Parent Company Disney Using Its NBC 'News' To Tell Happy Stories About Itself

By Peter Hart
Granted, the network morning news programs can seem a little devoid of news sometimes. But they're still produced by the news divisions, and thus in theory are news shows. Which is why it's good to check in, every now and then, to see what they think is worth putting on the air.

Like ABC's Good Morning America's "exclusive" report (5/2/14) about its parent company. "We've got breaking news from Disney," correspondent Ginger Zee explained. "It's a new kind of magic at the Walt Disney World Resorts." What is it? Some sort of wristband, which is "like a magic wand that lets you do just about anything."

But that's not all–there's also a new ride at the park, and a new parade "with larger-than-life floats unlike anything I'd ever seen. A land of fantasy, growing bigger and helping our imaginations grow bigger every year."

It doesn't appear that ABC bothered with the sort of normal journalistic disclosure during the segment. (Zee exclaiming "it's tough not to find magic here at Disney" doesn't count.) Perhaps it was just too obvious.

Or maybe it's simply too hard to keep track of all the Disney promotion they're doing; a few days later (5/4/14) the show was reporting on "Star Wars Day" and promoting a new Star Wars cartoon. The franchise, as an on-screen disclosure noted, just so happens to be owned by Disney.

Reprinted with permission from Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting.