HomeDisney NewsDisney CEO Bob Chapek Defends / Praises ABC News For 'Objective Reporting'

Disney CEO Bob Chapek Defends / Praises ABC News For ‘Objective Reporting’

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Today there was a Disney shareholders meeting in Raleigh, N.C. and among the discussions was the official introduction of Bob Chapek as CEO and the credibility of ABC News.

A few weeks ago it was announced that Bog Iger would become Chairman of the Board and Bob Chapek would replace him. Around that time something else was also released that brought ABC News into question for their objective reporting and journalistic integrity.

Project Veritas sent someone to the New Hampshire Primary, where journalist David Wright was covering the same event for Nightline. They caught him on camera discussing things like Socialism and Donald Trump.

Even indicating that the media skews information:

We also don’t give him credit for what things he does do … I feel terrible about it, I feel that the truth suffers, the voters are poorly informed … Our bosses don’t see an upside in doing the job we’re supposed to do; which is to speak truth to power and hold people to account.”

“But you know, I don’t know, The fake news abounds. There are problems with the truth these days.

And

We’re in this awkward moment…we have this f**king president, and we can’t figure out how to challenge him.

And

Again I think, some of that at least in the places that I work, (ABC News) and the places like it, is that we’ve, with Trump, we’re interested in three things. We’re interested in the outrage of the day, the investigation, and of the palace intrigue of who’s backstabbing whom. Beyond that, we don’t really cover the guy (Trump.)

You can watch that video here:

Honestly he just sounded like someone who was frustrated and doesn’t feel that he is allowed to do his job property and he was venting about it. Personally, I find it ironic that ABC News suspended him for voicing his political opinions, while it was indicated that they themselves were showing political bias.

I doubt that people are so uniformed as to believe that “news” networks are unbiased. There are entire charts and articles dedicated to where these “news outlets” fall on the political spectrum with most showing a clear bias. Nothing he said was much of a surprise.

Besides his comments about the President, he admitted that he was personally a socialist and that was also a problem for Disney.

Wright said:
Oh yeah. More than that I would consider myself a socialist; like I think there should be national health insurance. I’m totally fine with reigning in corporations, I think they’re too many billionaires, and I think there’s a wealth gap–that’s a problem.

He even called out Good Morning America for being a giant commercial for Disney, which let’s be honest, it pretty much is:

“It became a profit center, a promotion center. Like now, you can’t watch Good Morning America without there being a Disney princess or a Marvel Avenger appearing. It’s all self-promotional. And promotion of the company and also the promotion of individuals within the company.”

If I’m being honest, I’ve lost count of how many times Disney has made announcement on GMA or behind the scenes “first looks” or movie trailers. They even showed the New York Toy Fair Baby Yoda toys on there first. GMA, for at least a chunk a day, has become a commercial for Disney and what they are promoting. That being said, it’s their show so they can do that, but they call themselves a news outlet and that’s where the lines are blurred.

Here’s the official write up for GMA:

Co-anchors report the morning’s top headlines from a set in Times Square. The show features a combination of breaking news, interviews, in-depth reporting and weather. The program covers important issues with key figures from around the world and a wide spectrum of topics, including medicine, finance, consumer issues, computer technology, education and gardening.

I don’t see “Disney commercial” in that write-up, but frankly, it is. A lot of people have been thinking it, Wright just said it.

Does it make the video all true?

Not necessarily. In the spirit of being fair, something ABC News is now being questioned about, the video is highly edited. We don’t know what was said or how Mr. Wright was led in questioning. He also did not realize he was being recorded and was just “talking shop” with another reporter. How often to we do the same? Of course we would say thing to our peers, when we think it’s in private, off the record, that we would never say in the presence of our “bosses.” But then one has to wonder, who’s speaking the truth. The CEO of the company that owns ABC News, in front of investors who want answers, or the person who was speaking candidly, about how they felt, when they thought it was in private.

No matter which is true, David Wright was suspended for his comments and when he returns he will not be covering politics according to a statement released by ABC News.

“Any action that damages our reputation for fairness and impartiality or gives the appearance of compromising it harms ABC News and the individuals involved. David Wright has been suspended, and to avoid any possible appearance of bias, he will be reassigned away from political coverage when he returns.”- ABC News

At the Meeting today Chapek praised ABC News for their “stellar track record” in regards to their objective reporting.

Chapek then indicated that perhaps it was Wright that wasn’t objective:

In terms of Mr. Wright, he said some things that made us question his objectivity.

Frankly, I’m questioning their objectivity at this point. They say “objectivity” I think the word he was looking for is “loyalty.”

Word to the wise for those associated with Disney, do not ever talk candidly around people you can’t trust 100% and never tell others your personal beliefs. Just keep all of that close to the vest, unless you are venting to someone you know you can trust to keep you anonymous.

What do you think? Comment and let us know.

Sources: LA Times, Deadline, Project Veritas,


Pirates & Princesses (PNP) is an independent, opinionated fan-powered news blog that covers Disney and Universal Theme Parks, Themed Entertainment and related Pop Culture from a consumer's point of view. Opinions expressed by our contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of PNP, its editors, affiliates, sponsors or advertisers. PNP is an unofficial news source and has no connection to The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal or any other company that we may cover.



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