter of the export of American culture to the rest of the world and how it is received. The Walt Disney Company just got approval from China to open a huge new theme park in Shanghai. Does that mean that American movies, television programs and pop music will also begin to flood China? American films and television dominate in faraway places. Is this good for the United States, and is it good for other countries? First, how did Sesame Street grow and what is its impact?