I remember reading up on Pastore after hearing about the PBS funding case; to say he was a villain is such an evil thing, when you look at the man's career he was for the people and the children, an intimidating man who had a lot of good he wanted to do, and did. Glad he's getting his flowers in some way today
I think the role of villain was assigned because this video was rarely seen prior to the age of when it was reasonably possible to transmit video across the internet. This would be prior to youtube, and be around 2002, when Mr. Rogers was still alive. The three part video (three parts because sharing videos larger than 2MB was just difficult to do and required good connections) was usually shown without much context to the matter. It was just used to highlight how Rogers had a hand in keeping PBS around. I agree with you that this video is important, because like in most areas across the 'net, context is lost when sensationalism sells (even when the sensationalism is an overall positive message). I only know about this specific history because of how I came across this myself in 2001 via file sharing services of public affairs archives, and how it was shared more broadly in egroups, Usenets, and discussion forums.
As a Canadian, I found the picture of Fred Rogers alongside Ernie Coombs (better known as Mr. Dressup) really bringing me back to my childhood. Mr. Dressup and Mr. Rogers were my two favourites as a kid, and I only recently realized that they had worked together in Toronto.
I was a student at Carnegie Mellon (and you are correct, it's not just Pittsburghers but Andrew Carnegie himself who pronounced it "Car-NEG-ee") and I had the privilege of meeting Fred Rogers while taping a TV play I wrote at WQED. I can confirm what many people have said about him-there was a glow. Any emotional guardrails you had up would vanish instantly. I believe part of his secret is that he spoke to the child inside the adult and the adult inside the child. It doesn't surprise me at all that he had the good sense to appeal to Senator Pastore's own sense of right and wrong-Rogers was a canny and fiercely determined person when it came to the welfare of children-but I also don't think it was a cakewalk. Pastore is clearly giving Rogers a hard time at the beginning of the hearing, which was basically his brand: he was infamous for incinerating television executives, and my understanding is that he didn't really know much about Fred Rogers when he sat down at the table. He was geared up for a fight, and quickly abandoned his line of attack once he saw that Rogers was on his side. So you're right-it wasn't a conversion story, but it also wasn't theatre. And I do believe Rogers charmed him. There are so many stories of him dissolving people's emotional barriers. Including mine.
I'm a student in Pittsburgh currently and was so glad Phil made a point to pronounce it right haha. Also, although he's not around anymore, Mr. Rogers definitely left a really deep legacy behind. When his name is brought up around here there's a subtle layer of pride just at the fact that THIS was where such a beautiful thing was born.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, or something like that. Fred Rogers is a good person to be compared to, and Phil Edwards has a similar genuine sincerity. I don't think wearing a sweater is a problem here!
"How Emotional Intelligence Landed Mr Rogers $20 Million" is the most depressing and dishonest way you could twist this story, the guy was fighting for TV funding not personal profit... God I hate LinkedIn
@@laurendoe168 Knowing LinkedIn, I am 100% certain it is intended to come off that way. The only people that use that site are wall street line goes up guys and self-proclaimed tech entrepreneurs
Honestly I tend to turn off completely when I hear the phrase "emotional intelligence". It's not entirely without merit as an idea, but by and large the way it's used tends to be either awful and masturbatory or so generally that it's meaningless.
Something to note here, is that this all happened _before_ Sesame Street. And Sesame Street had a lot of the same funders as Mister Rogers did. But it took Sesame Street a long time for it to be finely tuned. They really wanted Jim Henson, but Jim wanted nothing to do a children's program. Despite him working with puppets. Jim hadn't gotten into robotics yet.
I did NOT know the connection to the CBC and (re)starting out in Canada. That's Mr Dressup (Earnie Coombs) at 7:55, and as a Canadian kid in the '80s I always recognized the similarities between the two, but thought Mr Dressup was just a Canadian knock-off of Mr Rogers. Both of these men are absolute treasures!!!
The Mr. Dressup documentary on Amazon prime is really good. it talks about how Ernie Coombs worked behind the scenes on Misterogers then when Fred Rogers moved back to the US, Coombs was able to develop his own show for CBC.
What wasn't talked about, but I also think it's an important anecdote to note, is that Fred Rogers is also the reason why we can record live TV. He believed that the way children learned, was by repetition. And that repeated viewing of his show, would be a good way for kids to learn. But back in those days, recording live TV was illegal, and considered copyright infringement. Even if it was for private use. But also managed to convince them that people should be allowed to record his program, so children could watch it repeatedly. And that's a part of the reason why we're allowed to record television today. And recording live TV seems like it was always a right we had, but people had to fight for that law.
I didn't know you couldn't record off the TV. It's something we all take for granted. Thanks Mister Rogers. Just more proof of how goated and alpha Mister Rogers really was.
