Sesame Street News Flash

The Sesame Street News Flash is a recurring Sesame Street segment that features Kermit the Frog as a roving reporter for "Sesame Street News." Reporter Kermit, wearing a trench coat and hat and holding a microphone, interviews characters from fairy tales, nursery rhymes, and other popular stories, even appearing at key moments in history. As with most such parodies, the stories often diverge from tradition.
The first News Flash sketch, where Kermit covers the unfolding story of Rapunzel, premiered in Episode 0409, during Season 4 of Sesame Street. A variation of the segment, entitled "Sesame Street Sports," had Kermit in a flashy sports coat reporting on the race between the Tortoise and the Hare. The skits were no longer produced after 1989, but continued to re-air on the show until 2001.
Some sketches are included here that may not have used the opening Sesame Street News Flash theme music and logo, but can be considered to be a part of the same series as evidenced by the presence of Kermit in his reporter garb, and the manner in which he goes about his duties. Other material with Kermit reporting for Sesame Street News is covered at: Reporter Kermit.
==Sketches==
File:Ssnews.rapunzel.jpg|Rapunzel
File:Ssnews.princesscookie.jpg|Princess and the Cookie
File:Ssnfsleep.jpg|Sleeping Beauty: Frog Kiss
File:Sesamestreetsports.JPG|The Tortoise and the Hare
File:Sleepbeauty56.jpg|Sleeping Beauty: Prince Sleeps
File:Ssnews.cinderellaball.jpg|Cinderella at the Ball
File:SSNews-PiedPiper.jpg|Pied Piper of Hamelin
File:Frogonthestreet.jpg|Frog on the Street: Julia
File:Ssnews.angry.jpg|What Makes People Angry
File:Frog on the Street - Loud and Soft.jpg|Frog on the Street: Loud and Soft
File:News-3PigsOriginal.jpg|The Pig's Straw House
File:1800-20.jpg|Count Counts the Three Little Pigs
File:SSNews.Columbus.jpg|Christopher Columbus
File:SSNews.MissMuffet.jpg|Little Miss Muffet
File:News-EarlyRedRidingChase.jpg|Red Riding Hood & the Woodsman
File:SSNews.Weather.jpg|Weather Report
File:1041newsflash.jpg|Hey Diddle Diddle
File:SSNewsHubbard.jpg|Old Mother Hubbard
File:Ssnews.humpty.jpg|Humpty Dumpty
File:Cameo.jerry02.jpg|Mirror, Mirror
File:Ssnfbicycle.JPG|Don Music: Mary Had a Bicycle
File:Ssnews.hickory.jpg|Hickory Dickory Dock
File:Ssnews.holiday.jpg|Holiday Mix-Up
File:Ssnews.jacknimble.jpg|Jack Be Nimble
File:Rumplestiltskin.jpg|Rumplestiltskin
File:SSNews.5pigs.jpg|Five Little Pigs
File:Inthesnowpart1.jpg|Man in Snowstorm
File:Ssnews.chooseprince.jpg|Princess Chooses a Prince
File:DonMusic--YankeeDoodle.jpg|Don Music: Yankee Doodle
File:Rowrowyourboat.jpg|Don Music: Row Your Boat
File:Ssnews.pinocchio.jpg|Pinocchio
File:Ssnews.cherrytree.jpg|George Washington's Cherry Tree
File:Ssnews.oldkingcole.jpg|Old King Cole
File:DonMusic-OldMacDonald.jpg‎|Don Music: Old MacDonald
File:Ssnews.aladdin.jpg|Aladdin and His Lamp
File:Ssnews.sixdollarman.jpg|The Six Dollar Man
File:Newsflashinvisible.jpg|The Invisible Man
File:Kermit-johnjohn-onstreet.jpg|Frog on the Street: John-John
File:SSNews.BoPeep02.jpg|Little Bo Peep
File:SSNF Shoe2.JPG|Old Woman Who Lives in a Shoe
File:SSNews.Jackandjill.jpg|Jack and Jill
File:Cameo.jerry01.jpg|Jack and the Beanstalk
File:SSNF.AliBaba.jpg|Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
File:DonMusic TwinkleTwinkle.jpg|Don Music: Twinkle, Twinkle
File:Ssnfalphabet.JPG|Don Music: The Alphabet Song
