PBS annual meeting brings Cookie Monster and collaboration to San Diego

After three days of meetings, the national PBS annual meeting and convention wrapped up in downtown San Diego Wednesday.

One thousand three hundred public broadcasting managers, producers, and other employees from around the country met this week to collaborate and communicate the latest developments in programming and fundraising.

There were some significant announcements about upcoming educational offerings from the national network. And the division continues to develop content to restore learning loss in the aftermath of the pandemic.

“As soon as virtual school started, more kids had access to streaming, WIFI, and broadband. It's still not 100%, but a lot more kids had access and that meant kids started using our content differently," said Senior Vice President and General Manager of PBS Kids, Sara DeWitt.

M.G. Perez

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KPBS

Along with returning favorites like "Rosie's Rules," there are plans for innovative educational video games and a new animated series called "Lyla in the Loop," starring a family with a young daughter, problem-solving and learning concepts in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Another animated series, "Weather Hunters," features the voice of the NBC Today Show weatherman, Al Roker.

“We’re so careful about testing our content with kids. Making sure we are saying it in a way that’s going to make sense to them. That's the DNA of KPBS Kids," DeWitt said.

On the last day of the meeting, convention-goers had the opportunity to take a picture with "Sesame Street" icon: Cookie Monster.

Eugenia Harvey is with WNET public broadcasting in New York City. She grew up with the Cookie Monster and his friends on "Sesame Street."

“It’s the absolute first place on television where I saw people and kids who looked like me, who looked like my parents — I grew up in rural Georgia by the way," Harvey said.

M.G. Perez

/

KPBS