Fred Rogers’ 1969 Senate testimony on PBS funding resurfaces amid current defunding concerns

Uncertain times may lie ahead for American media as Donald Trump’s administration considers cuts to public service media funding, according to The Guardian. This echoes a similar challenge faced decades ago, one that Fred Rogers (@fredrogersproductions) passionately opposed. A resurfaced video shows Rogers testifying before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, where he expressed strong opposition to reducing federal funding for public broadcasting from $20 million to $10 million, as reported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).

The proposal to cut PBS funding was presented by former American President Richard Nixon, with the proceedings taking place on May 1, 1969. During the Senate Subcommittee on Communications meeting, Rogers explained how television played a crucial role in children's growth and development. He emphasized how shows could guide and positively influence young viewers. Rogers, best known for creating "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," an educational children's show that aired from 1968 to 2001, engaged in a meaningful conversation with Senator John O. Pastore while submitting his testimony. The entire conversation is preserved on American Rhetoric, an online speech bank.

Rogers began his testimony with a heartfelt statement: "One of the first things that a child learns in a healthy family is trust and I trust what you have said that you will read this. It's very important to me. I care deeply about children," With the Senator's permission, he proceeded to share his experiences. "I'd just like to talk about it, if it's alright," Rogers continued. "My first children's program was on WQED fifteen years ago, and its budget was $30. Now, with the help of the Sears-Roebuck Foundation and National Educational Television, as well as all of the affiliated stations, each station pays to show our program. It's a unique kind of funding in educational television."

"With this help, now our program has a budget of $6000," he continued. "It may sound like quite a difference, but $6000 pays for less than two minutes of cartoons. Two minutes of animated, what I sometimes say, bombardment. I'm very much concerned, as I know you are, about what's being delivered to our children in this country. And I've worked in the field of child development for six years now, trying to understand the inner needs of children." After Rogers made this point, Senator Pastore asked about the length of his program. Rogers responded, revealing that it aired for 30 minutes every day, emphasizing the importance of quality, thoughtful content for children over the shorter, less meaningful programming often seen on TV.

Senator Pastore then asked, "Could we get a copy of this so that we can see it? Maybe not today, but I'd like to see the program." Rogers agreed, and mentioned how he wrote the scripts, did voice work and even handled the puppeteering for the children's show. "I end the program by saying, 'You've made this day a special day, by just your being you. There's no person in the whole world like you, and I like you, just the way you are.' And I feel that if we, in public television, can only make it clear that feelings are mentionable and manageable, we will have done a great service for mental health," Rogers shared his heartfelt vision for the show's impact on children and society.

He expressed his concerns about what the children of the country would visually consume in the next 15 years, wishing to continue presenting what he believed to be a "meaningful expression of care" through his show. Senator Pastore, visibly moved, admitted, "Well, I'm supposed to be a pretty tough guy, and this is the first time I've had goosebumps for the last two days. I think it's wonderful. I think it's wonderful. Looks like you just earned the 20 million dollars." The court proceedings wrapped up on a positive note, and Rogers' show continued airing for decades to come.