Mt. Lebanon man wins Emmy honors for work in children’s television
Leads Fred Rogers Productions
Anyone who cut their television-viewing teeth decades ago with the likes of “Kukla, Fran and Ollie” or “Captain Kangaroo” will immediately notice how much more frenzied children’s television shows are today.
The cutting is more rapid and, it seems, the chatter is more brisk. The almost manic pace of “Paw Patrol” has, it seems, outrun the more languid pace of “Sesame Street” back in the days when Mr. Hooper presided over the neighborhood.
“We actually talk a lot about that,” according to Paul Siefken, president and CEO of Fred Rogers Productions. He noted that on “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” the public television series created by the company he oversees, you see Daniel move from one location to another – when he leaves school, for example, he hops on a streetcar and viewers follow him on his journey back to his house.
“We want to make sure children are able to follow the story,” Siefken added. “That’s about respecting them and respecting their space. We make great efforts to not move too fast.”
Thinking about how children follow stories has been a preoccupation of Siefken for more than three decades. The Louisiana native and Duke University graduate started his career as a high school teacher in the Atlanta suburb of Mableton, but then started work at the Atlanta-based Cartoon Network. Then, he worked in the children’s programming department for nine years before his stint leading Fred Rogers Productions began in 2013.
His work in children’s television and guiding Fred Rogers Productions was recently highlighted when Siefken became a Silver Circle honoree in the Children’s and Family Emmy Awards. He accepted the award at New York’s Lincoln Center.
Siefken said he was drawn to children’s television for the creative opportunities it afforded, and he wanted to “exercise that creativity creating content for kids.” Fred Rogers Productions, which is based in the Southside Works neighborhood in Pittsburgh, manages the archives and distribution of the hundreds of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” episodes that were created between 1968 and Fred Rogers’ death in 2001, as well as newer series like “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” “Donkey Hodie” and “Alma’s Way.”
Now a resident of Mt. Lebanon, Siefken remembers watching “The Jetsons” and “Scooby Doo” when he was a child, and he realizes “how important content can be to children and respecting that.”
“Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” may, in certain respects, seem like a relic from another time, but it has found a contemporary audience. It’s no longer carried daily on public television stations as it once was, but the series now has its own dedicated YouTube channel with 131,000 subscribers.
On the other hand, “Alma’s Way,” launched in 2021, features a 6-year-old girl who lives in a diverse neighborhood in the Bronx and puts a spotlight on Latino culture. Siefken explained, “We brought our animators to the Bronx to get a good sense of the people and businesses.”
While public broadcasting has been buffeted by federal budget cuts, Siefken points out that PBS Kids, the digital platform that carries the offerings of Fred Rogers Productions and other series, “is still as vibrant as it has ever been.” Fred Rogers Productions is set to move into the world of podcasting next year with “Young Neighbors,” which is designed for children aged 8 to 11.
“We try to expand our inventory of shows,” Siefken said. “We want to make sure we’re making different shows for kids at different ages.”
For more information on Fred Rogers Productions, go online to fredrogers.org.