Question

transforming childrens television
mister rogers neighborhood, created by fred rogers, first appeared on national television in 1968. rogers developed the program in order to address what he perceived as a deficiency in television programming for young children; specifically, he viewed traditional programming as neglectful of social and emotional issues. one year after the shows national debut, another new public television childrens program was introduced: sesame street, the brainchild of joan ganz cooney and lloyd morrisett. like rogers, coone and morrisett were dissatisfied with the options available for young children. they created sesame street in order to add an educational option to childrens programming. while sesame street was more academically focused than mister rogers neighborhood, both programs were unusual in their tackling of complicated issues, such as divorce, disability, and the human impact of natural disasters, which were typically ignored by traditional childrens television shows.
what is the main, or central, idea of the passage?
mister rogers neighborhood and sesame street were television programs that both dealt with issues previously unaddressed in childrens programming.
fred rogers created mister rogers neighborhood in order to address social and emotional issues with young children.
both mister rogers neighborhood and sesame street included discussion of complicated social issues, but sesame street was more academically focused.

Explanation:

The passage discusses how Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and Sesame Street addressed issues not previously covered in children's programming. While individual shows' creation reasons and differences are mentioned, the over - arching idea is about both shows breaking new ground in children's TV.

Answer:

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and Sesame Street were television programs that both dealt with issues previously unaddressed in children's programming.