zb781311@ohio.edu
Disney is often considered the happiest company on the planet. From beloved films like The Lion King to amazing theme parks like Disneyland, just the thought of Disney evokes fond memories in the minds of people. It's also one of the fastest growing companies in the world. Disney seems to have placed mouse ears on intellectual properties in every facet of the industry, from ESPN to Marvel Comics and the Muppets! Disney's acquisition of all these companies has some people perceiving the company less like this:
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| Courtesy of Disney Parks |
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| Only with Mickey Ears Cartoon by Udo Keppler |
Having your fingers in media conglomerate pie can make things a little sticky, especially when news associations are involved. That's the situation Disney found itself in when it acquired ABC nearly 20 years ago.
Rewinding time, ABC was established in 1943. ABC's connection with Disney has its roots long before the two companies merged. According to Designing Disney.com, ABC agreed to loan Disney $500,000 to help with the construction of Disneyland if ABC could air a weekly Disney-themed program on their channel. Enter The Wonderful World of Disney and other Disney programs broadcasted on ABC.
In the 1980s, ABC merged with media company Capital Cities Communications. During this time, ABC News programs were number one across the board in every time slot, covering a variety of hard pressure news.
In 1996, Disney bought out Capital Cities, thus acquiring ABC. This led to some big changes. First, legendary ABC News president Ron Arledge stepped down from his position two years after the acquisition, according to the LA Times. Rumors abound that Arledge was forcibly removed after his management style clashed with Disney's vision.
The true test of ABC's relationship with Disney came about that very same year. Brian Ross, a reporter working at ABC News, was covering a story about lax employment security at theme parks across the country that could allow convicted pedophiles to be hired. This included Disneyland and Disney World.
However, days before the story was set to be published, it was terminated, according to The New York Times. Critics immediately claimed that Disney had pressured the company it now controlled into not publishing the story.
Adding fuel to the fire were statements made by then CEO of Disney, Michael Eisner. A few days before the story was shelved, Eisner was quoted on NPR as saying, "I would prefer ABC not to cover Disney...I think it's inappropriate for Disney to be covered by Disney."
ABC denied that the decision to terminate the story was due to pressure from upper-mouse management. The story's termination raises the question: Should ABC News cover Disney?
On one hand, it is an ethical responsibility of a journalist to inform the public of the news. That means all the facts presented in a true and unbiased way. Journalists are supposed to be watchdogs of corrupt companies, not lapdogs for Disney like Pluto is to Mickey.
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| Courtesy of Disney Clip Art |
Fortunately, ABC News has not always shied away from stories depicting Disney in a negative light. An ABC news station covered a story about a family who filed a complaint after a Disneyland employee commented the mother needed to wear less revealing clothing in the park. This is an optimistic sign that ABC can and does in fact present Disney News from an unbiased perspective.
The balancing act of serving your company and serving the public is one that journalists struggle with every day. There is no quintessential guide for navigating the tightrope, and one false step could lead to a fall into the abyss below.
One way to make the task at hand easier is clear communication between journalists and company heads. If the executives recognize the duty of journalists to report the news truthfully, and if clear, but reasonable, boundaries are put in place for journalists, fewer conflicts of interest will arise. With more companies becoming conglomerates, it would appear that the issue will become more prevalent and more difficult to solve in the near future.
Despite an atmosphere of uncertainty from the public audience, there is good news for ABC. Last year, ABC News earned some of its best ratings since the days of Arledge. Hopefully, it can earn those ratings without trading integrity for a ride with Steamboat Willie.
I like how you touched on how Disney currently owns ABC. This definitely opens the door for bias to be prevalent in what stories are aired. It gives Disney the control to keep a story that may negatively affect them from being aired or published, while they alternatively air or publish a story that will only further the good reputation that they currently have. For example, where you mentioned that a story that would reveal that pedophiles could be hired at either park, and Disney had ABC pull the story. All media should be reported, as best as possible, without bias. Since this story would have negatively affected the publicity that the Disney company received, they were able to pull it from broadcast/publication before any word could get out. While I don't have any children of my own yet, I don't know that I would feel comfortable taking them somewhere that they could closely interact with pedophiles. I think that Disney should be more covered by other news outlets, so that all stories can be reported without (much) bias and everyone can see the truth behind the stories.
ReplyDeleteKayla Burke
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