The Washington Post aired its first-ever Super Bowl ad in an effort to spread the message behind its slogan: democracy dies in darkness. The 60-second ad tells the common story of journalists who report on war, protests and natural disasters. They do so no matter the risk it poses to their own lives.
Jamal Khashoggi, along with two other missing or presumed dead journalists, was featured to represent the journalists who have lost their lives because of their devotion to the truth.
Since 1992, at least 1,337 journalists have died because of their work. It is important to put faces to such a large statistic.
No matter the importance of the message, some have criticized the value of the ad. While the Post has not commented directly on the cost, CBS charged $5.25 million for a 30-second commercial slot, according to CNBC.
“The Post is now paying, say, $5M/30 seconds to tout journalistic freedom during one of the glitziest and – given the NFL’s knee-taking protests and concussions – more controversial sports events in our country,” tweeted Fredrick Kunkle, Washington Post staff writer and co-chairman of the Washington-Baltimore News Guild.
It is debatable whether this was a fiscally responsible decision. In many ways, it was similar to The New York Times’ “Truth is Hard” advertisement, which aired during the Academy Awards roughly two years ago. Both ads featured a message about the importance of journalism rather than a plea for more revenue.
While newspapers are corporations, they act on a different ethos. Neither ad asked viewers to subscribe. The Washington Post ad did not request anything of the viewer. No mention of a subscription deal or anything monetary. And it shouldn’t have.
The Washington Post was not advertising a product, it was advertising an idea. The idea that truth is foundational to the core of any democracy. As a significant media producer, the Post operates on a blurred line between a corporation and a public service entity.
The ad never directly addressed President Donald Trump through its words or imagery, but it would be foolish to say that Trump was not contextually important. Without a President Trump, it is highly unlikely this ad would have ever existed.
The message of this ad is and will always be important. But the decision to spend more than $10 million is certainly questionable. This amount of money could have been spent on better wages for Post employees or hiring dozens of more journalists.
Nevertheless, we are hopeful this message was heard by the 100 million plus viewers of the Super Bowl. Because truth matters.
