Gee. Maybe it is 1984 all over again.
In an effort to try and get ahead of the rumors that are reportedly running rampant at the Mouse House, senior Disney management has supposedly ordered a news black-out.
Meaning that: The company’s daily news summaries (which typically list events and trends that are likely to impact the Walt Disney corporation in some way) are deliberately being screened and edited to remove any references to Michael Eisner’s recent troubles as well as Wall Street’s continuing concerns with Disney’s board of directors.
Don’t believe me? Then let’s take a look at Disney’s daily news summary for Wednesday, March 10th. On that date, this publication (which is prepared in-house by Disney’s own Corporate Communications staff) featured brief, one paragraph summaries of entertainment-industry-related stories like:
Europe Moves to Strengthen Piracy Laws
Radio Outlets May Face More FCC Scrutiny
Prime-Time TV Rankings: There’s no slowing Fox’s “Idol”
Plus brief summaries of various international stories as well as cultural trend related pieces that might be of interest to some Disney officials. These articles included:
Citibank Takes Risk by Issuing Cards in China
Obesity, inactivity nearly as deadly as tobacco in U.S., government says
Experimental Drug Helps People Lose Weight, Quit Smoking
These stories made it past the in-house censor at Disney Corporate Communications. But these other articles — anti-Eisner pieces as well as stories that talk about the Walt Disney Company’s woes — like:
Dow Jones: Eisner’s Foes Keep Pressure on at Walt Disney
LA Times: Walt Disney’s Daughter: Eisner Should Quit
NY Times: Eisner Vote Forces Disney to Catch Up
Orlando Sentinel: ABC Exec Lays Blame for Prime-Time ‘Mess’
… Disney-related articles that ran on the exact same day as the headlines that I previously listed. These stories DIDN’T make it into the March 10th daily news summary.
Why for? Said one staffer at Team Disney Burbank that I spoke with today:
“They’re just doing this in an effort to cut back on the in-house rumor mongering. People who work here are spending far too much time on the phones nowadays, just trying to keep track of what is allegedly going on outside. Which is why nobody’s getting any work done.
By keeping those anti-Disney stories out of the company’s daily news summary … Well, admittedly, Eisner and Co. ARE trying to downplay what’s going on right now. But not just because they’re trying to hang onto their jobs. But also because they’ve got a business to run.”
Well, some Mouse House veterans don’t see this whole anti-Disney-stories-deliberately-being-left-out-of-the-daily-news-summary thing as just a benign act by management. They choose to see what Corporate Communications is doing as out-and-out censorship. Said one unnamed studio vet:
“They’re deliberately trying to keep us in the dark here. First they block our internet access to sites like SaveDisney.com. Then they start censoring the daily news summary. Making sure that there’s nothing in there that could possibly offend or embarrass Eisner and Mitchell.
Where’s it going to stop? Are they going to start listening on our private phone conversations next? Making sure that we’re not saying anything bad about Michael or George?”
Well, down in Orlando, it appears that Big Mickey may have already begun listening in on some employees. Trying to determine who’s in Michael Eisner’s corner and who’s not.
Let me share this disturbing little e-mail I received recently:
Jim,
I can’t tell you who I am or what department I work in at Walt Disney World. All I can tell you — without endangering my position here — is that I work in the Team Disney building. The one right across from the entrance to Downtown Disney here in Lake Buena Vista.
As you probably already know, this is the building that houses most of the management team for the Walt Disney World Resort. And — ever since the shareholders meeting earlier this month — all the suits that work here have been extremely nervous. Verging on paranoid.
Why paranoid? Basically because nobody knows for sure what’s going to happen next. We’ve all heard all sorts of rumors lately. Everything from “Michael’s history in just 4 to 5 weeks,” “Eisner’s determined to hang in there ’til 2006. No matter what it does to Disney’s stock price” and (here’s the latest rumor that’s making the rounds) “Roy and Stanley are getting ready to take the Walt Disney Company to court. Arguing that — given that all that Michael and George did in response to that 43.4% vote was to split the CEO and the Chairmanship position — Disney senior management is deliberately ignoring the will of the company’s shareholders. Which is why it’s time that the courts stepped in.”
So — obviously — it’s hard to know what to believe these days. But you know what’s really scary? The members of the WDW management team who have become almost fanatically loyal to Michael.
We’ve got one manager in my department who’s really taken this sort of thing to the extreme, Jim. He’s convinced that Eisner is going to survive this crisis. Just like he did during the Euro Disney debacle, the Katzenberg catastrophe as well as the Ovitz exit. Which is why this guy tends to view anyone who talks about Michael’s current problems as being somehow disloyal to the Walt Disney Company.
You know how crazy things have gotten around here, Jim? This manager has actually begun eaves dropping on private conversation in our office. As he tries to determine who’s an Eisner supporter and who’s not. I’m told that he’s actually compiling an enemy’s list. Just like Nixon did. Which this guy says that he’s going to hand off to management … Should Eisner actually survive his current crisis.
So now I guess now you can see why I don’t want you to use my real name and/or reveal what department in the “Cooling Tower” building I actually work in. People are really afraid for their jobs right now. Afraid that — if they say the wrong thing to the wrong person — they could get fired.
So please tell me that this will all be over someday soon, Jim? So that we can all finally get on with our lives? Because — the way that things are right now — I don’t know if I can hang on at the Mouse House much longer. The stress is really starting to get to me.
Signed
Stressed Out Secretary
It’s kind of appropriate, don’t you think, that Stressed Out Secretary’s initials spell “SOS”? Given the increasingly tough conditions that Disney cast members and employees are working under … as this whole Michael Eisner/Roy Disney/Comcast thing continues to play itself out.
Here’s hoping that something happens soon that relieves all of this tension.
Your thoughts?