Rethinking the Collective Memory: Mister Rogers, Senator Pastore, and Public Broadcasting

Abstract

In the spring of 1969 Fred Rogers quietly offered testimony to US Senator John Pastore about the special kind of content he and other public broadcasters produce. In the decades since, his comments have become a popular viral video used as a tool in the fight for public broadcasting in the United States. But the video’s narrative of Rogers emotionally moving the “crusty” Pastore to fund public broadcasting is not the whole picture. This study explores the collective memory around Rogers and Pastore interactions and examines US Senate transcripts, contemporary news coverage, and an appraisal of the testimony’s legacy to provide greater nuance to this viral video.

Notes

1 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 137.

2 Sharon Eberson, “Fred Rogers Re-emerges as Champion Of Arts; Video From 1969 Used To Fight Budget Cuts,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, PA), March 18, 2017.

3 Rance Crain, “Fifty Years after His Famous Speech, Does Minow Still Think TV Is a ‘Vast Wasteland’?” Advertising Age, April 18, 2011.

4 Crain, “Fifty Years after.”

5 Robert W. McChesney, Telecommunications, Mass Media, and Democracy: The Battle for the Control of US Broadcasting, 1928–1935 (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1995).

6 Lyndon Baines Johnson, Remark-s of the President at the Signing of the Public Broadcasting Act, the East Room, Office of the White House Press Secretary, 1967.

7 Robert K Avery, “The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967: Looking Ahead by Looking Back,” Critical Studies in Media Communication 24, no. 4 (2007): 358–364.

8 Lyndon Baines Johnson, Remarks of the President at the Signing of the Public Broadcasting Act, 1967.

9 William Hoynes, “Public Broadcasting for the 21st Century: Notes on an Agenda for Reform,” Critical Studies in Media Communication 24, no. 4 (2007): 370–376.

10 Robert K Avery, “The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967: Looking Ahead by Looking Back,” Critical Studies in Media Communication 24, no. 4 (2007): 358–364.

11 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 1–2.

12 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 4.

13 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 97.

14 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967: Hearings before the Subcommittee on Communications, 91st Cong., 1st sess., 1969, 35–37.

15 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act Of 1967, 1–2.

16 Donica Mensing. “Public Radio at a Crossroads: Emerging Trends in U.S. Public Media,” Journal of Radio & Audio Media 24, no. 2 (November 2017): 238–50.

17 Fred Rogers, “May 1, 1969: Fred Rogers Testifies Before The Senate Subcommittee on Communications,” YouTube Video, 6:50, February 8, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKy7ljRr0AA.

18 Fred Rogers, “May 1, 1969.”

19 Fred Rogers, “May 1, 1969.”

20 Fred Rogers, “May 1, 1969.”

21 The Providence Journal, “When Mister Rogers Softened a Tough Senator,” Providence Journal (Providence, RI), June 1, 2017.

22 Jeffrey K. Olick, Vered Vinitzky-Seroussi, and Daniel Levy, eds., The Collective Memory Reader (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2011), 16, 139–49.

23 Motti Neiger, Oren Meyers, and Eyal Zandberg, eds., On Media Memory: Collective Memory in New Media Age (New York, NY: Springer Publishing, 2011), 1–3.

24 Carolyn Kitch, “Anniversary Journalism, Collective Memory, and the Cultural Authority to Tell the Story of the American Past,” Journal of Popular Culture 36, no. 1 (2002): 48.

25 Robert A. Carlson, “The National Educational Television Network: Case History of an Adult Education Organization,” Adult Education 17, no. 3 (March 1967): 134–51.

26 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 99.

27 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 99.

28 Robert K. Avery, “The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967: Looking Ahead by Looking Back,” Critical Studies in Media Communication 24, no. 4 (2007): 358–64.

29 “Carnegie I: Carnegie Commission on Educational Television, 1967.” Current, January 26, 1967.

30 “Carnegie I: Carnegie Commission on Educational Television, 1967.” Current, January 26, 1967.

31 Lyndon Baines Johnson, Remarks of the President at the Signing of the Public Broadcasting Act, 1967.

32 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension Of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 1.

33 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension Of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 41.

34 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension Of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 72.

35 Paul E. Corcoran, “Presidential Concession Speeches: The Rhetoric of Defeat.” Political Communication 11, no. 2 (April 1994): 109–31.

36 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 4.

37 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 4.

38 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 4.

39 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 34.

40 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 73.

41 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 98.

42 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 64.

43 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 106.

44 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 81.

45 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 39.

46 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 153.

47 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 89.

48 “Carnegie I: Carnegie Commission on Educational Television, 1967,” Current, January 26, 1967.

49 Robert K. Avery, “The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967: Looking Ahead by Looking Back,” Critical Studies in Media Communication 24, no. 4 (2007): 358–64.

50 Victor Pickard, “Social Democracy or Corporate Libertarianism? Conflicting Media Policy Narratives in the Wake of Market Failure,” Communication Theory 23, no. 4 (2013): 336–55.

51 Robert W. McChesney, “Public Broadcasting in the Age of Communication Revolution,” Monthly Review 47, no. 7 (1995): 1.

52 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 158.

53 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 159.

54 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967: Hearings before the Subcommittee on Communications, 91st Cong., 1st sess., 1969, 68.