This is incorrect. Recording the TV was never illegal; for a long time, it was simply impossible. TV came about long before there was any kind of recording technology capable of storing and playing back a signal at the frequency required for on-demand video. In the early days of TV, programs were either ephemeral live performances, akin to remote plays, forever lost once they had been sent, or recorded on film, and broadcasted by effectively pointing a TV camera at a film projector. There were some attempts at recording video in the late 50s, but they required massive drums of tape running at ludicrous speeds, and were thus relegated to institutions. In the late 1970s, Sony developed the first video cassette recorder, called Betamax. This was the first practical way to record TV at home. In response, Disney and Universal Studios sued Sony, claiming that recording TV at home was a form of copyright infringement. The case escalated to the Supreme Court, and in a landmark decision they ruled that "time shifting" was a legitimate use of VCRs. Rogers testified in favor of this decision, but the ruling only affirmed the status quo, and no laws were changed.
Mister Rogers was always on the right side of history. I bet he would hate all the DMCA abuse happening right now. And all of the gatekeeping happening right now with educational content.
It's pretty bold to claim that he is the reason TV recording is legal. Maybe a reason, but I doubt that Rogers' testimony was the make-or-break piece of evidence that led the court to rule in favor of Sony in Universal v. Sony.
I love all the newfound praise for Mr Rogers going around for the last few years. What a sadly missed bygone era! My parents bought me a little Timex wristwatch for Christmas when I was 7, my mother calling it my "Daniel Tiger Timex" because she remembered him being my favorite character and loving his little puppet wristwatch 😂 Still my prized possession to this day! I've had that silly thing more than 40 years now and it still makes me happy every time I pull it out of the drawer to wear for a couple weeks at a time
Holy crap, your avatar is smacking me over the head with memories that by all accounts were all but forgotten. It's incredibly faint, but I definitely remember seeing those stickers growing up. For some reason I distinctly remember one being on our phone, which I'm not sure what the point was. Maybe don't lick it? Probably a good call (heh).
The combination of growing up in the '90s without cable TV and also being the nerdy type meant I was a PBS kid through and through. Sesame Street, Reading Rainbow, Arthur, Kratt's Creatures, Bill Nye, Wishbone, and of course Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood were all on regular rotation. I know I have Mr. Rogers and now, also Senator Pastore to thank for that in large part. Great work as always.
Indeed! I grew up watching Mr. Dress up! I never really took to Mr Roger's Neighborhood...but I think that's just my preference growing up, and nothing to do with the quality of the show.
Pastore saying that public television was the most dynamic and impressive invention of the century gave me goosebumps. Adults that care so much about this public good, that is mainly consumed by children- now that's really special.
Phil is a masterclass in how to teach understanding. I thought I understood the entire time, while now I need to go question what purpose even means. Louved this story Phil! Signed- Canadian
Thank you so much for this video! That was great. I always had a notion that there was more to what was being told when Rogers testified than what was being portrayed. Gore Vidal once said, when speaking of FDR whom he knew through his father and step-grandfather, "politicians lie like birds sing", so the idea that Pastore was going to be swept up at a Senate hearing was a bit incongruous from the outset, but I didn't care enough to look behind the curtain and read about Pastore because TV is now becoming antiquated and we're too far away from 1969 for it to feel like something to invest a lot of energy into. However, I'm glad you did. Thank you.
I remember watching Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, and I specifically remember my favorite part of the show was the part in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.
My only criticism is that you didn't adjust for inflation. $20 million doesnt sound a lot for a industrial grant. But it converts to about $170 million today. I just wished you had added that in, just to really illustrate just how large of a subsidy they were getting.
I feel the same about our CBC and localy we havel NTV. I remember we had 2 tv hannels for most if my childhood. Both of those channels were available for free with a set of wire rabbit ears...
Nixon is the real villian here. Nixon was a crook (despite him claiming he wasn't one), and an overall awful person. How he was popular enough to be elected president is beyond me.
my research led me to not be certain nixon was too antagonistic (at this time) - i suppose there are a couple ways of looking at it - he was increasing the budget, but nowhere near what pbs wanted. that said, he was anti ford foundation and later on quite anti PBS
It seems like Nixon will always be a bit of an enigma. Arguably the most infamous president in history, but not at all consistently evil, and responsible for a lot of good, and moderating some more extreme voices. Off topic, but it would be really interesting to see where we would be in our relations with China if not for him.
He was pretty popular up until watergate, and that is what he is remembered for today. I'm assuming you were not alive yet for his presidency, neither was I, but he was a pretty popular president, and a pretty decent one at that. Certainly not the shiniest US head of state, but his administration created the EPA, the endangered species and clean air acts, and strictly enforced desegregation in southern school, to name a few examples. He did try to end the war in vietnam, but after a few failed treaties with the vietnamese, kissinger got to him.
I am a bit surprised that so many people miss the obvious clues of the original clip and mistook it. Admittedly, it was part of the charade intended. But in a way it is a good indicator how easily people can fall for something like that.
You're right that this story is better. In a time where real narratives are found to be less wholesome than the publicly known version of the story, learning that the real story involved not only one but two great people trying to do good for childrens television is ust absolutely wonderful.
thank you so much for telling this story! im about to graduate w/ my masters in public affairs and part of the reason why i concentrated my policy interests on education/public schools is because of the positive impact mr rogers left on me. keep doing what you do!
