(Which, in journalism these days, is quite long. But the notes also offered a peek into how Rogers was able to be so good, seemingly all the time. It was extraordinary to have the questions turned on me, but it was also extraordinary just to hear somebody express interest in me in that insistent a way. Delacorte Lectures on Magazine Journalism, Magazines and their websites: A CJR survey and report, © Copyright 2021 Columbia Journalism Review. And the thing that sustained me through the reporting and writing has turned out to be what has sustained me through my career since then: it has been this possibility that goodness might be as interesting as evil. Tom Junod and Fred Rogers Tom Junod—©2019 CTMG, Inc. Junod wasn’t surprised to learn that his friend had kept meticulous notes on their correspondence. Right before I met Fred, I wrote two stories for, that really chewed me up. “I think he would have liked that Tom [Hanks] sort of straddles the line between following Fred’s gestures and mannerisms, but not doing an imitation of Fred,” he says. Also, Fred was very Protestant. “[Isler] protected Fred, and he did not want Fred to do this story,” Junod says. Tom Junod, the journalist whose story inspired the movie "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood," opens up about his relationship with Mister Rogers and how the television show host was portrayed. I was amazed by it. “I think Tom plays Fred as a person to be reckoned with, and I think Fred was a person to be reckoned with.”. And I think he trusted me because he saw the need in me. The beginning of their friendship inspired. Be the first to know about the stories that will shape your day -- delivered to your inbox twice every weekday by Fred Rogers and Tom Junod | Nov 5, 2019. He trusted me. “Batman didn’t have any superpowers. The writer has no idea whether these were meant as pieces of advice, lessons or notes Rogers perhaps learned from Junod himself. The other thing I wrote was about a person in the Atlanta area, a twin who had killed his twin brother. We certainly don’t think of Fred Rogers as a professor at J-school. , our philosophy was: Show the thing that you’re writing about. Right before I met Fred, I wrote two stories for Esquire that really chewed me up. In the article, headlined Can You Say… Hero?, journalist Tom Junod—the basis for the fictionalized Lloyd—conveys Rogers’ astonishing goodness through a series of anecdotes: Rogers, a Presbyterian minister, prayed for people by name every day. I don’t know whether this was something Fred was trying to communicate to me, or maybe it was something I communicated to Fred. And did I think of Fred Rogers and his precepts? I was amazed by it. is a 2018 American documentary film about the life and guiding philosophy of Fred Rogers, the host and creator of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, directed by Morgan Neville.The trailer for the film debuted on what would have been Rogers's 90th birthday, March 20, 2018. What was going on in your life at the time you began the story about him? “What is grace? Fred showed me a lot of different things about religious practice. By the time Junod was done writing the story, he had become friends with Rogers. That whole “you are special” thing—I look back on it now and it’s very much a religious sentiment that he managed to couch in not just secular but childlike tropes. This is one that does. There was a crime in it, a crime that was unveiled by this tragedy, and a secret. It’s not just jarring for a journalist. Tom Junod, whose magazine article inspired the film, on the set of 'A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.'. Isler had read Junod’s work and didn’t think he was a good fit to do the interview. Fred’s answer to all three was a resounding yes, and he lived by that answer. Recently, I got a call from one of the people in the story, and he wanted to apologize to this person who had been looking for an apology for this thing for a really long time. I thought that I could only do that for so long. An unexpected error has occurred with your sign up. Which is essentially what I did. Before he was assigned to interview Rogers for an Esquire issue about American heroes, Junod had earned a bit of an unsavory reputation. By Tom Junod Photograph by Dan Winters. He’s not like Superman—he isn’t otherworldly. Working with Mister Rogers wasn’t easy for Junod. A reprinted copy of this article was included in one variation of promotional packages … How did this softening affect your journalism? The film premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and was released in the United States on June 8, 2018. Junod had a file. It is Vogel—and, by extension, us—who grows as a result. But, he says, “I think Fred was interested in the [journalism] process as well.”