The world's nicest grown-up: A fantasy theme analysis of news media coverage of Fred Rogers

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 bean 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.