Not long ago, I had the opportunity to introduce Tom Brokaw to a group gathered at The Poynter Institute for a community conversation about politics and the news business. I have thought of him as one of the most upright standard bearers in journalism, so it pains me to lean away from the gravitational force of his standards and practices.
Brokaw, and some of his NBC colleagues, including Nancy Snyderman on the “Today” show, have complained about a political ad put out by the Mitt Romney camp that shows Brokaw reporting a story years ago on the fall from grace of Newt Gingrich as then-Speaker of the House. The ad has been shown repeatedly in Florida, where primary voters decide today whether to select Romney, Gingrich or one of the other GOP hopefuls as their presidential nominee.
For a moment, the ad creates the illusion that you might be looking at breaking news until you see the image and hear the voice of Brokaw from the time he was anchor of the “Nightly News.”
Brokaw has asked that his image not be appropriated for the purposes of political advertising, that someone might think he had abandoned the standards of non-partisan political reporting, becoming some kind of shill for the Romney campaign.
There are stupid Americans who might rush to such a conclusion, but I don’t believe that their ignorance or naivete should dictate the standards of political advertising — or news reporting.
In fact, if I were Brokaw, I would embrace my new role as political advertising truth arbiter. Here’s why:
1. The ad affirms the truth, accuracy, and news judgment of a Brokaw/NBC report, years after it was recorded.
2. The ad comes from the Republican side of the fence, the side that is most likely to complain about the bias or inaccuracy of news reports.
3. The ad recognizes that a vetted report from a traditional news organization has a level of credibility and integrity that the usual empty claims of political ads lack.
4. The footage in the ad comes across not as Brokaw doing Romney’s dirty work, but as a historical artifact, valuable enough to become evidence in a contemporary campaign.
5. Political advertising — however tiresome and sleazy it becomes — is a legitimate, protected, influential form of speech. News organizations should welcome the use of their reports — in context — as evidence of their continuing contribution to public discourse.
Here’s an idea: If the NBC folks are so disgusted by Romney’s use of Brokaw’s image, perhaps they would consider not selling any of that advertising time to any candidate during this election year. Call me when that happens.
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