. Junod and Rogers exchanged dozens of emails that would reshape Junod’s religious faith and, as a result, his approach to journalism. But I think that he saw that I needed to be trusted again, and he gave me that. Over the course of two hours, we see Fred Rogers movingly model a type of humanity for Vogel, who seems mired in anger, disconnected from his own feelings. It was definitely the kind of thing where I understood that I was going to have to make a decision. He definitely figured out a secular language for spiritual matters. I thought that I could only do that for so long. Not just. * The request timed out and you did not successfully sign up. It was a remarkable ability he had to form bonds with people. When he saw the movie for the first time, in a screening room in New York City over the summer, he asked himself: What would Mister Rogers think of my work? With [my editor] David Granger, our philosophy was: Show the thing that you’re writing about. “We were looking to make a splash.” (Spacey came out as gay in 2017, after actor Anthony Rapp accused him of assaulting him when Rapp was 14, in 1986. Junod says it was with tools like his notes—using discipline to be a good friend or a good partner—that he was able to uphold such goodness throughout his life. Junod says he had “no idea how to write about a person like Fred” after a run of writing successful stories about darker subjects. “And, as it turned out, I had no distance at all. CJR spoke with Junod about those principles, how his friendship with Rogers changed the way he approaches journalism, and how that relationship came to bear on his faith. It’s on a difficult topic, but Junod says that it has a resolution he really likes. You would walk through fire to write a magazine story. You were a child once, too. but How could you do it for something as inessential as a magazine story? , the recent movie starring Tom Hanks as Rogers and Matthew Rhys as a journalist based on Junod. As it turned out, he found that question just as thrilling as investigating what made other subjects bad. “It was a complete mystery to me, how he could be who he was, how he could stay who he was,” Junod says, “that it wasn’t a pose, it wasn’t an act.”. So when he was first assigned this profile, Junod wasn’t sure how to proceed. It was definitely the kind of thing where I understood that I was going to have to make a decision. To me, a magazine story was not inessential. But I kept at it. How did your relationship with Fred evolve from “journalist and interview subject” to friends? Junod worked as a writer for Esquire magazine beginning in 1997, after following editor David Granger to the magazine from GQ. I was angry at God, to be quite open. “I thought to myself that Fred would be proud of this—that Fred’s ideas about journalism were not in vain,” Junod says. Paperback $11.00 $ 11. The other thing I wrote was about a person in the Atlanta area, a twin who had killed his twin brother. You have reached your limit of 4 free articles. His editor at Esquire asked him to profile Fred Rogers, the beloved television personality and Presbyterian minister. The two remained close until Rogers’s death, in early 2003. Junod, who is a husband and father, will never forget the parenting … I just realized the opportunity that journalists have when they tell people’s stories, and how important and sacred those stories are to the people who are sharing them with you. Ever since I was quite young, I was mystified by the existence of human evil. This is the story of how Rogers, who died in 2003, changed Junod’s life forever. After all, Rogers woke up daily at 5 a.m. to pray and read and swim; he famously even ensured that he weight the same exact amount—143 pounds—without fluctuation. That mystery ended up paving the way for a compelling story, as Junod sought to understand how Mister Rogers could be so good. What does that mean for us? lead singer Michael Stipe, in which he satirically fabricated information for an interview that never happened. Human beings not stenographers. I decided to go on the ride. Apr 6, 2017 This article was originally published in the November 1998 issue. . If you’re writing about a crime, go into the crime. This is your last free article. Am I going to battle, or am I going to go for this particular ride? He had that. If you’re writing about a crime, go into the crime. What was your own faith background? He’s like Batman. Fred Rogers has been doing the same small good thing for a very long time November 1 1998 TOM JUNOD Sign In to read this article Get instant access to 85+ years of Esquire. This story is around 1,400 words.) And Rogers was’t shy about switching the roles of interviewer and interviewee, asking questions and trying to learn more about his new friend. I’ve been working on a story for ESPN for a while now, for a year and a half, about a tragedy that happened on the ball field and all the