E.R. Murrow Award Podcast Submission - Generation Barney
Why do we revisit the things we loved as kids? What is the lasting power of this media? The seven-part podcast “Generation Barney” looks for answers in a great, big, purple dinosaur.
In late 2024, Connecticut Public launched this narrative podcast after a year-plus of research, reporting, scripting, editing, and mixing. When we started the podcast, we thought about focusing just on Connecticut Public’s personal connection to Barney. Back in the ’90s, the station “discovered” and then helped launch Barney & Friends on PBS.
But we realized that there was a real opportunity to engage listeners beyond just Connecticut. So we zoomed out and used Barney as a way to explore bigger themes like love and hate, nostalgia, children and consumerism, music and memory, and more.
In the third episode, we dive deep into the world of Barney hate. Some parents found the character pretty annoying. Other grown-ups took things a step further. In some cases, the Barney backlash even got violent. The episode explores what Barney hate might tell us about our culture today — and how much our identities can get wrapped up in the things we love and hate.
The podcast may have been locally produced, but it’s had national reach. So far, the podcast has more than 430,000 downloads. It’s also been featured on all the major podcast apps and in The Guardian, Entertainment Weekly, People, Variety, NPR, and more. But what’s been most impactful has been the response from the podcast’s listeners. It turns out Barney’s messages of love and kindness really resonate today. One of our listeners said it best: “This show is a testament to the power of empathy and connection in an age bordering on apathy and isolationism. May we all remember Barney for the love he invites us to bring into the world.”
Original airdate: November 19, 2024
Murrow Award submission date: February 13, 2025