Systemic Icon Failure

by digby

Joe Gandelman at The Moderate Voice looks at the “PT9/11” controversy from the perspective of Disney’s corporate failure:

How often do you see a corporation truly step in it — I mean, step in it so strongly that you virtually can hear the “squish”?

How often in your lifetime do you see a big corporation do something, either by sloppy advance work or the intent of some higher-ups, that angers and bitterly offends a large number of its customers in such a way that its image could be dramatically transformed for years within a shockingly short period of time? How often do you see a corporation dig in its heels — and make matters worse? Or change course — and possibly (in another way) make matter worse? As any PR person knows, it is far easier to destroy an image (and credibility) than to rebuild it.

The Great “The Path To 911” Docudrama Controversy of 2006 is a body blow to ABC that is likely to have implications for the network and its parent company — for years.

Matt Stoller talks a bit more about the corporate straightjacket that Disney/ABC has put themselves in over this. They have a number of very important issues before the government that vitally depend upon their being perceived as wise stewards who don’t require special supervision or regulation. That is going to be a much harder case to make if they air this biased propaganda. They have a lot to lose.

But it’s even bigger than their current corporate agenda. In 2004, Roy Disney, Walt’s nephew and third largest shareholder of the company gave a stirring speech to the shareholders in which he made this point:

The Walt Disney Company is more than just a business. It is an authentic American icon — which is to say that over the years it has come to stand for something real and meaningful and worthwhile to millions of people of all ages and backgrounds around the world.

This is not something you can describe easily on a balance sheet, but it is tangible enough. Indeed, it is the foundation on which everything we have accomplished as a company — both artistically and financially — is based.

Disney isn’t just any corporation. It is one of the most valuable brands on the planet. They make a product that they can sell over and over again as each generation is born and they sell it with with a stamp of approval from parents who enjoyed the same product when they were children. Roy is right. It is an authentic American icon.

If they allow themselves to become a purveyor of biased political product, which they lately seem intent upon doing, they will have devalued the single most important asset they have. It would be unfortunate for all of us if millions of Americans were to reluctantly be forced to accept that this authentic American icon is nothing more than a cheap imitation of Fox News.

Even Rupert Murdoch keeps his political and entertainment divisions separate.

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