After clicking on "select disc to copy", the DVD name and capacity shows up properly. As soon as I click somewhere else, the text disappears. Same thing happens with the "select disc to write to" field. I can click "create image" and operation proceeds normally so it appears the problem is related to a font or theme selection.
This is happening after a fresh 12.04 install which has MyUnity, Ubuntu Tweak, clear looks, xfce, xubuntu, & MAC OSX themes added on top. I had been playing with alternate themes to Unity. In none of these applications does there seem to be a selection for foreground/background text or something similar. Somehow the font settings used by brasero are being messed up by one of these applications. I'm not sure how to delve into this as there isn't an FAQ or any searches that show font settings used by Brasero.
Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.