NBC objects to Romney using old footage- but should they?

Open source and widely distributed picture of Tom Brokaw requiring no royalties be paid.

NBC has objected to the use of their material in an ad put out by the Mitt Romney campaign. (Before Romney fans pull a Newt screaming "Liberal Elite Media!" please keep reading to get to the point.) Whether or not you believe news outlets are biased (Liberal Elite Media! Vast Left Wing Conspiracy!), this brings up an interesting point about media bias, balanced journalism, and when the media becomes the story and not just the reporter of the story.
NBC and Tom Brokaw have objected to the use of their material in an ad by the Romney campaign. While this may feel biased to some, the ad is worth considering-



Tom Brokaw is a long-time veteran of television reporting. Unarguably, one of the most revered in his field. About the ad he has said, “I am extremely uncomfortable with the extended use of my personal image in this political ad. I do not want my role as a journalist compromised for political gain by any campaign.”

The Romney ad uses an NBC News report from Jan. 21, 1997, the day Gingrich was reprimanded by Congress for using tax-exempt money for political purposes and giving the House Ethics Committee false information.  Gingrich is only shown in the background in a head shot, while Brokaw's image is used for 28 seconds of the 30 second spot.
As far as political ads go, this is one of the most fascinating ones from a message sender's point of view. It takes an historical event, and the actual news reporting of the time, clearly in context, to share the message. No one can argue that anything was taken out of context, edited, etc. It is effective because it is so simple and straight-forward. This sort of thing is rarely done effectively in commercials. But it works extremely well in this particular ad. The viewer has no reason to believe that anything in it is dishonest or manipulated (as compared to nearly all other campaign ads ever), and because of Brokaw's lengthy and notable career, he is considered very trustworthy.
But Brokaw doesn't like that his image is being used for political gain. And yes, it is being used for political gain- there is no tap-dancing around that. But is he right? Is it compromising his role as a journalist?

Thoughts on the NBC Debate

A few mostly unfiltered thoughts on the NBC debate-
Newt's personality is a major problem for me. If you recall, at one point he was my second favorite choice. And may have even been my first choice. But right now he has proven himself to be so arrogant, grandiose, and quite frankly a complete a** hole, that I want to see him defeated more than I want to see my own guy win!
He doesn't address the accusations (of ethical violations, cheating, etc). He shrugs it off, flips it around, and insults the questioner. I HATE this style of debate and personality. To me there is nothing more aggravating than someone who thinks they are right because they refuse to admit they are wrong, even when the facts are stacked against them.
This debate is annoying and boring. Allowing Romney and Gingrich to go on sparring for 9 straight minutes isn't helping anyone. Newt clearly cannot function without validation, and the silences are just awkward.
Mitt did a great job of taking questions, and instead of getting defensive about it, flipping it around and talking about policy.
It irritates me to no end that the debates are wasting time on the personal issues, and then asking the same policy questions over and over. We learned nearly nothing new in this debate except that Dr. Ron Paul can give a coherent explanation end of life and do not resuscitate procedures. (Seriously? Terri Schiavo, NBC? What the hell??)
I actually found myself wishing they would involve Santorum and Paul more because I was so tired of the sparring. But I must say that I think Mitt wiped the floor with Newt.
And as for the completely outrageous claims by Newt that he is NOT Washington Establishment?? I'll let Jon Stewart respond for me-  (I may have made the same exact befuddled and exasperated noises of shock as he utters here)- (while this whole thing is awesome, the most awesomeness starts around 5:30 in)

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