Given all the fawning press that Disney generally receives, mostly on the movie front thanks to their mega-successful string of franchises, you’d think the mega-corporation could take a little criticism. Not so. The L.A. Times recently published the two-part story — “Is Disney paying its share in Anaheim?” and “How one election changed Disneyland’s relationship with its hometown” — which asked serious questions about Disney’s apparently uneven relationship with the city that houses Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. It rubbed Disney the wrong way to the extent that they banned L.A. Times reporters and critics from advance coverage of their movies.
Now, Disney has defended their actions. In a statement, the mouse house says the aforementioned Times pieces were “biased and inaccurate,” and cite a very brief defense of Disney by The Orange County Register as a backup to their claims that the reporting wasn’t fair and balanced. Here’s what they said.
We regularly work with news organizations around the world that we don’t always agree with, but in this instance, the L.A. Times showed a complete disregard for basic journalistic standards. Despite our sharing numerous indisputable facts with the reporter, several editors, and the publisher over many months, the Times moved forward with a biased and inaccurate series, wholly driven by a political agenda–so much so that the Orange County Register referred to the report as ‘a hit piece’ with a ‘seemingly predetermined narrative.’ We’ve had a long relationship with the L.A. Times, and we hope they will adhere to balanced reporting in the future.
Again, it’s a fairly dramatic move to blacklist an entire outlet because you might not agree with how they present the facts regarding a business relationship, but clearly, Disney is deeply upset at the LA Times daring to question how the company works with the city of Anaheim. No word yet on what will put the LA Times back in the good graces of Disney, but it doesn’t seem like the company is willing to budge anytime soon. [The Wrap]