Spirited News & Observations II -- NGE/Baxter

[WDW1974]

Checked in with my father who was at the world last week...
He said wifi worked fine for him...
He reported they were trying to speed up entry at they gates by swiping cards with the ipods and asking questions... Skipping biometrics
Even my mother noted the decline in food this trip... Poor bread, etc

I'll work on the bread issues (seriously, I do have a WDW baker on my Spirited payroll) ... but I wonder what those iPads asking the questions were doing ... and the breadth of the information regarding the individual guests that they're able to pull up on those MAGICal screens.
Where did Mom eat on this trip?

 

[lazyboy97o]

Kurtti has been known to make certain facts up to support certain corporate agendas (calling Marc Davis "The Story Man" despite the fact that he was adametely against rides having linear storylines) but I agree with the other two.

Without context it's hard to see the validity in your example. story as used today has a very broad definition and you counter only with Marc's disbelief in a very specific aspect.

Theres a distinct difference. She was writing for The Lakeland Ledger, a newspaper owned by the NYT Regional Newspaper Group - not the NYT itself. For example, when you write for the Boston Globe, youre writing for them, not the NYT who happens to own the Globe.

Its straight up misrepresentation.

Maybe its just some norm I don't understand, but if one works for Walt Disney World I don't think it's misrepresentation to say one works for The Walt Disney Company when in reality there are subsidiaries like The Walt Disney World Company in between. The quote getting plastered here references The New York Times Company not The New York Times. Is the New York Times Regional Media Group not a wholly owned subsidiary of The New York Times Company?

 

[WDW1974]

Not true at all. Although I would say a better description other than creative is a CEO with vision. You can have that in a leader of a company the size and scope of Disney and be very successful. It takes someone with courage to be able to do that. But to say it it not possible is incorrect, improbable yes, but not impossible.

Yep. ... This.

On another subject, heard recently that both MK and IOA had their best months of March in their respective histories and that EPCOT, UNI and SW all came VERY close to doing likewise. I am sure that will help with the upcoming ticket price increases at Disney -- that will follow at the others.

 

[WDW1974]

May 4th? As any fan will tell you, that's Star Wars Day. 'May the Fourth be with you'. ('May', 'fourth', get it?)

My money's on a DHS Star Wars somethingy!! Definately worth checking out!

My current guess (that's all it is) is that it is some Limited Time Magic event that hasn't been announced and may well be Star Wars related, but will not be any announcement of any kind.

 

[flynnibus]

I'll work on the bread issues (seriously, I do have a WDW baker on my Spirited payroll) ... but I wonder what those iPads asking the questions were doing ...

It was an alternate way in the gates. To confirm you were the original ticket holder they would ask questions like what park you had visited yesterday, etc. I'm wondering how much that is truely about addressing peak crowds.. vs also experimenting with alternatives to the biometrics.

They did say Shades of Green has NOT converted yet to the new hotel locks.. so they still had a separate hotel key and ticket.. tho I am not clear if their ticket (sourced at Shades..) was RFID enabled or not. They did not do any touch to pay, type stuff. So they had to show their hotel keys in the parks for EMH.. as well as having their ticket cards.

Where did Mom eat on this trip?

They like doing Illuminations from R&C.. so that was their only early booked ADR this trip. I didn't get a rundown on their other meals.. just asked if they had used ADRs since the trip had been on/off for a bit. We were supposed to go as well but couldn't make it happen. But in our debrief catching up... they volunteered the comment about food on the downslide.

They are an interesting barometer because even tho I am fully engaged - they still are mostly pure customers. My father will do planning and research - but he doesn't keep up with the pulse of the community, etc. So it's a bit of 'virgin eyes' you can survey and see what they think. They were going twice a year (on APs) the last few years.. including a 2week+ trip for one of their big anniversaries. My mom is a bit more diehard then I previously knew

But they did go offsite one day this trip.. one day at IOA. Which I was surprised about because they had a pretty spoiled experience last time (due to breakdowns and some other stuff) and I didn't think they would go back.. but they did. But still.. after being there Fri-Fri.. they still concluded they would have liked to have 2 more days to do what they wanted.

 

[WDW1974]

173?!?!?
He'll, I've got more followers than that here on Magic....and I'd quite enjoy a trip to Aluani.

Followers?!??! ... I've got more fanbois than that who are willing to do anything (and I do mean anything) just to glance at my ... at my ... giant ... ephemera collection!!!

 

[Tom]

Without context it's hard to see the validity in your example. story as used today has a very broad definition and you counter only with Marc's disbelief in a very specific aspect.


Maybe its just some norm I don't understand, but if one works for Walt Disney World I don't think it's misrepresentation to say one works for The Walt Disney Company when in reality there are subsidiaries like The Walt Disney World Company in between. The quote getting plastered here references The New York Times Company not The New York Times. Is the New York Times Regional Media Group not a wholly owned subsidiary of The New York Times Company?

Using TWDC here doesn't work. The NYT is a newspaper. It owns another newspaper. If you are employed by Paper B, and your work is published in Paper B, you do not work for, or write for, the NYT. It's that simple.

