DOCUMENT RESUME Feeling Good
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 095 930 IR 001 121 TITLE Feeling Good: A Major New Weekly Series on Health for Adults from the Creators of Sesame Street. INSTITUTION Children's Television Workshop, New York, N.Y. SPONS AGENCY Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Washington, D.C.; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, New Brunswick, N.J. PUB DATE 74 NOTE 28p. AVAILABLE FROMPublic Affairs, Feeling Good (Box B), CTW,1 Lincoln Plaza, New York, New York 10023 EDRS PRICE MF-$0.75 HC-$1.85 PLUS POSTAGE DESCRIPTORS *Adult Education; Behavioral Objectives; Educational Television; *Guides; *Health Education; Media Research; Mental Health; Physical Health; *Public Television IDENTIFIERS Childrens Television Workshop; Community Education Service; Feeling Good ABSTRACT The objective of the television series "Feeling Good" is to help adults improve both their physical and mental health and that of their children. More than 300 doctors and health experts participated with Children's Television Network (CTW)in selling the 11 priority topics for the series: alcohol abuse, cancer, child care, dental care, exercise, the health care delivery system, heart disease, hypertension, mental health, nutrition, and prenatal care. Several informational and behavioral goals are attached to each topic. To attract a mass audience, CTW's Community Education Service will work with local public TV stations. The series premiered November 20, 1974.(Author/ECM) *SI COPYAVAILABLE 7t:s what you do, hour by how; day by day, NT OP HEALTH, that largely determines U S DE PARTMEWELFARE E DUCATION t OP NATIONAL INSTITUTE EDUCATION HAS BEENREPRO the state of your health, THIS DOCUMENTAS RECEIVEDFROM DUCED EXACTLY ORIGIN THE PERSON ORORGANIZATION 0$- VIEW OROPINIONS whetheryou getsick, *TING IT POINTSNECESSARILY REPRE STATED DO NOT INSTITUTE OF NATIONAL SENT Or FICIAL OR POLICY what you get sick with, EDUCATION POSITION and perhaps when you die." Thats the theme of I TM of CTIN ajor new Vilir weekly TV series on health for adults from the creators of Sesame Street. Premieres November 20, 1974 a , , MI COO AVAILABLE CRISIS IN COMMUNICATION: The State ofaNation's Health "It is in the interest of our entire country to educate and encourage each of our citizens to develop sensible health practices. Yet we have given remarkably little attention to the health education of our people. "Most of our current efforts in this area are fragmented and haphazarda public service advertisement one week, a newspaper article another, a short lecture now and then from the doctor. "There is no national instrument, no central force to stimulate and coordinate a comprehensive health education program." These were among the key observations in the busy to do an er;ective job, and too many TV President's message to Congress in 1971 which messages are primarily concerned with product called for comprehensive health education efforts promotion rather than with true consumer health for the country. education," the committee observed. While the pressure for funding large scale There is then, a need for an effective health eft'orts in this area continues, a recent report by education program, not only to impress upon the Presidential committee on health education people the importance of maintaining good Nted that of the $75 billion spent annually for medical, hospital and health care, about 92% health, but to establish wider communication in was spent for treatment after illness occurs, the field. This need has reached almost crisis with only about 4% allocated for research and proportions. And, because television has become the remainder devoted to prevention of illness perhaps the nation's most potent communication and health education, with health education re- and education tool, a concerted effort to employ its formidable strength in a mass public experi- ceiving the short end. ment in health education seems overdue. The same committee also noted that the vast majority of people-88% in one surveylook to This booklet describes just such an attempt their physicians or TV commercials for informa- now being undertaken by the Children's Tele- tion about health. "Yet physicians are often too vision Workshop (CTW). 