people who were affected by it. He made connections everywhere he went—with a young fan with cerebral palsy, with the famed gorilla Koko (also an ardent fan). He loved so many people—and so many people loved him—that I could never imagine the form his prayers took, but I knew that he prayed for me, and for my … Am I going to battle, or am I going to go for this particular ride? The True Story Behind Tom Junod, the Inspiration for A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood November 6th, 2019 This Thanksgiving, audiences will be treated to A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, director Marielle Heller’s heartwarming drama inspired by a real-life interview with legendary children’s show host Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks). The following interview has been edited for length and clarity. Won't You Be My Neighbor? And so I helped facilitate this thing, and it was so extraordinary. (He earned a National Magazine Award for a 1995 story called “The Rapist Says He’s Sorry,” about a convicted sex offender undergoing therapy.). Junod and Rogers exchanged dozens of emails that would reshape Junod’s religious faith and, as a result, his approach to journalism. Does God love us? I was going pretty deep into the tank. “Fred moved in mysterious ways, he really did.”. When I met Fred I did not have a child, and I would say our [my and my wife’s] childlessness at the time was an issue. And when I started doing this story, nobody would really talk to me. This was a deeply disciplined man. His relationship with God required no intermediaries. This article was the basis for the plot of the film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. In the end, Junod, Mister Rogers and a woman who is a minister in Mister Rogers’ church come together in Mister Rogers’ office. By signing up you are agreeing to our, We Need More Female Villains Onscreen—But Not the Kind We Get in I Care a Lot, The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election. Journalists have a duty to let their outrage show through when they come across injustice. Still, the journalist didn’t know what to make of the TV host. Fred made me think about: Is God good? Junod’s 1998 Esquire magazine cover story of the man whose cuddly, stuffed animal voice and slow charm helped raised half the kids in this country, including this reporter. His editor at Esquire asked him to profile Fred Rogers, the beloved television personality and Presbyterian minister. Do yourself a favor and read this all the way through. … He made himself into a superhero with his utility belt and all his training,” Junod says. I decided to go on the ride. Yes. As of Novemb… Fred Rogers, whose gentle nature Tom Hanks wears as comfortably as his red cardigan, begins by introducing the viewer to a story about his friend, journalist Lloyd Vogel (The Americans’ Matthew Rhys). I definitely stopped being a practicing Catholic, but Catholicism has always been a part of me. I’m not certain; all I know is that my heart felt like a spike, and then, in that room, it opened and … How could you do it for something as inessential as a magazine story? Who should be TIME’s Person of the Year for 2019? ONCE UPON A TIME, a little boy loved a stuffed animal whose name was Old Rabbit. Generally when you meet people, they’re more interested in answering questions than they are in asking them. By Tom Junod. Not just How could you do it? Upon realizing the answer, he stopped to appreciate how he had come to take Rogers’ lessons with him. And it caught me completely by surprise. The beginning of their friendship inspired A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, the recent movie starring Tom Hanks as Rogers and Matthew Rhys as a journalist based on Junod. Director Marielle Heller and journalist Tom Junod talk the beautiful impact of Fred Rogers in new film Photos: Kanye West, Cardi B, Tom Hanks and more celebrities at New York Fashion Week 2018 The two remained close until Rogers’s death, in early 2003. When I first met Fred, I knew that he was different from anybody else I’d ever met. I’ve been working on a story for ESPN for a while now, for a year and a half, about a tragedy that happened on the ball field and all the people who were affected by it. As the movie depicts, Bill Isler (played by Enrico Colantoni), whom Junod refers to as Rogers’ “majordomo,” ran Rogers’ production company. In the four precepts he wrote down, Fred stresses the importance of celebrating goodness. , he had become friends with Rogers. But I kept at it. The movie, in theaters nationwide on Friday, is not a play-by-play of either man’s life—for one thing, Junod never got into a fight with his father at his sister’s wedding, as Lloyd does—but Junod says that while Lloyd’s on-screen circumstances are fictionalized, the depiction of their friendship is as