Phil, You really hit it out of the park with this one-bravo! 👏 Right now, this is my favorite video of yours. I really like how you show how much context matters. I went to the US Congress website to read Pastore’s biography and I was not surprised to learn he was an assistant attorney general twice. Like a defense attorney, Pastore was clearly disarming Public Television’s critics.
Fred was a pioneer in so many ways. Yes, he came from a rich family, and people like to use that to diminish his accomplishments. But just because he had money, doesn't mean he had a happy upbringing. He was actually very sad a child. And the money couldn't make him happy. And ultimately, Fred never cared about money from a personal standpoint. And outside of grants, he would even outright refuse money on principal. Even when his show became very popular, and companies wanted product to pay him to have placement on the show. He refused. If you watch his show, nothing is branded. He always took off the labels and had the art department make custom Neighborhood branding. Even something like dog food. It wouldn't be purina, it would be Neighborhood dog food. The only time you would see brands, is he was either showing a video, or he visited a factory. He lived a modest life. Never one of someone rich. He didn't make nearly as much money as you would think someone as famous as him would have you believe. I think he died with a total net worth of about $2 million. He could've made countless riches selling out. Selling his name, and product everywhere (which PBS later did after he died). But he didn't.
I watched, every episode of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood as a kid. Those were the days. Good days. Later generations, missed out on not watching and learning from his show.
Every time I revisited that viral video of Mr. Roger's hearing with Senator Pastore, I never saw the lawmaker as a villain. I am not a stranger to disliking Congress, it's a common feeling among my generation, to be apathetic about the lawmakers of this country. However, it is his job to be cynical, to look at things as objectively as possible. Everyone can make emotional pleas about their bill or project, and it's a Senator's job to wade through it all and make sense of it. I saw a no-nonsense Senator speak to a no-nonsense public educator, and ensured the foundation of PBS and for children's education for decades to come. What villain gives the hero a fair chance? What villain lets the hero convince him, unironically? What villain comes around to the hero's point of view after only a few minutes? That is not a villain, that is an ally who has to play his cards carefully to win the day. Thank you for your insight into this subject, and shedding more light onto the truth of the situation as it happened in it's own time.
Phils' videos are easily one of the best produced and well narrated stories. His demeanor and voice is almost Fred Rogers like. You are definitely one of the top journalists on RUclips Johnny Harris and Cleo. Keep up the great work Phil.
The part that always sticks out to me is when Fred says “I'm very much concerned, as I know you are, about what's being delivered to our children in this country” now that line makes so much more sense.
Thanks for this video. As An Australian whose children's tv was always pretty decently addressed it's hard to imagine other places having to fight for the right to have good children's television programming on the air. Mind you ours originally started as copies of some UK tv shows- hilariously we are now the only country that still produces Playschool (there used to be 3 and ours have been going for over 50 years and still going strong) and something at least 4 generations of Aussies have seen and grown up along side of. So thank you for this.😊
Thanks for the Upload! I'm a child and youth support worker and I often turn to Mr. Rogers for inspiration. It might be an episode of his show, a documentary, a youtube video, TV interview, biopic, it doesn't really matter. I just need to spend some time with his energy.
Thanks for a great video that thinking adults can find uplifting. In an environment where it seems popular culture wants everyone to remain children (and apparently so many do), it's refreshing to see and hear a presentation that presents a story targeting adult sensibilities. richard --
This has been my favorite piece of work you’ve shown us here on this channel. Brilliantly whimsical, wonderfully informative and superbly edited. Thank you so much Phil!
There are moments when taken out of context, make Pastore look bad, but he was probably just playing devil's advocate. Playing a strategy to set up Rodgers to sell it to other people who were a harder sell. He knew others wouldn't be paying attention to a full 10 minute speech, playing into the scepticism of the others. Rodgers didn't need to convince Pastore, but no one else was willing to even talk to Rodgers, so Pastore had to play the role. That kind of thing.
Fantastic episode once again.. perhaps another episode on why the US is the only country in the world that spells neighbourhood, colour, flavour, etc without the 'u'.. Love your work!
Nice job. I grew up in Providence and Sen Pastore was a true hero. He was largely responsible for the structure around not just public TV but whole host of communications laws that promoted public decency. It’s too bad he’s not around now to tame social media.
If someone has ever actually watched a congressional hearing, they should be familiar with this format. There will be committee members who are on your side and use their questions to make your testimony as impactful as possible (usually - perhaps unfortunately - this is along partisan lines today).
I had actually never heard this story told in such a way that Pastore was a bad guy won over by Mr. Rogers’ wonderfulness- I’d only ever heard roughly the story elaborated in this video. Interesting!
7:53 - The CBC later had its own version of Mr. Rogers called “Mr. Dressup”, I had always assumed it was just a knockoff. But after watching this and looking it up, turns out that “Mr. Dressup” (Ernie Coombs) had actually been an understudy of Rogers when he was at the CBC.
