The World's Nicest Grown-Up

A Fantasy Theme Analysis of News Media Coverage of Fred Rogers

Bibliographic Data

ID20298363
AuthorsRonald L Bishop (0000-0001-9401-8524, Temple University, corresponding author), Ronald Bishop
Year2003
Volume53
Issue1
Pages16-31
Publication date2003-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Communication (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-9916 • E-ISSN: 1460-2466
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1111/j.1460-2466.2003.tb03002.x
OpenAlexW1996024275
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited5

This article applies fantasy theme analysis (Bormann, 1972, 1976, 1982, 1983, 2000) to explain the rhetorical vision that emerges from newspaper and broadcast news coverage of American television personality Fred Rogers. For the past 3 decades, journalists have framed Rogers as a calming influence and treated him with deference and respect. Journalists have created a fantasy about Rogers that holds him up as the embodiment of television's potential, potential that can be realized only by returning to the quiet tolerance and the power of imagination at the heart of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. For reporters in this interpretive community, Rogers offers hope for those struggling to raise children. A rhetorical vision of Rogers as “the world's nicest grown-up,” the “Dalai Lama of television,” and “the Pied Piper of children's television” is constructed out of the fantasy themes by journalists stepping outside their usual role as objective observers. Journalists who start off skeptical of Rogers and his approach find themselves captivated by his message, and they insert this experience into their coverage of Rogers, making it a key fantasy theme

Aesthetics · Art · Fantasy · Literature · Media studies · Newspaper · Power (physics) · Rhetorical question · Sociology · Theme (computing) · Literature, Film, and Journalism Analysis · Media Studies and Communication · Psychology · Rhetoric and Communication Studies

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