Katie Couric's Notebook: Sesame Street

By: Katie Couric
Topics: Katie Couric's Notebook

When Sesame Street first premiered, 40 years ago today, its make-believe neighborhood was pretty rough around the edges.

The buildings were dingy. Trash cans lined the street. And Cookie Monster not only gobbled fistfuls of cookies but occasionally smoked a pipe.

Now the set's been spruced up. Cookie Monster calls cookies a "sometime" food. And the mood is decidedly more Elmo than Oscar the Grouch.

The show has changed so much that DVDs of the early episodes now carry a warning that they might not be suitable for today's kids.

Yet despite its new image, the show's themes of tolerance and learning persist. In the Middle East, a version broadcast in Hebrew and Arabic brought peaceful giggles in the 1990s. In South Africa, an HIV-positive Muppet helped de-stigmatize the disease.

Sesame Street has always been ahead of its time. It's a window into the world of children, a place where everything's A-okay, and has been for 40 years.

So Happy Anniversary Sesame Street!

That's a page from my notebook.

I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.

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by petersemkiw November 12, 2009 4:15 PM EST: My favorite episode of Sesame Street was in the 90's, Learning to Share.
Like most kids, Elmo was sometimes having trouble taking turns and sharing. Even with his best friend Zoe. With a little help from Sesame Street favorites Big Bird,Cookie Monster,and Oscar, and especially special guest Katie Couric, Elmo discovered that sharing with friends makes playtime twice as much fun! And Katie had some helpful tips for parents for guiding kids through learning how to share, too !
Way to Go, Katie !
Happy Anniversary Sesame Street!; Reply to this comment


by petersemkiw November 12, 2009 3:45 PM EST: Someday we'll find it, the Rainbow Connection!
Happy Anniversary Sesame Street!; Reply to this comment

by jsmllanero November 12, 2009 3:07 PM EST

Katie,
Since you took over the news, the network has destroyed your image and personality. Get back to where you used to be, friendly , smiling, good loose hair and a free soul. The hairdo they have given you makes you look like a suppressed English school ma'am and the personality is totally foreign to you.
Remember the good old days when you were working up the ladder and keep that image!

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by theonewluv November 12, 2009 3:59 PM EST: This comment, above, is totally silly. Katie IS friendly, smiling and her hairdo is beautifully arranged and up to date--I think the Evening News has become warmer and kept professional as it always was, just a tad more so by having Katie reporting all that's going on with even more compassion.


by shylove2 November 11, 2009 7:58 PM EST: I suppose it is fitting then that the Vietnam War was happening then and our new Vietnam is well underway. I wonder how many wars have happened on Sesame Street during that time and how well prepared our kids are for acceptable collateral damages and Predators with Hellfire and damnation missiles? Sooner or later it is all going to come back to haunt us and they should be prepared for it.; Reply to this comment