Anytime I get more info about Fred Rodgers I just feel so much emotion. He already made such an impression on me as a child, but all the backstory gives me so much faith in humanity.
I watched recordings of that famous hearing, and I couldn't see why the senator had a reputation for being such a hard ass, because Mr. Rogers entire testimony seemed pretty cordial and brief
How many of us wouldn't be nerds today if not for Mr. Rogers and PBS? So many of us grew up watching Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, which would be followed up by shows like Nova and David Attenborough. I grew up in rough neighborhoods and didn't have friends, except for Fred Rogers. And when he died, we all lost a dear friend. I doubt few of us had dry eyes when we heard he was gone. I love knowing how things work because of a video he showed of brass instruments being made. And when my best friend, coincidentally enough, is also a Mr. Rogers, asked why i loved machines so much, i said about that video. He's got the memory of a goldfish, but he lit up and exclaimed he remembered that.
7:54 That's Mr. Dressup next to Mr. Rogers right? (Mr. Dressup had a similar children's show on CBC for years.) I guess the influence on each other was more direct than I realised
PBS is still doing great content as well. Otherwords on RUclips is fantastic, along with various shows about mythology and history! It's always been the mission!
Hello Phil, well done! On a different note, please take a look at the revival in Europe of "beautiful" buildings. Especially in areas that were bombed out in WWII and replaced with ugly boxes, there is now a trend to restore or rebuild the beautiful buildings there were there before the war. I know you like steel, cement, and glass, but please consider a deeper dive into this subject where beauty is being revived.
I long to see the days that our American government ACTUALLY functions & adapts. It's exhausting to see how dysfunctional & unaffordable everything is nowadays. I really hope thing's can change. Genuinely change
Click my trainwell (formerly CoPilot) link go.trainwell.net/PhilEdwards-cp to get 14 days FREE with your own expert personal trainer!
how come this pinned comment came from 2 days ago? hmm.
@@mccampretlammergeier8289 you can pin comments in advance and who doesn't like a little magical time travel vibe
I remember reading up on Pastore after hearing about the PBS funding case; to say he was a villain is such an evil thing, when you look at the man's career he was for the people and the children, an intimidating man who had a lot of good he wanted to do, and did.
Glad he's getting his flowers in some way today
I think the role of villain was assigned because this video was rarely seen prior to the age of when it was reasonably possible to transmit video across the internet.
This would be prior to youtube, and be around 2002, when Mr. Rogers was still alive.
The three part video (three parts because sharing videos larger than 2MB was just difficult to do and required good connections) was usually shown without much context to the matter. It was just used to highlight how Rogers had a hand in keeping PBS around.
I agree with you that this video is important, because like in most areas across the 'net, context is lost when sensationalism sells (even when the sensationalism is an overall positive message).
I only know about this specific history because of how I came across this myself in 2001 via file sharing services of public affairs archives, and how it was shared more broadly in egroups, Usenets, and discussion forums.
Vilified by his enemies, who didnt like that he was in their way of making money.
As a Canadian, I really find that PBS puts on display the best of US, no sensationalism, no advertising and pandering, just quality television
advertising to children is one of the worst things that happened to US society.
@@snowballeffect7812 To the world, my friend. We in Germany suffer from the same things and our conservatives also defend this to the death with lies.
As a Canadian, I found the picture of Fred Rogers alongside Ernie Coombs (better known as Mr. Dressup) really bringing me back to my childhood. Mr. Dressup and Mr. Rogers were my two favourites as a kid, and I only recently realized that they had worked together in Toronto.
Unfortunately the PBS news hour exists and while no advertisement they still have sensationalism to drive up ratings to justify funding
Not really, its still leagues above most of the for profit networks@@TinLeadHammer
I was a student at Carnegie Mellon (and you are correct, it's not just Pittsburghers but Andrew Carnegie himself who pronounced it "Car-NEG-ee") and I had the privilege of meeting Fred Rogers while taping a TV play I wrote at WQED. I can confirm what many people have said about him-there was a glow. Any emotional guardrails you had up would vanish instantly. I believe part of his secret is that he spoke to the child inside the adult and the adult inside the child. It doesn't surprise me at all that he had the good sense to appeal to Senator Pastore's own sense of right and wrong-Rogers was a canny and fiercely determined person when it came to the welfare of children-but I also don't think it was a cakewalk. Pastore is clearly giving Rogers a hard time at the beginning of the hearing, which was basically his brand: he was infamous for incinerating television executives, and my understanding is that he didn't really know much about Fred Rogers when he sat down at the table. He was geared up for a fight, and quickly abandoned his line of attack once he saw that Rogers was on his side. So you're right-it wasn't a conversion story, but it also wasn't theatre. And I do believe Rogers charmed him. There are so many stories of him dissolving people's emotional barriers. Including mine.
As someone who does voiceovers for a living, I love that you included that pronunciation ❤
I'm a student in Pittsburgh currently and was so glad Phil made a point to pronounce it right haha. Also, although he's not around anymore, Mr. Rogers definitely left a really deep legacy behind. When his name is brought up around here there's a subtle layer of pride just at the fact that THIS was where such a beautiful thing was born.
