Rogers viewer upset about PBS decision

South Carolina resident Brian Linder was angry when he read the news that PBS will start sending one episode of ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’ per week come September. The 32-year-old movie review editor, who was looking forward to introducing his twin daughters to the program, went into action by creating savemisterrogers.com and a Facebook page to go along side.

Linder tells the Post-Gazette that he’s encouraging viewers to contact their local PBS stations as well as PBS headquarters. He also insists that this isn’t strictly for a walk down memory lane. “As long as children need to be nurtured, there’s a place for this program because there’s nothing else like it,” he said.

PBS announced in May that only one episode of Mister Rogers would be sent per week, but that stations could also stockpile programs if they desired to keep the program on the regular schedule. The decision was made to allow space for new programs coming down the line – including an updated version of ‘The Electric Company.’ Pittsburgh’s WQED-TV (13), where Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood was filmed, will continue to air the program 5 days a week. PBS remains committed to making Rogers’ program available by making content available online for 24/7 access.