“It’s a figure of speech: ‘Get your money from Barney.’ ”īut among the literal-minded, Pressler’s claim that Barney’s income could supercede the $285 million CPB appropriation does seem exaggerated. Jarvik acknowledges that Barney by himself isn’t generating quite that much cash, and complains about the “dishonest literal-mindedness of people in public broadcasting.” Jarvik’s point is that Bill Moyers, Garrison Keillor and many other “private parties” altogether are selling “a pretty hefty load of stuff,” he says. “If the Corporation for Public Broadcasting had gotten 30 percent of that, it would have had a lot more than they got from the federal government.” Larry Pressler (R-S.D.) began employing the story late last year, Barney was not just a parable for public TV’s supposed indifference to honestly earned, red-blooded greenbacks, but also evidence that it needed no federal assistance.īarney “made a billion dollars in one year,” Pressler said on Nightline in January. ![]() The story began turning up in articles by Jarvik and speeches about “profiteering” by Sen. What became Barneygate first appeared in a 1993 Washington Post article pointing out that PBS had missed getting a big share of the jackpot in Barney merchandise. “Barneygate” seems likely to live on in pubcasting history, though no one knows today whether the furor will be remembered for introducing public TV to big-time product licensing, for gravely injuring its reputation at a crucial political moment, or for its sheer one-time-only weirdness. In other words, public TV will get to broadcast the show virtually free. This means PBS will get back at least $1.75 million by the end of 1998, he estimates. The network renegotiated its deal with Barney‘s producers, receiving a guarantee that it will recoup its spending on the program’s new season after four years, says Larry Rifkin, the Connecticut PTV programmer who brought the series to PBS. “When they hear that CPB is not getting any of it, they know somebody is getting rich, and the federal government paid them $2 million! It’s a crystal-clear case that people can understand.”īarney’s jackpot held fascination not only for Jarvik and his readers in the Senate but also for PBS. ![]() “Everyone who has kids knows how much they cost,” says conservative researcher Laurence Jarvik. The inflated numbers, however, make an indelible connection with the perceptions of moms and dads who have shopped for Barney products. The mountains of money that Barney & Friends “brings in” annually, as cited by senators, columnists and ordinary people alike, have grown from hundreds of thousands to billions of dollars, though the actual net income to the show’s producers is more likely in the tens of millions, and just a fraction of that is available to public TV. Vega kept her astronomy jacket from Barney in Outer Space.Of all the facts, half-truths and distortions used by public broadcasting’s opponents in the ongoing contest to redefine the field’s public image, the Barney Billions seem the most enduring and damaging.Vega's favorite Barney videos and episode to film were Barney's Sense-Sational Day (due to her debut), Barney in Outer Space (due to the sets) and " A Picture of Health".David Joyner, who was Barney's costume performer during her time on the show, was Vega's acting coach prior to Vega being on the show. ![]() In 1994, Vega appeared as herself in the religious-oriented VHS series Psalty's Songs for Little Praisers in volumes 1-3, which was filmed in the same studio as Barney.Vega was later cut in the Hollywood Week auditions. Afterwards, Vega sang "Free Your Mind" by En Vogue to show that she grew up from Barney & Friends. Before her audition started Vega sang " I Love You" in front of the judges due to Randy Jackson, one of the judges of American Idol at the time, asking her to do so. During her audition, she mentioned that she was on Barney & Friends. In 2009, Vega auditioned for the ninth season of American Idol. Vega returned as a dancer in the video Let's Make Music (2006) and in the episode " Dancing" (2006). Vega's final appearance as Kim was in the video Barney's Beach Party (2002). She didn't have her lines memorized for the video until they started filming. Initially, Vega was to be apart of Barney's Big Surprise but was eventually swapped to be a series regular on Barney & Friends.Īt age nine, going on ten, Vega's first production of Barney occurred with the video Barney's Sense-Sational Day, debuting as Kim. The producers eventually called Vega to let her know that they wanted her to be on the show. She had to sing "Happy Birthday" to a plush toy version of Barney. Vega was called to audition four to five times, with the last call-in being with the producers of the show. Her mother saw an advertisement in a newspaper for an open call for a children's series. Due to Vega's mother being remarried, it brought her to Dallas, Texas.
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