I was lucky enough to meet Fred Rogers at a grad school symposium on children's television. Just the nicest human I've ever met.
Phil Edwards has been cosplaying as Mister Rogers for a while now.
I legitimately have an office sweater and slippers, but I didn't want to sully the man by comparisan.
you know what… i see it now.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, or something like that. Fred Rogers is a good person to be compared to, and Phil Edwards has a similar genuine sincerity. I don't think wearing a sweater is a problem here!
Nice Sully/ Tom Hanks/ A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood reference Phil.
Also, great job on this film.
"How Emotional Intelligence Landed Mr Rogers $20 Million" is the most depressing and dishonest way you could twist this story, the guy was fighting for TV funding not personal profit...
God I hate LinkedIn
LinkedIn is all about manipulation and deceit in a endless goose chase of economic gain, so this doesn't surprise me.
I didn't get any indication at all that it was for personal profit.
@@laurendoe168 Knowing LinkedIn, I am 100% certain it is intended to come off that way. The only people that use that site are wall street line goes up guys and self-proclaimed tech entrepreneurs
We need to be real and admit that LinkedIn is the weirdest, most bizarre, and at least true to life social media platform going.
Honestly I tend to turn off completely when I hear the phrase "emotional intelligence". It's not entirely without merit as an idea, but by and large the way it's used tends to be either awful and masturbatory or so generally that it's meaningless.
Thanks for putting back the truth into this historical moment and giving John Pastore's legacy the praise it deserves
Something to note here, is that this all happened _before_ Sesame Street. And Sesame Street had a lot of the same funders as Mister Rogers did. But it took Sesame Street a long time for it to be finely tuned. They really wanted Jim Henson, but Jim wanted nothing to do a children's program. Despite him working with puppets. Jim hadn't gotten into robotics yet.
I did NOT know the connection to the CBC and (re)starting out in Canada. That's Mr Dressup (Earnie Coombs) at 7:55, and as a Canadian kid in the '80s I always recognized the similarities between the two, but thought Mr Dressup was just a Canadian knock-off of Mr Rogers. Both of these men are absolute treasures!!!
The Mr. Dressup documentary on Amazon prime is really good. it talks about how Ernie Coombs worked behind the scenes on Misterogers then when Fred Rogers moved back to the US, Coombs was able to develop his own show for CBC.
What wasn't talked about, but I also think it's an important anecdote to note, is that Fred Rogers is also the reason why we can record live TV. He believed that the way children learned, was by repetition. And that repeated viewing of his show, would be a good way for kids to learn. But back in those days, recording live TV was illegal, and considered copyright infringement. Even if it was for private use. But also managed to convince them that people should be allowed to record his program, so children could watch it repeatedly. And that's a part of the reason why we're allowed to record television today. And recording live TV seems like it was always a right we had, but people had to fight for that law.
I didn't know you couldn't record off the TV. It's something we all take for granted. Thanks Mister Rogers. Just more proof of how goated and alpha Mister Rogers really was.
This is incorrect. Recording the TV was never illegal; for a long time, it was simply impossible. TV came about long before there was any kind of recording technology capable of storing and playing back a signal at the frequency required for on-demand video. In the early days of TV, programs were either ephemeral live performances, akin to remote plays, forever lost once they had been sent, or recorded on film, and broadcasted by effectively pointing a TV camera at a film projector. There were some attempts at recording video in the late 50s, but they required massive drums of tape running at ludicrous speeds, and were thus relegated to institutions. In the late 1970s, Sony developed the first video cassette recorder, called Betamax. This was the first practical way to record TV at home. In response, Disney and Universal Studios sued Sony, claiming that recording TV at home was a form of copyright infringement. The case escalated to the Supreme Court, and in a landmark decision they ruled that "time shifting" was a legitimate use of VCRs. Rogers testified in favor of this decision, but the ruling only affirmed the status quo, and no laws were changed.
hey phil, an idea for the next video here!
Mister Rogers was always on the right side of history. I bet he would hate all the DMCA abuse happening right now. And all of the gatekeeping happening right now with educational content.
It's pretty bold to claim that he is the reason TV recording is legal. Maybe a reason, but I doubt that Rogers' testimony was the make-or-break piece of evidence that led the court to rule in favor of Sony in Universal v. Sony.
You routinely reshape my understanding of episodes I thought I understood. And you do it without bopping me over the head.
Thanks for this video as someone who is a self-taught scholar of public broadcasting (I made my college thesis on that subject)
How can you say you're self taught, if you went to college to learn it?
@@I_WANT_MY_SLAW He wrote his thesis on it. That means he did his own research.
What I love about Mr. Roger's Neighborhood is how it's so quaint, gentle, and sweet and how that still resonates in these contentious times.
These videos are some of the best on RUclips. The way you tell these stories are so compelling and intimate. I’m excited for your next one, Phil!
