Best of CASE District I Award
 

Institution: Connecticut College

Title of entry: How He Got to Sesame Street

About this entry: This profile of Jordan Geary, Sesame Workshop’s senior director of production and development, explores how Geary’s career has grown and evolved alongside two decades of change in the television industry. The piece focuses not only on Sesame Workshop’s commitment to serving the best interests of children, but also how the Workshop has changed, with Geary’s input, in response to market factors. Geary’s career trajectory provides further insight into how television has changed over the years. For instance, his path illuminates how once reliable brands like MTV have struggled to remain relevant as streaming has steadily replaced cable as the means most people receive their televised entertainment.

The central motivation for the feature grew out of significant changes in one of Sesame’s biggest collaborators, MAX (formerly HBO MAX), and concerns over how that might impact the venerable children’s brand that has remained strongly resistant to capitalistic pressures throughout its existence. Geary’s involvement gives the audience a relatable and human perspective on the industry, drawing the audience in and making the issue easier to understand.

Finally, Geary himself is a dynamic person with a seemingly endless reservoir of optimism who nonetheless never seems naïve or deluded about the precarious nature of his industry. His path is instructive and encouraging for Connecticut College’s grads who might be interested in similar pursuits. In this way, the profile acts as both a thoughtful look at a career in television and a strong endorsement of Conn’s educational mission.