File:Ssnews.slipper.jpg|Prince Charming Looks for Cinderella
File:Ssnews.shoemaker.jpg|The Elves and the Shoemaker
File:yellowstone.jpg|Don Music: Sesame Street Theme
File:Monstersgrowup.jpg|Baby Monster Day Care Center
File:Ssnews.waitinginline.jpg|Waiting in Line
File:Ssnews.peterpiper.jpg|Peter Piper
File:NewsFlash-BallerinaBody.jpg|Ballerina's Body
File:KermitNews-ballerina-jumping.jpg|Ballet Jumping
File:Ssnews.SuzanneFarrell.jpg|Counting Grand Battements
File:Slushabouts.jpg|Dr. Nobel Price: Sloshabouts
File:Footsnuggies.jpg|Dr. Nobel Price: Foot Snuggies
File:Ssnews-warrenwolf.jpg|Dr. Nobel Price: Talky Stick
File:SSnews.tinkletable.jpg|Dr. Nobel Price: The Tinkly Table
File:Ssnews.poonga.jpg|Dr. Nobel Price: Great Poonga-Poonga
File:Firstday09.jpg|First Day of Monster School
File:Cookieredhood.JPG|Little Red Cookie Hood
File:Indoor3.jpg|Rainy Day
File:Ssnews.wonderland.jpg|Alice in Wonderland
File:Ssnews.oogle.jpg|Oogle Family
File:Ssnews.marylamb.jpg|Mary and Her Little Lamb
File:Ssnews.history.jpg|First Day of School in History
File:Ssnews.littlereddirections.jpg|Little Red Riding Hood's Directions
File:Ssrobofrog.jpg|Dr. Nobel Price: Sherman the Hoppity-Hop
File:Ssnews.pigsfeelings.jpg|How the Three Little Pigs Feel
File:Ssnffarm.JPG|Old MacDonald's Spaceship
File:Ssnews-telly.jpg|Cooperation Report
File:SSNews.ideeeeeas.jpg|Ideas for Games
File:MM.Kermit.jpg|Miami Mice
File:Ssnews.alphabetmine.jpg|Alphabet Mine
File:SSNews.3Pigsand1Frog.jpg|The New Three Little Pigs Story
File:Ssnews.bostontea.jpg|The Boston T Party
File:Londonguard.jpg|London Fog
File:News-WrongDwarves.jpg|Seven Emotional Dwarves
File:Ssnews.cinderdress.jpg|Cinderella's Fairy Godmother
File:News-ZooAnimals.jpg|Favorite Animals
File:Ssnews.princessC.jpg|The Princess and the C
File:SSnews.thisishowwelook.jpg|This Is How I'm Made
File:SSNF.HuffPuffschool.jpg|The Big Bad Wolf's School for Huffing and Puffing
File:SSNews-SantaChimney.jpg|Santa Claus
File:Ssnews.macdonaldhealth.jpg|Old MacDonald's Health Farm
File:Ssnews.harerematch.jpg|Tortoise and the Hare's Rematch
File:SSNews.divorcedbird.jpg|Bird Family
File:Ssnews.thumbelina.jpg|Mumford's Big and Small Trick
==Other variations==
:For instances in which Kermit played a reporter outside of the Sesame Street News Flash segments, see Reporter Kermit.
Fourteen, approximately twenty-second audio reports with Kermit were produced for the computer games Letters and Numbers. These are heard on the radios found in each section of the games. Although Kermit appears in all the pieces, one piece from Numbers features an interview with Professor Alphonse.
One segment featured a substitute reporter, a brown wolf named Warren Wolf. Nonetheless, it was featured as part of the series and included the Sesame Street News theme music at the beginning. A variation of the series, as Sesame Street News, was used in Episodes 2668 and 2669, as anchored by Buster the Horse.
New tune-in segments under the "News Flash" banner appeared during season 45 featuring Murray Monster (clad in a necktie) conducting interviews with kids, with Ovejita presenting a word in Spanish.
The Monster Fixers video series (which also involves nursery rhyme parodies) features Elmo as a "junior monster reporter" for Sesame Street News, holding a microphone with a small version of the classic "News Flash" logo on its flag.