I love all the newfound praise for Mr Rogers going around for the last few years. What a sadly missed bygone era! My parents bought me a little Timex wristwatch for Christmas when I was 7, my mother calling it my "Daniel Tiger Timex" because she remembered him being my favorite character and loving his little puppet wristwatch 😂 Still my prized possession to this day!
I've had that silly thing more than 40 years now and it still makes me happy every time I pull it out of the drawer to wear for a couple weeks at a time
Holy crap, your avatar is smacking me over the head with memories that by all accounts were all but forgotten. It's incredibly faint, but I definitely remember seeing those stickers growing up. For some reason I distinctly remember one being on our phone, which I'm not sure what the point was. Maybe don't lick it? Probably a good call (heh).
@@reNINTENDO the old Latchkey Kid "Mr Yuk means no!" poison control center campaign
The combination of growing up in the '90s without cable TV and also being the nerdy type meant I was a PBS kid through and through. Sesame Street, Reading Rainbow, Arthur, Kratt's Creatures, Bill Nye, Wishbone, and of course Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood were all on regular rotation. I know I have Mr. Rogers and now, also Senator Pastore to thank for that in large part. Great work as always.
I miss Fred Rogers. Thanks for sharing this story with us.
Hands up, all you Canadians who got a thrill seeing Mr. Dressup in the photo at 7:53.
Indeed! I grew up watching Mr. Dress up! I never really took to Mr Roger's Neighborhood...but I think that's just my preference growing up, and nothing to do with the quality of the show.
Pastore saying that public television was the most dynamic and impressive invention of the century gave me goosebumps.
Adults that care so much about this public good, that is mainly consumed by children- now that's really special.
I just finished the video and I'm here to remind you that it's okay for grown men to cry. Especially if it's because of Mr. Rogers.
Phil is a masterclass in how to teach understanding. I thought I understood the entire time, while now I need to go question what purpose even means. Louved this story Phil! Signed- Canadian
Thank you so much for this video! That was great. I always had a notion that there was more to what was being told when Rogers testified than what was being portrayed. Gore Vidal once said, when speaking of FDR whom he knew through his father and step-grandfather, "politicians lie like birds sing", so the idea that Pastore was going to be swept up at a Senate hearing was a bit incongruous from the outset, but I didn't care enough to look behind the curtain and read about Pastore because TV is now becoming antiquated and we're too far away from 1969 for it to feel like something to invest a lot of energy into. However, I'm glad you did. Thank you.
Mr Rodgers was such an interesting guy. He truly spoke with kindness and wanted to see the best in people.
I remember watching Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, and I specifically remember my favorite part of the show was the part in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.
My only criticism is that you didn't adjust for inflation. $20 million doesnt sound a lot for a industrial grant. But it converts to about $170 million today. I just wished you had added that in, just to really illustrate just how large of a subsidy they were getting.
it was viewed as pretty rinky dink even at the time, relative to the federal budget
Thanks for setting the record straight ❤
We should never forget how lucky we are to have the BBC here in the UK.
it was interesting to me that the US almost had a similar excise tax
Lol, BBC.
I feel the same about our CBC and localy we havel NTV. I remember we had 2 tv hannels for most if my childhood. Both of those channels were available for free with a set of wire rabbit ears...
Thanks! Nice to see the spot with his Canadian counterpart Ernie Coombs (AKA Mr Dressup)
Nixon is the real villian here. Nixon was a crook (despite him claiming he wasn't one), and an overall awful person. How he was popular enough to be elected president is beyond me.
my research led me to not be certain nixon was too antagonistic (at this time) - i suppose there are a couple ways of looking at it - he was increasing the budget, but nowhere near what pbs wanted. that said, he was anti ford foundation and later on quite anti PBS
Our politicians today are every bit as corrupt as Nixon was. 😘
It seems like Nixon will always be a bit of an enigma. Arguably the most infamous president in history, but not at all consistently evil, and responsible for a lot of good, and moderating some more extreme voices.
Off topic, but it would be really interesting to see where we would be in our relations with China if not for him.
He was pretty popular up until watergate, and that is what he is remembered for today. I'm assuming you were not alive yet for his presidency, neither was I, but he was a pretty popular president, and a pretty decent one at that. Certainly not the shiniest US head of state, but his administration created the EPA, the endangered species and clean air acts, and strictly enforced desegregation in southern school, to name a few examples. He did try to end the war in vietnam, but after a few failed treaties with the vietnamese, kissinger got to him.
@@enemyspotted2467 I mean, Trump got elected, so I'm not that shocked.
I am a bit surprised that so many people miss the obvious clues of the original clip and mistook it. Admittedly, it was part of the charade intended. But in a way it is a good indicator how easily people can fall for something like that.
You're right that this story is better. In a time where real narratives are found to be less wholesome than the publicly known version of the story, learning that the real story involved not only one but two great people trying to do good for childrens television is ust absolutely wonderful.
thank you so much for telling this story! im about to graduate w/ my masters in public affairs and part of the reason why i concentrated my policy interests on education/public schools is because of the positive impact mr rogers left on me. keep doing what you do!