close to reality as he could have hoped. My daughter was baptized at a Presbyterian church. Among his notable works are The Abortionist, The Rapist Says He's Sorry, The Falling Man and a controversial 2001 piece on R.E.M. Recently, I got a call from one of the people in the story, and he wanted to apologize to this person who had been looking for an apology for this thing for a really long time. Junod wasn’t surprised to learn that his friend had kept meticulous notes on their correspondence. ... "She took my shoes off, Tom," Mister Rogers said. The movie A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is structured like an episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Fred Rogers on the set of his television children's show. Notes. By the time Junod was done writing the story, he had become friends with Rogers. He was a Presbyterian minister. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (Movie Tie-In): Neighborly Words of Wisdom from Mister Rogers. His emails were just so extraordinary. Here, a eulogy Photograph by Dan Fred Rogers woke up every morning at five o'clock and prayed for nearly two hours for people he loved. ), It was at that juncture that an editor at Esquire thought giving Junod a chance to interview Rogers—widely considered the nicest guy in the world—could be the key to redeeming himself. The thing that’s really interesting about that particular sheet of paper is that I learned about it this summer. As screenwriters Noah Harpster and Micah Fitzerman-Blue conducted research for a script, they discovered an archive of files that Rogers had kept on everyone and everything he loved. In early 1998, Tom Junod received an assignment that was outside his wheelhouse. And when I started doing this story, nobody would really talk to me. FREE Shipping on your first order shipped by Amazon. As Lloyd does in the movie, Junod became close with Rogers after the children’s TV host saw something special in him. I look at my career as “before Fred” and “after Fred.”. He also worked for Atlanta magazine, Life, and Sports Illustrated. It was an "enduring" friendship that lasted from the moment they met in 1998 until Rogers death in 2003. We certainly don’t think of Fred Rogers as a professor at J-school. Among its contents was a list of four pillars of journalism that Rogers hoped his friend would stick to: that journalists are human beings; that they should point out injustice when necessary; point out beauty when it’s possible; and celebrate the wonders of creation. You can unsubscribe at any time. Journalist Tom Junod dug into Rogers’ TV persona and discovered it wasn’t make-believe at all: By his account, the man was just as caring in practice as he appeared onscreen. “Obviously he has a lesson to teach about kindness, but I think that he also has a lesson to teach about the attainment of kindness, that kindness is a practice.”, Junod continues, “He practiced it like he practiced a musical instrument. Tom Hanks stars as Mister Rogers in 'A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.'. And did I think of Fred Rogers and his precepts? In an October 1997 cover story titled “Kevin Spacey Has a Secret,” he coyly outed the actor, though Spacey refused at the time to confirm or deny any speculation about his sexuality. Please attempt to sign up again. I think that Fred was extremely talented at friendship. Junod has published award-winning pieces for several magazines. “And I was really quite moved by it.”. “I think that that was a lesson that stood me in good stead for the rest of my time as a journalist,” says Junod. Were you raised religious? And I think that’s a fairly familiar journalistic emotion. (wonder) show through when they witness the glory of life… they have as much responsibility to celebrate life and the goodness of it as they do to root out evil. It was definitely, like, my own personal reformation. 4.7 out of 5 stars 116. Save on the cover price and get a free gift, Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know now on politics, health and more, © 2021 TIME USA, LLC. The way Matthew [Rhys] played it, I recognized myself in the character.”