Image Source: Mitt Romney for President)
BY GINA COOK
ANCHOR NATHAN BYRNE
Mitt Romney’s campaign is taking heat from NBC for using an old ‘Nightly News’ clip. The ad -- called ‘History Lesson,’ is a clip of Tom Brokaw reporting on Newt Gingrich in 1997.
Tom Brokaw: “Tonight he has on his own record, the judgement of his peers -- Democrat and Republican alike. By an overwhelming vote they found him guilty of ethics violations.”
Brokaw isn’t too pleased about being the star of the ad. In a statement released by NBC he says, quote:
"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."
And according to Politico, Romney’s senior campaign advisor responded to the newscaster’s request by saying:
"He's a very respected newsman but we believe that the use of that clip falls within fair use standards. We respect him as a newsman who has a lot of credibility ...”
News outlets besides NBC also have a lot to say about the issue. A blog for ABC criticizes the Romney campaign for Tweeting links to the ad …
“While news broke of NBC’s complaint ... several members of the Romney campaign were retweeting the link to the ad, seeming to capitalize on the free publicity.”
But the New York Times says it’s nothing new for campaigns to use news clips.
“...work that was never intended to be used for political purposes gets suddenly cast in a partisan light. The Romney campaign is hardly alone in using footage without permission.”
The ad is still running in Florida where a primary election takes place in two days.
