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:
Sad that it is neccessary to spend that kind of money to bolster the legitimacy of the free press…
An effective, albeit expensive, way to rub it in Twitler’s face.
I personally see nothing wrong with the press pressing its importance to democracy. Including Fox News? Well, at least Brett Baer is one of their reporters who does do news, at least his reporting and interviews are what passes for news to the millions of people who ONLY watch Fox News. Hannity and such don’t make that cut by a longshot. And it’s good to remind the Foxer Trumpers that there just might be other news sources here, and, of course, in other lands. If a few minds are opened but a crack, it’s worth it. Thanks, Mr. Bezos.
Other than inexplicably including Trump GOP propagandists from Fox “News”, these ads are excellent. Hopefully people will miss their inclusion, since Fox “News” and it’s endless spewing of lies and propaganda are part of the reason our country is in its current state.
Powerful editorial statement using the Oklahoma City bombing to illustrate “when our nation is at risk.”