2 COPY AVAILABLE CONTENTS _a The Program 4 About CT IV 8 Planning 9 Research 12 Outreach 16 Advisory Council 18 Consultants 19 44N1Stag 25 ai Station Lineup 26 Underwriters 28 7 Feeling Good aims not only to tell viewers what the health problems are but to impress Otill111111.1119111.. upon them the fact that the in- dividual has great power over maintaining his own health. It sometimes uses dramatic situ- ations to make the point. A group that congregates at Mac's Place, a typical lunch counter, will carry some of the informa- tional messages about health. Here Jason, an intern, tells an over-exercised Hank that doing toe, much too soon in an effort to control his weight will serve only to make him "the best conditioned body in the morgue. FEELING GOOD: vriAt Major New TV Experiment in Health Education During the 1974-75 season, the 250 stations of result of exhaustive pre-broadcast research. And the Public Broadcasting Service will televise a it will be accompanied by extens, .e promotion major new weekly series for viewing in prime- and outreach efforts to reinforce eat. h program's time evening hours. It will be aimed at adults message and to bring the viewer in contact with and designed to help improve their physical and local health institutions. mental health and that of their children. While designed for family audiences, the series The New York Times, ina front page headline will consider the informational needs of adults, announcing the series, called it a"Sesame Street with the primary target audience of the program for adults," an apt description since its creators being the young parents who play major roles in the Children's Television Workshop (CTW ) influencing the health habits of their immediate earlier pioneered in producing highly popular families. The health problems of the poor will and educationally effective television for the be of particular concern to the series' producers, young. because good health and adequate health care The new series of 26 hour-long programs titled are especially difficult to achieve in low income Feeling Goodis probably the most ambitious at- communities. tempt ever made to use television on a regular The series will employ a variety of proven basis to convey health information. television techniques to entertain while at the The program will be as unlike any previous same time conveying helpful and needed infor- TV health presentation asSesame StreetandThe mation. This will hopefully motivate viewers to Electric CompanytheWorkshop's two prize- take action in their own best interests. winning children's programsare unlike any pre- The overall objective of the series, then, is to vious form of educational programming. encourage people to raise the level of their In common with the Workshop's other suc- own health and that of their family. Health is cessful TV ventures, the new series will be the closely related to lifestyle: the individual has 4 BEST COPY AVAILABLE much greater power than most people realize to maintain good health and to prevent illness. As one doctor told the Workshop hea!th staff recently, "It's what you do, hour by hour and day by day, that largely determines whether you get sick, what you get sick with, and perhaps when you die." Selection of subject material for the series has taken over two years. More than 300 doctors and health experts participated with the Workshop in this process. The series will use a resident company of eight whose characters are so defined that the audience will be able to identify with them. "These characters," says Al Morgan, senior pro- ducer for the series, "will provide an element of reality to the series. And, from time to time, the program will take a look into their livesindivi- dually." Variety of AVAILABLE Communications Techniques, illustrated here in scenes from the product on, will be employed in th,! new CTW health series. A variety magazine format will be used, afford- ing the widest possible latitude to Producers in presenting major health subjec,; in the most compelling id entertaining manner. adi At times a single topic may be treater' en one show in several different ways--via drama. Celebrities will make guest appearances. music, dance, satire or even animation. The pro- Howard Cosell calls the "shots" to stress ducers call this, a "cluster effect" and the aim is the importance of immunization. Bill to reinforce the overall impact of !:ey health Cosby in the same segment reminisces messag,:s. about whooping cough. /h. 2141111"'s ( AP-mill11ml .; . trh 4%0 111 / k 6) ter 1:4 a se Fib AML 4- S . .3) le- 1 , ....... , , 4,1,: . .X0,4, 4 :.,.if .., Atigi. Musk and Danceare also used to get Atone show goals across. Here a"Walking Song" an original number by John Morris and Barbara Fried, makes the case for exercise in maintaining good health. Self-hAlp methods will be encouraged on Feeling Good. The series will convey basic information (which researchers have found MIcoin many viewers don't have) on subjects such aseastcancer. Here viewers of the test show see how to do a breast self-examination. Satire i, one technique that is used. Here' are Jordan Christopher and Karen t I achon in ''T Greens," a satire on the banquet scene from the 11;111 I om Jones. To show their ALA ni,riance in the daily diet, leafy AUL veen veve fables make up the entire meal. BEST CM AYAAMILL About the Series' Creator The Children's Television Workshop, creators ofFeeling Good,public television's new series on health for adults, is a non-profit research and production center founded in 1968 to experi- ment it: the educational uses of television and al- lied communications media.