Earlier today, I got this note from BarksFan#1:
Boy, Jim. They must really hate you over at SaveDisney.com these days. Did you see their latest poll?
Which is your favorite SaveDisney website link?
- MousePlanet.com
- MiceAge.com
- SongoftheSouth.net
- AnimationNation.com
- The Walt Disney Family Museum
- CartoonBrew.com
- LaughingPlace.com
JimHillMedia.com didn’t make the cut for “favorite SaveDisney website link”? Roy & Stanley used to run your articles all the time, Jim. Now you never ever see JHM stories up on SaveDisney.com anymore.
What happened? Did you and the SaveDisney people have some sort of falling out?
Well, it wasn’t actually a falling out, BarksFan#1. More that I dared to do the unthinkable. At least to Roy Disney & Stanley Gold’s way of thinking, anyway.
To explain: A few months back, I wrote an article that said that I really didn’t think that the “Save Disney” people were doing all that great a job of keeping the momentum going on their campaign. Of keeping their people motivated. Of keeping their cause focused, on message.
This – in the eyes of the “Save Disney” folks – was the height of heresy. Which was why – starting back in April – you began seeing fewer & fewer links to JimHillMedia.com articles popping up over at SaveDisney.com.
Of course, in order to fill the hole that was left by deliberately not running any more JHM stories over at their website, the “Save Disney” folks had to do something. Which was why they began linking to the articles that Al Lutz was posting over on his MiceAge.com site.
Which was all well & good. Except that the folks at SaveDisney.com then decided to borrow a few plays from Al’s old playbook. Which involved running these ill-conceived photo essays at their website which supposedly showed how poorly attended Disney’s California Adventure was and/or the rundown condition that the current management team had allowed Disneyland to fall into.
Merlin Jones’ Memorial Day DCA photo essay was particularly embarrassing. This piece actually attempted to make the case that – just because that theme park’s new “Twilight Zone Tower of Terror” ride only had a 35 minute wait at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, May 31st – that this somehow meant that this brand-new $95 million attraction had to be considered a failure.
And Jones’ follow-up piece – which featured pictures of hundreds of happy Disneyland guests along with these over-written, over-ripe captions like “But all is not well in Walt’s Kingdom. A dark cancer spreads…” – was no prize either. It tried to portray Anaheim’s original theme park as the company’s crown gem. While – at the same time – Merlin couldn’t resist slipping in a few cheap shots at Disneyland’s expense. Like this caption for his photo of the “Partners” statue in the Hub. Which read:
“Walt surveys his Magic Kingdom (…or is he trying to flag down painters for the castle?).”
You see what I mean, folks? This isn’t balanced reporting. This is amateur night stuff. Certainly not the sort of thing that you want to see posted at a website that wants to be taken seriously by Wall Street.
Which was exactly the point that I was trying to make with my April 21st JHM article, “Who’s Gonna Save SaveDisney.com?” A story which – you may have already guessed – didn’t exactly endear me to the folks over at SaveDisney.com either.
But — as I keep telling you guys — I’m not here to make friends. I’m just here to report the news.
And the news these days (as I see it, anyway) is that Roy & Stanley’s once well-intended campaign has gone ‘way off track. That “Save Disney” now seems to have lost most of its momentum as well as a significant number of its supporters. Which is why I now seriously doubt that Disney & Gold will ever actually be able to achieve their goal: Which is to oust Michael Eisner as well as replace most of the people who currently sit on Disney’s Board of Directors.
Mind you, I take no pleasure in writing this, folks. (And please don’t misinterpret this article as being sour grapes on my part just because JimHillMedia.com was NOT selected to be a candidate in SaveDisney.com’s “favorite Disney-related website link” poll. I could honestly not care less about that poll.
I mean, when it comes to a “honor” like these, I think that Groucho Marx said it best:
“I would never want to belong to a club that would have me as a member.”
Anyway … Getting back to the whole “Save Disney” situation …) I just think that it’s really sad to watch as this campaign slowly caves in on itself.
I mean, do you remember when Disney & Gold’s efforts were actually taken seriously by the mainstream media? When reporters seemed to hang on Roy & Stanley’s every word?
Of course, that was back when it looked like these two former Disney directors might actually bring about some significant change at the Walt Disney Company. When it really seemed possible that Roy, Stanley & their followers would sweep Michael Eisner from power and “Bring Back the Magic” to the Mouse House.
Of course, that was back in early March. Right after Disney’s annual meeting in Philadelphia and the truly extraordinary things that happened there. But now it’s 10 days into June, folks. And Michael Eisner is still firmly entrenched at the Mouse House. More importantly, Disney’s embattled CEO shows no sign of stepping down anytime soon.
And as for Roy & Stanley … Well, their “Save Disney” campaign seems to have fallen right off the radar. I mean, when’s the last time you saw any major magazine or newspaper do a significant story about these guys?
