Contacting Your PBS Station: Think First19 Aug
Hi all,
“JJ” writes in with an important point that I felt was important to pass along to you all. I’d sort of assumed this went without saying, but when you’re dealing with a far-reaching internet campaign, I suppose it’s important to ask everyone to pause for a second and think before they take action. Here’s JJ’s note:
Our local PBS station is getting hit with a bunch of emails regarding “saving Mr. Rogers” and keeping the program on the air. Only thing is, it hasn’t been on the station for over two years, since January 2006! The people who are emailing obviously aren’t watching so what kind of message does that send to the station?
If you want to make an impact, don’t ask everyone in your contacts list to forward the email to their PBS station. Ask them to investigate and make an informed decision.
What she says is true: It’s important for you to take a second to educate yourself before contacting your local PBS station. Most member station websites have searchable program schedules, so you can look there to see if Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood is still on the air — it is currently on 63% of PBS stations.
If you happen to live in an area where the Neighborhood was removed from the PBS schedule in the past, it’s still important for you to voice your opinion. Let them know you want the show back on the air five days a week! We’d simply ask that you craft the wording of your message to reflect the specific situation with your PBS station.
Thanks, everyone, for your continued support!
- Brian
I wanted to make a plea for Mr.Rogers to be put back on the air for daily veiwing, my youngest is 13 & grew up with Mr.Rogers holsom ethics & now my oldest is having a child fo her own & I so wish for her child to be able to enjoy his eduacational show & he did it with a huge warm heart! So many shows now are just plain jibberish & have left the teachings of good morals & great character on the way side I still to this day have conversations about how crayons are made & wish kids could see that. He had a kind & gentle way about him that was soothing & friendly he is truely missed in this day of violence & hurriedness to grow up too fast, I hope my email meant something to someone & somebody there feels as I do about Mr.Rogers He is a childhood icon I’d love to pass on to my grandchild here in Chicago
I am in complete agreement with the others comments about Mr. Rogers. I am so sad to see that as of today September 1, 2008 he is off the air here in Chicago. I grew up watching the show. Such a wholesome show in comparison with all the other junk on the air for kids. My daughter is 12 years old and has loved the show for years. I wish they would reconsider and put this awesome show back on the air. If I were considering joining wttw and becoming a member it certainly wouldn’t be without Mr. Rogers.
Please do not take MR. Rogers off the air. We need his calm, cool, level-headed male role modeling for our boys. I raised two young men on Mr. Rogers, now 15 and almost 20 and I am thrilled they loved watching him.
Donna Reiter Brandwein
Here are two resources for looking at the station’s schedule in your area:
http://www.pbs.org/stationfinder
http://www.pbs.org/tvschedules/