If you work for Lucas Film, and Disney buys Lucas, you still work for Lucas. Your checks still come from that company. You don't work for TWDC. TWDC is merely the holding company that keeps your employer afloat.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Using TWDC here doesn't work. The NYT is a newspaper. It owns another newspaper. If you are employed by Paper B, and your work is published in Paper B, you do not work for, or write for, the NYT. It's that simple.

If you work for Lucas Film, and Disney buys Lucas, you still work for Lucas. Your checks still come from that company. You don't work for TWDC. TWDC is merely the holding company that keeps your employer afloat.

The Walt Disney Company is not a single entity for even its non acquisitions divisions. There are still legally distinct companies like The Walt Disney World Company and I'm pretty sure that is the name on checks paid at Walt Disney World. Would employees of Universal Orlando Resort be wrong to say that they work for NBCUniversal or Comcast even though it was only in the recent past that Universal City Development Partners was owned by a single entity? Should Imagineers not claim to work for The Walt Disney Company since Walt Disney Imagineering starting as the wholly separate WED Enterprises? It's definitely fluff, but the complaints keep harping on a claim not made, working for The New York Times which is not the same as working for The New York Times Company.

 

[WDW1974]

I'm sorry, but how does that add up?

If she is considered 'a contractor of the Times', if she was 'writing for the Times', then she didn't misrepresent herself in the first place. If however she isn't, then these issues - of her integrity as a NYT contractor and of her concurrent activity as PR for TWDC plus writing for the NYT - are by default non-existent.

Let's start at the top.

Jenn Fickley Baker has NEVER written one story or contributed to one story nor edited any content for the New York Times.

That should dead end what you are saying above quite easily. Much easier than trying to figure out what you are saying above in a circular post.

But again, JFB (aka Blondie) was NEVER a contractor for the NY Times. So, she in fact misrepresented herself on her CV/Linkedin profile.

By default, nothing else that follows in your post means a thing, no offense of course as I'm in a spring kind of mood. The flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, my manscaping for bathing suit season has begun and the bats are about to crack while I chug down some overpriced stadium cuisine. I LOVES the Spring here in paradise! ... And you know what Spring is also good for? You guessed it. Spring Cleaning.

(P.S. Found this great new three-year-old designer shirt in my huge walk-in -- top one percent -- closet this weekend and took the tags off and slapped that baby on my back by doing some cleaning!)

(P.S.S. But I was referring to Celebration Place needing a cleaning as you probably figured out. Then again, it may be too late for something like that!)

 

[WDW1974]

Didn't know they got ABD trips.

Must look up how to be a blogger.

I just wonder about all these Mommy Bloggers spending so much time as BRAND ADVOCATES ... some of them spending months a year away from home ... well, what about their children? What kind of Mommys are they being? Brand ambassadors for TWDC, but think of the children! Doesn't seem Disney is, as they send the Mommys here, there and everywhere to eat, drink and be whorey while Britney and Brandon, Scotty and Sasha and Noodles the Cat are left at home with Daddy picking up Pizza Hut on the way home from the office.

 

[englanddg]

I just wonder about all these Mommy Bloggers spending so much time as BRAND ADVOCATES ... some of them spending months a year away from home ... well, what about their children? What kind of Mommys are they being? Brand ambassadors for TWDC, but think of the children! Doesn't seem Disney is, as they send the Mommys here, there and everywhere to eat, drink and be whorey while Britney and Brandon, Scotty and Sasha and Noodles the Cat are left at home with Daddy picking up Pizza Hut on the way home from the office.

If the blog you are reading sounds like a commercial...it probably is a commercial. And therefore, I ignore it.

 

[WDW1974]

Tom Corless
Beat me too it. Reading between Mad Men commercials ... WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOUR HAIR BETTY!!!!!!?!?!?!!

That was just meant as a passing reference to Tom. I know he abhors being mentioned on these forums and tells it to the Twitverse a lot, so can we respect the man's privacy and just let it go ... Now, Mongello is a different story

 

[WDW1974]

To summarize, she is/was/claims to be a correspondent for the Lakeland Ledger which is/was owned by The New York Times Co which owns/owned a bunch of local papers. On her linkdin page she lists herself as a local correspondent for The New York Times Co.

Just for clarification sake, she has never stated that she worked for the Lakeland Ledger. She wants people to believe she is a big fish and has done laps in the NY Times pool. That is not the case. The NY Times does have correspondents around the USA (the world ... and even Orlando), but she has not been one.

We only know she has worked for the Ledger (until 2-3 months ago when she stopped for some reason) because we researched it.

And as someone who had a friend that worked there back in the 1980s, comparing the LL to the NYT is like comparing the church carnival to EPCOT. BUT ... it still is an unredeemable conflict on two ends. Not allowed by Disney. Not allowed by the Ledger.... Officially, anyhow.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Just for clarification sake, she has never stated that she worked for the Lakeland Ledger. She wants people to believe she is a big fish and has done laps in the NY Times pond. That is not the case. The NY Times does have correspondents around the USA (the world ... and even Orlando), but she has not been one.