55 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967: Hearings before the Subcommittee on Communications, 91st Cong., 1st sess., 1969, 156.

56 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act Of 1967, 155–56.

57 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act Of 1967, 155–56.

58 John Kinde, “Speaker authenticity 101; In less than seven minutes, Fred Rogers once turned a crusty senator into a trusty benefactor. See how,” Speechwriter’s Newsletter, November 2007.

59 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 62.

60 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 96.

61 John Pastore, “Remarks to the National Association of Broadcasters,” 1969. Archive material from the John H. Pastore Papers, Providence College. Providence, Rhode Island.

62 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 152.

63 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 13.

64 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 12.

65  US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension Of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967: Hearings before the Subcommittee on Communications, 91st Cong., 1st sess., 1969, 101.

66 Stephen D. Perry, and Amanda L. Roesch, “He’s in a New Neighborhood Now: Religious Fantasy Themes about Mister Rogers’ neighborhood,” Journal of Media and Religion 3, no. 4 (2004): 199–218.

67 Perry and Roesch, “He’s in a New Neighborhood Now,” 199–218.

68 Jeff Greenfield, “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood To Air Last Show,” CNN, Cable News Network, August 31, 2001.

69 “Mr. Rogers Says Goodbye—For Now,” CNN, Cable News Network, August 31, 2001.

70 Maxwell King, The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers (New York, NY: Abrams Press, 2019), 245.

71 King, The Good Neighbor, 245.

72 “Mr. Rogers Says Goodbye—For Now,” CNN.

73 King, “The Good Neighbor,” 171–72.

74 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 56.

75 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 102.

76 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 134.

77 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 137.

78 Fred Rogers, “May 1, 1969: Fred Rogers Testifies Before The Senate Subcommittee on Communications,” YouTube Video, 6:50, February 8, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKy7ljRr0AA.

79 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 137.

80 John Kinde, “Speaker authenticity 101; In less than seven minutes, Fred Rogers once turned a crusty senator into a trusty benefactor. See how.” Speechwriter’s Newsletter, November 2007.

81 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 142.

82 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 142.

83 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 142–43.

84 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 98.

85 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 142.

86 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 143.

87 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 143.

88 IUS Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 143.

89 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 143.

90 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 143.

91 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 143.

92 Lydon, “Senate Ends Hearing.”

93 See “May 2, 1969,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, PA); Sun-Telegraph (Pittsburgh, PA), May 02, 1969.

94 Robert Berkvist, “Misterogers is A Caring Man,” New York Times (New York, NY), November 16, 1969.

95 Berkvist, “Misterogers is a Caring Man.”

96 Carol Kramer, “New York Today: Misterogers’ Neighborhood: A Child’s World of Reality, Fantasy, Fun and Friends New York Today,” Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL), July 26, 1970.

97 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Public Broadcasting: Hearings before the Subcommittee on Communications, 93rd Cong., 1st sess., 1973.

98 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Public Broadcasting: Hearings before the Subcommittee on Communications, 93rd Cong., 1st sess., 327.

99 King, The Good Neighbor, 176–177.

100 King, The Good Neighbor, 176–77.

101 Ellen Edwards, “It’s a Sad Day in the Neighborhood.” The Washington Post (Washington, D.C.), February 28, 2003.

102 Shana Teehan, Vice President of Communications at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting email correspondence with author, August 31, 2020.

103 NET Special: Public Television Hearings; 2. Boston, MA: Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (WGBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-516-t72794201n.

104 NET Special: Public Television Hearings; 2. Boston, MA: Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (WGBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-516-t72794201n.

105 Fred Rogers: America’s Favorite Neighbor, DVD, directed by Margaret Whitmer, Joseph J. Kennedy, IV (Pittsburg, PA: Family Communications/WQED Multimedia, 2003).

106 Timothy Karr, “Tax Social Media to Invest In Journalism; Mr. Rogers Virtually Saved Public Broadcasting. Now We Must Fight For High-quality News,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, PA), March 11, 2019.

107 “Nightline Remembering Mr. Rogers,” ABC News Transcripts, February 27, 2003.

108 Michael Idato, “It’s far from sunny days for the ABC if the plight of America’s PBS is any guide,” The Sun Herald (Pittsburgh, PA), September 30, 2018.

109 Alexandra Pollard, “‘Won’t You Be My Neighbor?’: How Mister Rogers used children’s TV to tackle death, divorce and existential dread,” The Independent (London, UK), November 6, 2018.

110 Sharon Eberson, “Fred Rogers Re-emerges as Champion Of Arts; Video From 1969 Used To Fight Budget Cuts,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, PA), March 18, 2017.

111 Lyndon Baines Johnson, Remarks of the President at the Signing of the Public Broadcasting Act, The East Room. Office of the White House Press Secretary. 1967.

112 US Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, Extension of Authorizations Under The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, 158.

113 Timothy Karr, “Tax Social Media to Invest in Journalism; Mr. Roger’s Virtually Saved Public Broadcasting. Now We Must Fight for High-Quality News,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, PA), March 11, 2019.

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Matt Cikovic

Matt Cikovic is a Ph.D. student at the Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State. He previously earned a master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma and a bachelor’s from the University of Tennessee. His research interests include media pedagogy, media history, and public broadcasting.