The Washington Post ran a one-minute commercial during the Super Bowl Sunday featuring slain journalists at a cost of likely more than $10 million, according to a Sunday USA Today report.
Some found the commercial inspiring.
A senior writer at Vanity Fair:
Wow I just cried during that Tom Hanks WaPo ad. Wow.
— Joanna Robinson (@jowrotethis) February 4, 2019
Others balked at the inclusion of Fox News reporters in an ad trumpeting the importance of serious and credible journalism.
A New Yorker writer retweeted by an MSNBC host:
What. The. Hell. Was. That.
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) February 4, 2019
Others felt that buying a commercial in an egregiously expensive ad market is a practical and optical misstep for an industry that has sustained body hits in recent weeks.
A Huffington Post and New York Magazine contributor:
Nice WAPO ad…but it’s not gonna change one mind…not one. What would have changed minds is hiring 50 new reporters with that money.
— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) February 4, 2019
Watch the commercial here:
