PBS head backs host’s firing

PBS President Paula Kerger said Wednesday that she agreed with the decision by the PBS Kids Sprout network to fire the host of a children’s program who had appeared in videos that mocked public service announcements touting sexual abstinence.

Melanie Martinez, who hosted “The Good Night Show” on the digital channel for preschoolers -- a partnership between PBS, Sesame Workshop, HIT Entertainment and Comcast -- was fired earlier this month after admitting that she had appeared in “Technical Virgin,” which spoofed public service ads about virginity.

Kerger said that Martinez had not disclosed her work in the videos when she was first interviewed for Kids Sprout and only revealed it once they had been posted online. She likely would not have been hired if the network knew about “Technical Virgin” to begin with, Kerger said.

“What we were looking for in the host of Sprout is someone that is really representative of PBS and Sesame and kids’ entertainment,” the PBS president said in an interview between sessions at the semi-annual television press tour in Pasadena. “She’s not an actress -- she really is supposed to embody the service itself.”

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-- Matea Gold