9 HN users recommended this video8 months2015–2026score 9.5
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
HN commenters hold it up as a model of persuasive public speaking and as the go-to reminder of why public broadcasting deserves funding.
Seven-minute footage of Fred Rogers testifying before a US Senate subcommittee in 1969 to defend federal funding for the new Corporation for Public Broadcasting. A skeptical Senator Pastore starts out abrasive and is won over during Rogers' brief, calm testimony.
“Fred Rogers' 1969 testimony before the Senate in defense of PBS funding is very moving.” (HN, 2019)
One of my favorite examples of public speaking is Mr. Rogers testifying before a Senate subcommittee in support of funding for national public television. He is calm, thoughtful and thorough through the entire process, speaking simply and without grandeur. It's a small wonder he found such success, and a great example of the importance of clear communication. [this video]
Calm, clear testimony supporting public television funding
If you haven't seen it before, Fred Rogers' 1969 testimony before the Senate in defense of PBS funding is very moving. He was able to prevent a $10M cut to their $20M funding. [this video]
> Doesn't look like he recorded much (outside the show), but definitely will be looking into what he has recorded. For anyone who hasn't seen it, one must-see video outside the show is Fred Rogers testifying before the Senate in 1969, in order to defend funding for public television. He is able to win over an incredibly rude and hostile senator in just a few minutes. [this video]
> Mister Rogers For those who didn't grow up with Mister Rogers, I encourage you to watch this, [this video] , to get a sense of how effective he was as a speaker.
That's very well articulated. He had no pretense and never came across as patronizing, at least in my (admittedly limited) sampling of old episodes via YouTube. The "take others for exactly who they are" mentality captures his earnestness and utter lack of guile in his interactions. I'm sure you've seen him testify before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications to maintain funding for PBS [0], but I'll leave this link here anyway, for others who might not have seen this. [0] [this video]
There was a documentary about him released this year I highly recommend called Won't You Be My Neighbor. [link] As far as examples, here's an episode about divorce that I remember helping me deal with my parents' divorce when I was little. [link] Or here's his speech to Congress fighting for funding for public television (it's more complicated than just funding for public television, but that's the basic idea). [this video] Or one of my favorites, his acceptance speech for his lifetime achievement Emmy Award. [link]
As a European I never grew up with Mister Rogers, but his testimony to the Senate Subcommittee on Communications is very impressive to me. [this video]
Impressive Senate testimony even for non-Americans
I offer Fred Rogers testifying before the senate subcommittee on communications as a refresher on why we must continue to fund PBS and NPR. [this video] The person on the other end of that call is thin skinned and likely not hugged much as a child. Sad.
I agree 100% with Berkeley Breathed when he wrote: Mister Rogers: Welcome to my neighborhood, boys and girls! Did you enjoy meeting Senator Kravitz today? I did. He told us about something called "inflation," didn't he? Can YOU say "inflation?" Opus: Inphlabph. Mister Rogers: Good! Can you say "Mister Rogers should be paid more dough?" Opus: Mister Rogers should - Mister Rogers: Can you put it on a postcard? [link] I believe that was a Soupy Sales reference: [link] [link] Here is Mister Rogers talking to the children in Congress, successfully asking them to send him millions of little green pieces of paper: [this video]
Rogers asking Congress for public television funding
No. They don't. As a matter of fact, the U.S. (of which I'm a citizen) has a singular entity to thank for the fact PBS is here today. [this video] And, to add some insult, one of our two leading political parties is currently making fun of that entity. Things are great over here.
In other words, he spoke to children as if they are inexperienced humans. No, he spoke to them in the way he spoke to all humans. For example here he is talking to Congress: [this video]
Rogers spoke to Congress the way he spoke to children
for children who had the television as a babysitter and that's the difference, as I think he explains in his statement to the Senate Subcommitte on Communications in 1969 [this video]
Rogers explains his view on children and television
So exactly when was the US a “good democracy”? 80 years ago segregation was still in the South based on a ruling by the Supreme Court “separate but equal”. Even until the 80s it was legal to arrest a homosexual couple for having sex in their own home based on “sodomy” laws. Today women are dying because doctors are afraid of performing medical necessary abortions to save their lives because they might go to jail They have been trying to get rid of funding since at least 1969 when Mr. Rogers himself went before Congress to try to keep it. [this video] It amazes me that anyone who knows anything about this country actually wants to give it more control of the media or any increased power .
Video list and Hacker News comment labels from HackerTube (prompted by @karpathy), released under ODC-By 1.0, built on the open-index/hacker-news archive. Hacker News data is provided by Y Combinator; comments remain the work of their authors. Video titles, channel names and thumbnails belong to their creators and are shown via YouTube. HackerTube Watch is an unofficial edition. Data export of 2026-10-31.
Plays via YouTube's privacy-enhanced embed
14 Hacker News comments
From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.
Citations, criticism and jokes
Read more
Read more