Phil,
You really hit it out of the park with this one-bravo! 👏 Right now, this is my favorite video of yours. I really like how you show how much context matters. I went to the US Congress website to read Pastore’s biography and I was not surprised to learn he was an assistant attorney general twice. Like a defense attorney, Pastore was clearly disarming Public Television’s critics.
Loved this video
Thank you to Josh from CoPilot for the video inspiration. And to Mr. Edward's Neighborhood for bringing it to life
Fred was a pioneer in so many ways. Yes, he came from a rich family, and people like to use that to diminish his accomplishments. But just because he had money, doesn't mean he had a happy upbringing. He was actually very sad a child. And the money couldn't make him happy. And ultimately, Fred never cared about money from a personal standpoint. And outside of grants, he would even outright refuse money on principal. Even when his show became very popular, and companies wanted product to pay him to have placement on the show. He refused. If you watch his show, nothing is branded. He always took off the labels and had the art department make custom Neighborhood branding. Even something like dog food. It wouldn't be purina, it would be Neighborhood dog food. The only time you would see brands, is he was either showing a video, or he visited a factory. He lived a modest life. Never one of someone rich. He didn't make nearly as much money as you would think someone as famous as him would have you believe. I think he died with a total net worth of about $2 million. He could've made countless riches selling out. Selling his name, and product everywhere (which PBS later did after he died). But he didn't.
I watched, every episode of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood as a kid. Those were the days. Good days. Later generations, missed out on not watching and learning from his show.
Mr Dressup got his start on the children's corner too! Love the picture you showed of the two of them together in front of the trolley...
Every time I revisited that viral video of Mr. Roger's hearing with Senator Pastore, I never saw the lawmaker as a villain.
I am not a stranger to disliking Congress, it's a common feeling among my generation, to be apathetic about the lawmakers of this country. However, it is his job to be cynical, to look at things as objectively as possible. Everyone can make emotional pleas about their bill or project, and it's a Senator's job to wade through it all and make sense of it. I saw a no-nonsense Senator speak to a no-nonsense public educator, and ensured the foundation of PBS and for children's education for decades to come. What villain gives the hero a fair chance? What villain lets the hero convince him, unironically? What villain comes around to the hero's point of view after only a few minutes? That is not a villain, that is an ally who has to play his cards carefully to win the day.
Thank you for your insight into this subject, and shedding more light onto the truth of the situation as it happened in it's own time.
Phils' videos are easily one of the best produced and well narrated stories. His demeanor and voice is almost Fred Rogers like. You are definitely one of the top journalists on RUclips Johnny Harris and Cleo.
Keep up the great work Phil.
The part that always sticks out to me is when Fred says “I'm very much concerned, as I know you are, about what's being delivered to our children in this country” now that line makes so much more sense.
Great video!
You are a wonderful person in the neighborhood for making this video. Thank you for brightening my day :)
Always love your deep dives into culture and historical moments!
A solid video from one of my favorite guys about my favorite guy.
So great! ThankYou
thank you so much for telling the real stories
Wow! Didn't realize Mr. Rogers worked in Canada at all, I was only aware of our dear Mr. Dressup! Awesome video Phil!
Dude! The lighting and framing on your couch shots - fantastic!
ah thank ya! warms my heart
Thanks for this video. As An Australian whose children's tv was always pretty decently addressed it's hard to imagine other places having to fight for the right to have good children's television programming on the air. Mind you ours originally started as copies of some UK tv shows- hilariously we are now the only country that still produces Playschool (there used to be 3 and ours have been going for over 50 years and still going strong) and something at least 4 generations of Aussies have seen and grown up along side of. So thank you for this.😊
Thanks for this story!
Thanks for the Upload!
I'm a child and youth support worker and I often turn to Mr. Rogers for inspiration.
It might be an episode of his show, a documentary, a youtube video, TV interview, biopic, it doesn't really matter. I just need to spend some time with his energy.
Thank you. 😊
Fantastic episode, best one yet!
Thanks for another great video, Phil! As always wonderfully produced and scripted!
Thanks for a great video that thinking adults can find uplifting. In an environment where it seems popular culture wants everyone to remain children (and apparently so many do), it's refreshing to see and hear a presentation that presents a story targeting adult sensibilities.
richard
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you make some of the best videos on youtube! thank you
This really puts a wonderful new light on that documentary. Bravo Phil
You really channeled your Fred Rogers in weaving and delivering this narrative. No sweater required. Well done.
As always great videos. Thanks for the effort and extra context.
This has been my favorite piece of work you’ve shown us here on this channel. Brilliantly whimsical, wonderfully informative and superbly edited. Thank you so much Phil!
ah thank you! i appreciate it!
Love that the viral Mr Rogers speech really featured two heroes
There are moments when taken out of context, make Pastore look bad, but he was probably just playing devil's advocate. Playing a strategy to set up Rodgers to sell it to other people who were a harder sell. He knew others wouldn't be paying attention to a full 10 minute speech, playing into the scepticism of the others. Rodgers didn't need to convince Pastore, but no one else was willing to even talk to Rodgers, so Pastore had to play the role. That kind of thing.
very much!