Guy Smiley reported on the Tough Monster Race using a microphone with the Sesame Street News logo in Episode 5111.
"Your cute and curious reporter Grover" served as a correspondent for Sesame Street News (holding a microphone branded with the recognizable logo) in Sesame Street Episode 5404. Reporting on the street about bedtime routines, he interviews Count von Count who includes counting bats, the way one might count sheep, as a means of going to sleep. The practice has a drowsy effect on reporter Grover who slips into a snore on the job.
==Logo==
Most of the sketches began with a logo of the words "NEWS FLASH" on a cloud with stars and a lightning bolt. A news theme written by Joe Raposo (registered with BMI as "Kermit News Theme") consisting of Morse code-like sounds and an urgent-sounding version of the Sesame Street theme. An announcer (voiced by Jerry Nelson in most cases) would say "We take you now to Kermit the Frog with another fast-breaking news story!" or some variation. 
A few of the sketches originally did not begin with a logo or announcer, including all of the Don Music sketches.
The sketches involving Kermit the Frog interviewing Dr. Nobel Price had a variation of the opening where it started with the standard News Flash logo and music, but the announcer would say "Sesame Street News takes you once more to the far-off island laboratory of Dr. Nobel Price, the great inventor, for news of his latest amazing discovery." Halfway through the intro it would fade to an establishing shot of Dr. Nobel Price's island laboratory (except for in the segment with Sherman the Hoppity Hop). The segment with Warren Wolf did not feature the News Flash logo, just the island establishing shot; the theme music however remained intact, and Michael Earl provided the announcer voice instead of Jerry Nelson. Similarly, the "This is How I'm Made" segment featured Martin P. Robinson announcing over the standard logo.
Starting in the late 1980s, certain reruns and releases of older sketches would replace the original News Flash logo on them with the 1986 version, sometimes also replacing Jerry Nelson's original announcer spiel with a newer recording.
On Elmo Saves Christmas, a new News Flash logo was used.
Image:EarlySesameNewsLogo.jpg|The earliest incarnation of the most commonly seen title card, which was first used on the "Rapunzel" skit. (1972-1973)
Image:SuperimposedNewsKermit.2.jpg|An early variant of the logo, where a superimposed version appears over the action of Reporter Kermit. (1972)
Image:SuperimposedNewsKermit.jpg|Another early variant of the logo, where a superimposed version goes over the action of Reporter Kermit, but also flashes on and off. (1974)
Image:NewsBulletin.jpg|A rare alternate title card, seen in the "Little Miss Muffet" sketch. (1974)
Image:Newsflash.red.jpg|Yet another early variation used in the "Christopher Columbus" sketch. (1974)
Image:Newsflashb&w.jpg|Black and white variant (1974-1976)
Image:Newsflashlate70s.jpg|Enlarged variation and the first to carry the standard color scheme. (1975-1984)
Image:Newsflash1986.jpg|A later variation of the logo, often used to replace older versions. (1982-2001)
Image:Title.newsflash2.jpg|The 1983-1986 version of the title card where the text flashes.
Image:1996NewsFlashLogo.jpg|The NEWS FLASH logo from Elmo Saves Christmas (1996)
Image:Sesamenews1998.jpg|The Sesame Street News logo used during the 1998 news coverage of Slimey's moon mission (1998).
Image:Murray-Special01.png|NEWS FLASH logo used for news tune-ins with Murray (2014)
===International===
When aired on the international co-productions, many different edits occur. Some cut the title card all together, some leave the original English one in (with the announcer dubbed in the program's native language), and some created their own "NEWS FLASH" intro.
Image:Ssnews-ruasesamotitle.jpg|Rua Sésamo
Image:SsnewsIftahYaSimsimTitle.jpg|Iftah Ya Simsim
Image:RechovSumsumNews.jpg|Rechov Sumsum
Image:BarrioSesamo-News.jpg|Barrio Sésamo
==External links==
*Tough Pigs Anthology -- Sesame Street News Flash transcripts
==See also==
__NOWYSIWYG__
 
Category:Kermit Sketches
Category:Nursery Rhymes
Category:Fairy Tales
Category:History
Category:Broadcasting
Category:Fictional Shows
Category:Sesame Street Recurring Sketches