Two local Madison television stations, have called for the removal of station footage used in Gov. Jim Doyle's latest campaign ad attacking candidate U.S. Congressman Mark Green, R-Green Bay, citing unethical actions and editing making the footage misleading.
The ad titled ""News"" features anchors from both stations, WISC and NBC15-WMTV, reporting on the recent State Election Board decision ordering Green to return $468,000 in illegal political action committee contributions. The footage taken from the WMTV broadcast, cuts off the attribution the reporter made, making it appear to be an editorial statement.
John Stofflet, news anchor for NBC15-WMTV News, said he was concerned his statement appeared to be an editorial statement because there was no attribution. Without it, Wisconsin residents may think NBC15-WMTV News and Stofflet himself are endorsing Doyle.
""It's important that our viewers feel we're objective about politics so that they feel we're not in favor of one candidate over another,"" said Stofflet. ""The station did call our attorney to see what we could do. To use a clip from our newscast without our permission is disturbing.""
Anne Lupardus, Deputy spokesperson for Doyle, disagrees and said the news used in the ad about Green was a breaking news story and finds nothing unethical about the way the footage was used.
""Using news clips and headlines is a long established tradition in campaign ads, as long as they're not fabricated,"" said UW agricultural journalism senior lecturer Michael Flaherty. ""My reaction is that both sides predicted this would be a race to the bottom.""
While reporters calling for the repeal of the ad, journalism and mass communication Professor Douglas McLeod said the plan to establish themselves as unbiased may backfire on them.
""The irony is that by raising this issue, WISC-TV may lead the audience to make inferences that they are partial toward the Green Campaign, the very same kind of problem that concerned them in the first place,"" McLeod said. ""But, ultimately raising the controversy also draws more attention to the ad and gives it additional free exposure.""
Flaherty said any time a news clip is used in a political advertisement, it adds credibility to the ad by its very nature.
Green campaign manager, Mark Graul, said Doyle has shown he is willing to do anything to keep his power and will bypass any standards of decency to negatively affect Green, in a statement.
""After four failed years as governor, Jim Doyle is now running the dirtiest campaign our state has ever seen,"" Graul said.
Flaherty said the 30-second battles between the two candidates are overwhelming the public with negative information.
""Would we all like to see a higher level of debate? Absolutely,"" Flaherty said.
