You know, the really unfortunate part of all of this was just how badly both Morrell AND Bob II (despite his 30 years with the company) completely and utterly misunderstood the culture of Disney and its place in the overall cultural landscape.
Dealing with DeSantis and Florida's legislature was one challenge, but Disney – of ALL companies – could have safely ignored them. The legislature was going to do what it was going to do, and DeSantis clearly wanted to show he owned Disney after having "allowed" them to stay open during the most deadly pandemic the world has known in the last century.
But Bob II and Geoff Morrell had no interest in paying ANY attention to their employees. And is that unexpected? For years, Disney has treated its workers with contempt, going back to Jeffrey K.'s "don't come in on Sunday" and Michael E.'s hiring of Michael O. and the black cars that lined Team Disney's driveway while executives let them all eat cake.
Disney doesn't have a clue how to treat workers, and workers, showing serious signs of Stockholm Syndrome abuse, just take it. Constantly. Then, last summer, was the "you're moving to Florida" thing -- and that went over about as well as giving Dopey an enema. Making matters worse, every employee, both in California and Florida, saw their *last remaining real perk* of Silver Passes and Main Entrance Passes essentially nullified. If there was ONE reason to accept heaped-on abuse as a Disney employee, it was taking friends and out-of-town family to Disneyland, or treating a trip to Walt Disney World as a low-cost option even while the rest of the world was paying through the teeth.
THEY TOOK THAT AWAY.
And expected employees to be happy.
And the thing is, Bob II and Morrell had absolutely zero understanding of that.
So, when the final straw came with, "We don't want to say anything about this discriminatory and likely unconstitutional bill, because we're neutral in all things," everyone called bullsh*t. Didn't matter if they were liberal or Simi Valley conservatives. Didn't matter if they were 20 or 60. Disrespecting fellow employees like that ... on top of making thousands of them move from California to Florida ... on top of taking away their entrance passes ... on top of having just laid off thousands of them ... it was just too much.
And ALL THAT NEEDED TO HAPPEN was for Disney to have made its views on this law clear right from the start. To say, "It's not about us stepping into a culture war or being seen as 'woke' -- it's about us honoring and respecting everyone. Any law that violates the humanity, dignity and respect of any American is something we can't support. That's why we'll work to fight it before the Legislature can pass it, and why we'll work to overturn it if it becomes law. Our employees are straight and gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, intersected and asexual. Our employees are conservatives and Republicans. Our employees are religious and atheists and agnostics. Our employees are young and old. And we value every single one of them, and we value the dignity and individuality of every Floridian."
And they could have backed that up by ceasing business with China (which, by the way, has shut down their parks MUCH longer than any U.S. governor did), and refusing to distribute films in Saudi Arabia, and saying, "We will back up our beliefs with action anywhere in the world we do business."
It just took some humanity. And some conviction. And some ethical backbone.
But it appears that neither Morrell nor Bob II have any of those things.
Broadcast TV was the dominant medium 30 years ago and so it had an inherent advantage in sourcing the best content. In our fragmented world where linear schedules only allow for a limited number of “at bats” it’s difficult to compete. How many people watch Abbott Elementary on Broadcast vs. Hulu?
So his argument is that netflix doesnt take as many risks as the networks did. Lol what? He also seems pretty blind to all the racial and sexual bias in his institutional beliefs. Maybe people stopped watching networks because all their shows were written by white dudes pitching to white male executives.
Nasty, Brutish, Short: Morrell's Misery
You know, the really unfortunate part of all of this was just how badly both Morrell AND Bob II (despite his 30 years with the company) completely and utterly misunderstood the culture of Disney and its place in the overall cultural landscape.
Dealing with DeSantis and Florida's legislature was one challenge, but Disney – of ALL companies – could have safely ignored them. The legislature was going to do what it was going to do, and DeSantis clearly wanted to show he owned Disney after having "allowed" them to stay open during the most deadly pandemic the world has known in the last century.
But Bob II and Geoff Morrell had no interest in paying ANY attention to their employees. And is that unexpected? For years, Disney has treated its workers with contempt, going back to Jeffrey K.'s "don't come in on Sunday" and Michael E.'s hiring of Michael O. and the black cars that lined Team Disney's driveway while executives let them all eat cake.
Disney doesn't have a clue how to treat workers, and workers, showing serious signs of Stockholm Syndrome abuse, just take it. Constantly. Then, last summer, was the "you're moving to Florida" thing -- and that went over about as well as giving Dopey an enema. Making matters worse, every employee, both in California and Florida, saw their *last remaining real perk* of Silver Passes and Main Entrance Passes essentially nullified. If there was ONE reason to accept heaped-on abuse as a Disney employee, it was taking friends and out-of-town family to Disneyland, or treating a trip to Walt Disney World as a low-cost option even while the rest of the world was paying through the teeth.
THEY TOOK THAT AWAY.
And expected employees to be happy.
And the thing is, Bob II and Morrell had absolutely zero understanding of that.
So, when the final straw came with, "We don't want to say anything about this discriminatory and likely unconstitutional bill, because we're neutral in all things," everyone called bullsh*t. Didn't matter if they were liberal or Simi Valley conservatives. Didn't matter if they were 20 or 60. Disrespecting fellow employees like that ... on top of making thousands of them move from California to Florida ... on top of taking away their entrance passes ... on top of having just laid off thousands of them ... it was just too much.
And ALL THAT NEEDED TO HAPPEN was for Disney to have made its views on this law clear right from the start. To say, "It's not about us stepping into a culture war or being seen as 'woke' -- it's about us honoring and respecting everyone. Any law that violates the humanity, dignity and respect of any American is something we can't support. That's why we'll work to fight it before the Legislature can pass it, and why we'll work to overturn it if it becomes law. Our employees are straight and gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, intersected and asexual. Our employees are conservatives and Republicans. Our employees are religious and atheists and agnostics. Our employees are young and old. And we value every single one of them, and we value the dignity and individuality of every Floridian."
And they could have backed that up by ceasing business with China (which, by the way, has shut down their parks MUCH longer than any U.S. governor did), and refusing to distribute films in Saudi Arabia, and saying, "We will back up our beliefs with action anywhere in the world we do business."
It just took some humanity. And some conviction. And some ethical backbone.
But it appears that neither Morrell nor Bob II have any of those things.
What a shame.
Broadcast will return? How?
Broadcast TV was the dominant medium 30 years ago and so it had an inherent advantage in sourcing the best content. In our fragmented world where linear schedules only allow for a limited number of “at bats” it’s difficult to compete. How many people watch Abbott Elementary on Broadcast vs. Hulu?
So his argument is that netflix doesnt take as many risks as the networks did. Lol what? He also seems pretty blind to all the racial and sexual bias in his institutional beliefs. Maybe people stopped watching networks because all their shows were written by white dudes pitching to white male executives.