. While he still doesn’t know whether Rogers had read the Spacey article, Junod believes Rogers recognized that he was going through a moment of transformation after “losing trust” in himself. See the World's Makeshift COVID-19 Vaccination Hubs, October 1997 cover story titled “Kevin Spacey Has a Secret, Inside the Unlikely Friendship That Inspired. I did, very much so. Junod, left, with Rogers. One was about Kevin Spacey, in which we outed him and did a rhetorical dance around that. Courtesy of Tom Junod. Now a senior writer at ESPN, Junod is working on a 10,000-word story. Was there something about that that spoke to you in a different way than your Catholic upbringing had? Fred Rogers has been doing the same small good thing for a very long time. It sticks with you. Portrait of American educator and television personality Fred Rogers (1928 - 2003) of the television series 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood,' circa 1980s. One was about Kevin Spacey, in which we outed him and did a rhetorical dance around that. Does God love us? Journalists need to let their ahhh (wonder) show through when they witness the glory of life… they have as much responsibility to celebrate life and the goodness of it as they do to root out evil. Matthew Rhys plays Lloyd Vogel, a fictionalized version of Junod, and Tom Hanks stars as Mr. Rogers himself. He learns it from Mister Rogers, and this in itself shows the core of Mister Rogers. Kevin, in response, called for a Hollywood boycott against me and the magazine. Cast your vote in the reader poll. “I expected to have some distance from it,” Junod tells TIME of his experience watching the film. 00 $16.00 $16.00. Few profiles reach the very core of a person. Subscribe for just $29. That was a conscious decision: He is turning this around on me; can I, in turn, turn that around on him by making that the bones of the story? Remembering Mister Rogers (1928 - 2003) Writer-at-large Tom Junod profiled Fred Rogers in 1998, and found a friend. I went to twelve years of Catholic school, and that experience does not just dissipate. You have 1 free article left. Rogers’ team was hesitant, too. This past summer, the movie’s screenwriters shared with Junod the contents of a file that Rogers had kept throughout their friendship. It was extraordinary on a couple of levels. I just realized the opportunity that journalists have when they tell people’s stories, and how important and sacred those stories are to the people who are sharing them with you. By the time Junod was done writing the. Write to Rachel E. Greenspan at rachel.greenspan@time.com. To me, a magazine story was not inessential. Please try again later. asked him to profile Fred Rogers, the beloved television personality and Presbyterian minister. The mother called me after that story came out and basically said, “How could you do this? A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (opens Nov. 22) tells the story of one writer's experience profiling Fred Rogers, otherwise known as Mister Rogers, the host of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. I would send him long emails with lots of questions about good and evil, God and the absence thereof, and he would write these long answers back. Junod does this without begging Mister Rogers to reveal himself and his whole life and without asking forward questions. “The thing that damaged me about the Kevin Spacey story was not that we revealed that Kevin was gay—it was that we revealed Kevin was gay for a purpose that was not worth the revelation,” Junod says. The mother called me after that story came out and basically said, “How could you do this? The two remained close until Rogers’s death, in early 2003. For Junod, there’s always been a bit of a misconception about Rogers. But Fred offered me a completely different avenue of inquiry. Though Hanks’ Mister Rogers is the storyteller in Marielle Heller‘s new film, the movie’s inspiration, a 1998 Esquire cover story, positions him instead as a subject. I don’t know. Newstalk 1010 - First Look; A first look at the biggest headlines of the morning AND the afternoon. Holding hands, they bow their heads and pray together. All Rights Reserved. Fred’s prayer was very direct. It was so old, in fact, that it was really an unstuffed animal; so old that even back then, with the little boy's brain still nice and fresh, he had no memory of it as "Young Rabbit," or even "Rabbit"; so old that Old … I had that familiar feeling as a journalist: I want to do this story, I need to do this story, I’m gonna do this story, but man I feel shitty being the villain here. Is love the basis of creation? It was definitely something I was really, really angry about in my life. And over the course of four years there were seventy of these things. I had that familiar feeling as a journalist: I want to do this story, I need to do this story, I’m gonna do this story, but man I feel shitty being the villain here. Get it as soon as Mon, Sep 14. Parent Well. But Fred made me realize that if love can be at the center of human interactions—and there’s no doubt it can be, because he proved it—then the possibility that there’s not only a moral arc to the universe, but a loving one, is not as far-fetched. Kevin, in response, called for a Hollywood boycott against me and the magazine. He was the creator, showrunner, and host of the preschool television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, which ran from 1968 to 2001.. Rogers was born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, and earned a bachelor's degree in music …