>Disney is banning the Los Angeles Times from attending advanced screenings of their movies. As a southern California newspaper, in addition to publishing film criticism, the Times frequently covers Disneyland Resort and Disney California Adventure, as well as how both parks affect the city of Anaheim. And in September, they published an article that painted Disney in a bad light, and the Mouse House challenged their outlook.
>The article posited that Disney Parks & Resorts wasn’t paying its fair share to the city. For instance, the report stated that the city of Anaheim built and owns the parking garages that Disney uses for its resorts, for which Disney charges $20 for each vehicle entry, yet the city leases the garage to the company for only $1 a year. The Times also indicated that Disneyland is currently seeing its first major opposition from the city council as well as from the mayor for the first time in its 62-year history, for a variety of reasons, and that’s something that they directly refuted in a letter to the paper, stating: “Disneyland Resort has played a pivotal role in Anaheim as a job creator and economic engine.”
>Disney has issued a statement on the matter (via THR): “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.”
Elijah Miller
>fucking with the mouse RIP LA Times
Alexander Ross
>if you don't play ball we'll ban you forever >OR you could take this bag with thousands of dollars worth of merchandising *winks jewishly* Gee I sure wonder how all those mediocre marvel flicks get such rave reviews!
Xavier Anderson
Actually lol Does LA Times knows who they fucking with?
Colton Bailey
of course they're going to use every loophole available, plus I'm sure they have the local government by the balls because disneyland is the whole reason anaheim is even on anyone's map it's shitty of them to ban the newspaper, but I'm sure that's just business as well
Hudson Clark
Fear the Mouse!
Jason Hill
>waaah they should be cucks and allow people that talk shit about them top numale thinking right there
Angel Lewis
>The LA Times two-part story, “Is Disney paying its share in Anaheim?” and “How one election changed Disneyland’s relationship with its hometown,” is an eye-opening look at the arguably one-sided relationship the company has with the California city that’s home to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. The report details how Disney has squeezed the city for subsidies, incentives, rebates and protections from future taxes to the point where city officials and citizens are wondering whether or not the mouse house is paying their fair share.
>The first story details how Disney has received hundreds of millions of dollars worth of subsidies and tax exemptions in exchange for expanding its Disneyland facilities. For example, Disney got a 30-year exemption from ticket taxes in exchange for a $1 billion investment in a new Star Wars exhibit in Anaheim.
>Disney once had a cozy relationship with Anaheim, but as the park has gotten more lucrative and the city's demographics have changed, the relationship has deteriorated. Some parts of the city are struggling economically, and critics say that Disney's generous tax breaks deprive the city of revenue it could use to tackle the city's problems.
Justin Nelson
>wholly driven by a political agenda
Whenever says something is an agenda, like when Sup Forums complains about black people being represented in media, you know its a sophisticated way of saying it hurts their feelings and they have no argument or evidence except that they don't like it and this to them is evidence in and of itself.
>hit piece Did the council build the garage? Does it own it? Does it lease it for $1? Does Disney charge people $20 for its use? If all of this is fact then there is no basis for Disney to complain.
Jordan Thomas
>Anaheim is now 53 percent Hispanic, and according to the LA Times, "three of the four council candidates that Disney’s campaign spending in 2016 supported were white, while three of the four candidates who were targeted with negative campaigning by PACs with direct or indirect financial connections to Disney were Latino."
>Disney spent heavily to support Disney-friendly candidates in the 2016 election for the Anaheim city council. But two new Disney critics won seats on the council, enough to give Anaheim Mayor and Disney critic Tom Tait a majority.
>Some of the campaigns were nasty. The LA Times reports that "a news release sent to area media outlets detailed a 2016 misdemeanor domestic violence case" involving the brother-in-law of one of the candidates Disney opposed.
>The firm that sent the release counts Disney as a past client, the paper says, and has worked with Kris Murray, an Anaheim councilwoman who is seen as a Disney ally.
?Murray also went on a European vacation with Disney government relations director Carrie Nocella "shortly after Murray was reelected to a second term in November 2014"—though Murray says she paid her own way on the trip.