We only know she has worked for the Ledger (until 2-3 months ago when she stopped for some reason) because we researched it.

And as someone who had a friend that worked there back in the 1980s, comparing the LL to the NYT is like comparing the church carnival to EPCOT. BUT ... it still is an unredeemable conflict on two ends. Not allowed by Disney. Not allowed by the Ledger.... Officially, anyhow.

But that is not the claim. The claim is having worked with/for the common parent parent company, which is named for a specific part of the company. It may be disingenuous but I'm not seeing it as being any more so than what is happening here. She worked for one part but only mentioning the bigger whole and people say she is lying because they're doing the same, not distinguishing between the larger whole and its name-sake part.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Without context it's hard to see the validity in your example. story as used today has a very broad definition and you counter only with Marc's disbelief in a very specific aspect.


Maybe its just some norm I don't understand, but if one works for Walt Disney World I don't think it's misrepresentation to say one works for The Walt Disney Company when in reality there are subsidiaries like The Walt Disney World Company in between. The quote getting plastered here references The New York Times Company not The New York Times. Is the New York Times Regional Media Group not a wholly owned subsidiary of The New York Times Company?

Okay, This is rather complex. The Lakeland Ledger was formerly owned by the NYT Regional Media Group which was in turned owned by NYT Company. The New York Times newspaper falls under the NYT Media Group, both of which are assets owned (or formerly owned as in the case of NYTRMG) by the NYT Company.

So it is not a direct relationship; its more of a cousin-newspaper relationship, and that would be even a stretch.

Its complete misrepresentation and ethically wrong to say you worked for one of the most prestigious & the third-largest newspaper in America (behind WSJ & USAT) when in fact you worked for 65k circulation newspaper in the middle of Polk County, Fla. Long and the short of it is that ethics, honesty and accurate representation are major tenants of journalism and for someone to break those is pretty damn wrong. IMO. You owe a duty to the readers and the community as a whole that what you do & say is the truth.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Okay, This is rather complex. The Lakeland Ledger was formerly owned by the NYT Regional Media Group which was in turned owned by NYT Company. The New York Times newspaper falls under the NYT Media Group, both of which are assets owned (or formerly owned as in the case of NYTRMG) by the NYT Company.

So it is not a direct relationship; its more of a cousin-newspaper relationship, and that would be even a stretch.

Its complete misrepresentation and ethically wrong to say you worked for one of the most prestigious & the third-largest newspaper in America (behind WSJ & USAT) when in fact you worked for 65k circulation newspaper in the middle of Polk County, Fla. Long and the short of it is that ethics, honesty and accurate representation are major tenants of journalism and for someone to break those is pretty damn wrong. IMO. You owe a duty to the readers and the community as a whole that what you do & say is the truth.

But again, the quote posted was not a claim to have worked for The New York Times. Yes or no, would you say she never worked with/for The New York Times Company?

 

[PhotoDave219]

But that is not the claim. The claim is having worked with/for the common parent parent company. It may be disingenuous but I'm not seeing it as being any more so than what is happening here. She worked for one part but only mentioning the bigger whole and people say she is lying because they're doing the same, not distinguishing between the larger whole and its name-sake part.

In journalism, misrepresentation is damming. We don't split hairs on technicalities. Its the same as lying. Especially if youre trying to suggest you worked for and were held to the same standards as the NYT.

How can you imply, infer or claim to have worked for the most prestigious newspaper in America with all the respect, prestige and ethical implications that come with it when in fact you've done nothing of the sort AND your behavior goes against everything that newspaper stands for.

 

[RunnerEd]

That was just meant as a passing reference to Tom. I know he abhors being mentioned on these forums and tells it to the Twitverse a lot, so can we respect the man's privacy and just let it go ... Now, Mongello is a different story

I wasted valuable vacation time to meet Lou a couple of years ago at one of his meet of the months. It was all about him, his show, and his stuff. When I got back home, I unsubscribed from his podcast and deleted the episodes that I had. He's living a charmed life that has got to crash around him at some point. I hope he can still practice law because Disney can be an expensive place for an unemployed blogger....

 

[lazyboy97o]

In journalism, misrepresentation is damming. We don't split hairs on technicalities. Its the same as lying. Especially if youre trying to suggest you worked for and were held to the same standards as the NYT.

How can you imply, infer or claim to have worked for the most prestigious newspaper in America with all the respect, prestige and ethical implications that come with it when in fact you've done nothing of the sort AND your behavior goes against everything that newspaper stands for.

Because it only works when people such as yourself jump to a specific not stated in the general.

 

[PhotoDave219]

But again, the quote posted was not a claim to have worked for The New York Times. Yes or no, would you say she never worked with/for The New York Times Company?

I havent seen the quote to which you're making reference to; I'm assuming you mean what was on her linkedin page and I'll address it that way.

Its my understanding that the checks came from NYTC so says my friends who work there.

My issue is that she has implied/inferred/misrepresented herself that she worked for NYT when she did not. Thats a hair that I wont split. She's intentionally misleading people by putting it that way and misrepresenting herself. How can anyone call themselves a journalist and be someone who intentionally misleads and misrepresents?