WisconsinEye calls on Tammy Baldwin to stop using its footage in campaign ads

MADISON – The statewide public affairs network WisconsinEye on Friday called on Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin's campaign to stop using its publicly available footage in campaign ads, arguing such use violates the network's terms of use and the spirit of its mission.

The network, which provides gavel-to-gavel coverage of the state Legislature and state Supreme Court, covers the governor, hosts interviews with candidates and other newsmakers, and streams some campaign events and news conferences, makes its archive available to use for "educational purposes."

"However, that use comes with an expectation that users share their selections in the spirit of WisconsinEye’s mission to inspire informed, civil dialogue. Specifically, the network’s Terms of Use reads: 'Use of our content for commercial purposes or for political purposes is prohibited,'" the organization wrote in a news release.

The ads WisconsinEye objects to include clips from an interview with Republican businessman Eric Hovde during his 2012 Senate campaign. Hovde was defeated by former Gov. Tommy Thompson in the primary, who went on to lose to Baldwin.

A Baldwin ad claims Hovde "says that farmers don’t work hard," then shows a brief clip from the 2012 interview .

In the interview, Hovde talked about advances in safety and technology in professions requiring manual labor.

"Think of farming," he said. "Look at the old physical toil that it would take on your body, now you’re largely driving around on a tractor."

Hovde referenced the attack during a Wednesday campaign stop at Dane Manufacturing in Waunakee.

"No, I don't think farmers are lazy," he told a group of employees. "I think they're the hardest working people. All I was talking about is how farmers used to toil in the field, and then advancements, and now they use tractors to plow their fields. So (Baldwin's) campaign has largely all been about attacking me, trying to play the politics of personal destruction."

A Baldwin spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

WisconsinEye said its interviews are intended to provide a "counter-balance to the barrage of TV ads and social media messaging that all too often are negative, misleading or divisive."

"The network is obligated to shed light and transparency on the misuse of its content, and reminds those in the political arena that while its video coverage is extensive and insightful, such coverage is meant to promote public access to the policymaking process and encourage civil dialogue, and is not permitted to be used for political purposes. The network will continue to call out those who violate the Terms of Use," the organization said in the news release.

"WisconsinEye has asked the Tammy Baldwin for U.S. Senate campaign to withdraw these ads from commercial broadcast and social media networks and to cease using WisconsinEye content for any type of political campaign ads."

In the 2023-25 state budget, lawmakers and Gov. Tony Evers agreed to provide $10 million in state tax dollars to the network, which is effectively Wisconsin's version of C-SPAN, as long as it raises private donations in the same amount.

In 2021, WisconsinEye had a budget of about $1.1 million, according to Jon Henkes, the network’s president. For the fiscal year that ended in September 2019, WisconsinEye spent about $1.4 million, about $87,000 more than it took in that year, according to a filing with the Internal Revenue Service.

On the air since 2007, the privately funded nonprofit network is available on cable TV and at wiseye.org .

Jessie Opoien can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: WisconsinEye calls on Tammy Baldwin to stop using its footage in campaign ads