Yay, new episode!
I always watch every Mr Rogers video that comes up. There’s always something new and interesting to learn about him.
this is true! and you never get let down
Fantastic episode once again.. perhaps another episode on why the US is the only country in the world that spells neighbourhood, colour, flavour, etc without the 'u'.. Love your work!
Thanks very much for this. It's baffling to me that this wasn't the story that they went with.... It's so much more moving and interesting.
Nice job. I grew up in Providence and Sen Pastore was a true hero. He was largely responsible for the structure around not just public TV but whole host of communications laws that promoted public decency. It’s too bad he’s not around now to tame social media.
If someone has ever actually watched a congressional hearing, they should be familiar with this format. There will be committee members who are on your side and use their questions to make your testimony as impactful as possible (usually - perhaps unfortunately - this is along partisan lines today).
this is part of what's so bizarre to me about all the other coverage. literally no one considered the Senator's affiliation...
Love the Ernie Coombs cameo. Big ups to all my Canadian Me. Dressup heads
I had actually never heard this story told in such a way that Pastore was a bad guy won over by Mr. Rogers’ wonderfulness- I’d only ever heard roughly the story elaborated in this video. Interesting!
This is an excellent corrective. Great job Phil!
7:53 - The CBC later had its own version of Mr. Rogers called “Mr. Dressup”, I had always assumed it was just a knockoff. But after watching this and looking it up, turns out that “Mr. Dressup” (Ernie Coombs) had actually been an understudy of Rogers when he was at the CBC.
Somehow the story got even more heartwarming
Interesting! That better matches the vibe of that famous 'Rogers vs Evil Senator' clip.
(And thank you for avoiding Tom Hanks' turn as Rogers.)
such bad casting...
Oof.
Anytime I get more info about Fred Rodgers I just feel so much emotion. He already made such an impression on me as a child, but all the backstory gives me so much faith in humanity.
+1
"We're grown ups". HEY! Speak for yourself! Fantastic video like always Phil.
Great story! A case were the truth is more interesting than fiction.
Nice video. I wanna se the doc, but with this in mind.
Amazing vid!
I watched recordings of that famous hearing, and I couldn't see why the senator had a reputation for being such a hard ass, because Mr. Rogers entire testimony seemed pretty cordial and brief
Very good
Great job with this video!!!
Fred Rogers was an important part of the childhood education for so many people in the USA. I am glad that Sen. Pastore fought to get funding for PBS.
How many of us wouldn't be nerds today if not for Mr. Rogers and PBS?
So many of us grew up watching Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, which would be followed up by shows like Nova and David Attenborough.
I grew up in rough neighborhoods and didn't have friends, except for Fred Rogers. And when he died, we all lost a dear friend. I doubt few of us had dry eyes when we heard he was gone.
I love knowing how things work because of a video he showed of brass instruments being made. And when my best friend, coincidentally enough, is also a Mr. Rogers, asked why i loved machines so much, i said about that video. He's got the memory of a goldfish, but he lit up and exclaimed he remembered that.
7:54 That's Mr. Dressup next to Mr. Rogers right? (Mr. Dressup had a similar children's show on CBC for years.) I guess the influence on each other was more direct than I realised
PBS is still doing great content as well. Otherwords on RUclips is fantastic, along with various shows about mythology and history! It's always been the mission!
That guy standing beside Fred Rogers, is Ernie Coombs. He would become Canada's version of Mister Rogers, known as Mister Dressup.
Hello Phil, well done!
On a different note, please take a look at the revival in Europe of "beautiful" buildings. Especially in areas that were bombed out in WWII and replaced with ugly boxes, there is now a trend to restore or rebuild the beautiful buildings there were there before the war.
I know you like steel, cement, and glass, but please consider a deeper dive into this subject where beauty is being revived.
A beautiful story, and you’re correct it’s Carnegie (CarNayGhee)
Even Sears had their hands in Mister Rogersin the early years I didnt even know that. That's a trivia question that needs to be in a trivia night.
yeah sears kinda saved him! and before that hornes! he was a real department store hero
Amazing video as usual, but I really liked the pacing of this.
I grew up as a Captain Kangaroo kid! :-) Actually I remember the two of them joining up forces around 1990 to promote children’s education.
if i'm being honest, i probably spent as much time in the bozo the clown cinematic universe.
I'm in Dunfermline, Carnegie's birthplace. Pronunciation checks out.
Thought I was going around the uk in a tiny speedboat there for a moment.
Can confirm that “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” is an excellent film.
except the lying!
@@PhilEdwardsInc I saw it in 2018 when it first came out, but I'll have to re-watch it with fresh eyes after seeing your video!
So it's not a case of good vs evil, but rather one of two good men coming together to push for what they believe in.
I long to see the days that our American government ACTUALLY functions & adapts. It's exhausting to see how dysfunctional & unaffordable everything is nowadays. I really hope thing's can change. Genuinely change
It’s nice day when you have a guy like John Pastore in your neighborhood.