I mean, sure. Occasionally you’ll see an anti-Eisner quote that’s invariably attributed to Stanley Gold pop up in an article in the business section every now & then. But that’s only because reporters now know that they can count on Stanley to serve up a good CEO-slamming sound-bite. But – beyond that – these two former Disney Board of Directors members & their “Save Disney” campaign have pretty much slid out of the spotlight.
Oh, I know. The “Save Disney” folks will tell you that this is all actually part of Disney & Gold’s master plan. That Roy & Stanley are deliberately keeping a low profile right now. But — come mid-November of this year – Round Two of their brilliant “Oust Eisner” campaign will finally kick into gear.
“And what’s going to happen in late November?,” you ask. Well, according to “Save Disney” insiders that I’ve spoken with … After the presidential election is over but just before the 2004 holiday season officially gets underway, “Save Disney” is supposed to formally announce its alternate slate of candidates. These are the folks that Disney & Gold will reportedly be proposing as possible replacements for Disney’s current board of directors.
Then – in December & January – “Save Disney” staffers will then allegedly begin contacting individual Disney shareholders as well as large institutional investors. With the hope that – if Roy & Stanley can actually persuade all of these people to take part in an unprecedented corporate recall campaign – Michael Eisner & his cronies will have no choice but to step down after the Walt Disney Company’s annual meeting in 2005.
Which means that Disney & Gold would then be able to install their very own brand new, hand-picked management team at the Walt Disney Company. And the Disney corporation would supposedly see a second flowering that hasn’t occurred since … Well … Since Michael Eisner first came on board at Walt Disney Productions back in 1984.
That’s a pretty exciting sounding scenario, don’t you think? And it even comes with a very Disney-like “The villain is vanquished / After much hardship & struggle, the heroes emerge triumphant” ending. My only problem is … Where’s all the support for “Save Disney” ‘s “Round Two” supposed to come from?
I mean, let’s remember, folks, that Roy & Stanley’s campaign started off as a grassroots effort. That it was all those individual shareholders who logged on at SaveDisney.com, all those animators who signed petitions, all those Disneyana fans who stood up and applauded when Walt’s nephew’s made his appearance at January’s N.F.F.C. “Kickoff” event that initially put this story on the map.
Sadly, a great number of those early “Save Disney” supporters have now supposedly wandered away. Some of them because they’ve allegedly grown tired of just sitting around, waiting to be told by Disney & Gold’s people what they should do next. Still others have bailed out of the “Save Disney” effort because they reportedly believe that Roy & Stanley squandered the opportunity that they had back in March. That these two should have done more to try & force Eisner from office back then.
Of course, the “Save Disney” people will tell you that that last claim is nonsense. That Disney & Gold did everything they could to try & turn up the heat on Eisner back in March. But who knew that this guy would be so determined to hang onto power?
Well, that may in fact be true. But – right now – “Save Disney” is dealing with a real perception problem. I mean, people go to the SaveDisney.com website these days and see the same old tired assortment of anti-Eisner newspaper articles and/or magazine stories. Or – worse yet- lame polls that ask insipid questions like “Which Mouseketeer most represents Disney?” (What a surprise. It’s Annette.)
So is it any wonder that – what with Roy & Stanley not being very forthcoming about what “Round Two” of their “Save Disney” campaign will actually entail and/or SaveDisney.com doing such a poor job of keeping the Disney faithful motivated – that”Save Disney” ‘s support base is slowly fading away?
I mean, it’s still a long time ’til November. And – if Disney & Gold don’t start doing a better job soon of motivating their troops – there may not be any troops left to rally when “Round Two” finally rolls around.
Again, I’m not saying these words out of anger or of spite, folks. As the banner at the top of this page clearly shows, I remain a supporter of the “Save Disney” cause. I still firmly believe that the Walt Disney Company would be better off if Michael Eisner were to resign and a new management team were put into place.
But – that said – I still have serious doubts that Roy Disney & Stanley Gold can be effective agents of change. I fear that the “Save Disney” campaign really doesn’t have a plan in place to cover what happens between now and November. Which means that SaveDisney.com will continue to be a mess. A website that – due to its lack of focus – actually does more harm than good for the “Save Disney” campaign.
Which I think is really sad. Why for? Because I – like so many other people – was really counting on Roy & Stanley succeeding. And when I think of all the animators & Imagineers & current Disney cast members who put their careers on the line in order to support “Save Disney” … My heart goes out to these people.
Why for again? Well, knowing what a vindictive SOB Michael Eisner can be, I worry that we may be headed back to the bad old days of the 1940s. Back when the animators who dared to join a picket line found themselves on an unofficial blacklist at Disney. Talented artists who sided against Walt in the 1941 strike who – as a result of being on the “wrong” side of this conflict – never worked for Walt Disney Studios ever again.
I hope that that doesn’t actually happen here. But – after watching how callously Michael treated his longtime friend, Mike Ovitz, as well as his longtime colleague, Jeffrey Katzenberg – I don’t really think that Eisner is the “Forgive & Forget” type.
But – hey – that’s only how I see this situation. Your mileage may vary.
So whaddaya say, folks? What’s your take on what’s been going on with the “Save Disney” campaign lately?