• by Sara Guaglione , February 4, 2019

The Washington Post made its Super Bowl debut Sunday night, airing its first ad during the big game.

The 60-second ad starred Tom Hanks, with key clips from The Washington Post's Wesley Lowery, CNN's Anderson Cooper, and Fox News' Bret Baier.

The aim of the ad is “to highlight reporters’ work and the importance of press freedom,” stated Washington Post publisher Fred Ryan.

It aired in the fourth quarter, just before the two-minute warning, and was put together in less than a week, he stated.

The ad showed video from major news events in history, from World War II to the California wildfires. It also brought attention to who have been put in danger, due to their jobs as journalists, including Jamal Khashoggi, Marie Colvin and Austin Tice.

The ad ended with a shot of the Statue of Liberty and WaPo’s logo and slogan: “Democracy Dies in Darkness.’’

"When we go off to war," Hanks narrates in the ad. "When we exercise our rights. When we soar to our greatest heights. When we mourn and pray. When our neighbors are at risk. When our nation is threatened. There's someone to gather the facts, to bring you the story, no matter the cost."

“We feel this is the right moment, at the right venue, to present this important message to the large audience of Americans and international viewers that watch the Super Bowl,” Ryan stated.

Just last year, 64 journalists around the world were killed, and more than 250 jailed, according to Ryan.

A Washington Post newsletter also went out this morning marketing the ad, with a link to the video, as well as a link to subscribe.

CNBC reported that CBS was getting $5.25 million for a 30-second slot, Poynter noted in its Monday morning newsletter , meaning The Washington Post’s 60-second ad could have cost over $10 million.

Fredrick Kunkle, a staff writer at WaPo and co-chair of the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, was one of a number of journalists who took to Twitter to voice their concerns about the company paying millions for a Super Bowl ad — when it has allegedly mishandled employee health care, job security, pensions and paid parental leave.

"While I, too, am extremely proud of the Post and its legacy, this seems like an especially infuriating expense,” Kunkle tweeted.