Who is Jim Hill, anyway?

[JepMasta]

hey guys, I am always hearing about Jim Hill and his WDW prognostications. Well, pardon my ignorance, but I am wondering just who is Jim Hill, anyway?

also I am planning to come back to WDW in September 2005, how early should I start planning?

thanks a million

Brian A. Henegar

 

[Bill]

www.jimhillmedia.com

All you want to know is there.

 

[mkt]

Jim Hill is one of the most outspoken critics of the current state of affairs at Disney. Him and Michelle (The Fabulous Disney Babe) are 2 of the more vocal critics presently.

 

[SpongeScott]

Originally posted by mkt
Jim Hill is one of the most outspoken critics of the current state of affairs at Disney. Him and Michelle (The Fabulous Disney Babe) are 2 of the more vocal critics presently.

Can't we throw Grizz onto this list? :animwink:

 

[Jeff D]

he's not a terrible critic at least like he used to be. I have noticed he has got a lot better at giving bothsides to a story and doing far more research before posting it. He still could e off here and there and other times be right on but he is on his way to becoming a legitimate reporter, at least in Disney circles.

with all the attention he has got recently on CNN, the Wall Street Journal, and from Roy Disney and Stanley Gold himself his reporting in the future since he is becoming more known should be much more accurate.

I do like the fact, even though Roy Disney may not, that he is willing to look at both sides of the picture. He doesn't just paint Roy like a saint like some of the other sites do. I am not saying Roy is a bad person but he is in big buisness and has been for many years and i am sure he has several different agendas he's working.

Not matter he isn't near the bashing level of Al Lutz over at miceage. All i can think is he must have been ignored by Mickey when he was a child. I swear he just plainly hates Disney.

 

[MouseRight]

The major problem I have with Jim Hill's reporting of issues is that he usaully takes the opinion he gets from the people he speaks to and presents it as gospel. Yesterday he had an article about Disney consolidating back stage operations for the theme parks from 4 to 2. His quotes came from a "Mouse House Employee" (sounds like a real creditable and knowledgeable source) who claims that this consolidation is a disaster. The premise for the article was that the WDW employees who will be manning this new Central Base would not be familar with the parks that they were responsible for and would not be able to dispatch emergency personnel to the right place or quickly enough. He took WDW to task for this and mocked them for claiming they focus on safety, but still are still doing this consolidation. It doesn't appear that he even tried to talk to someone on the other side of the story. The entire argument falls apart as soon as you assume that WDW will insure that the people manning the center has and/or will have the knowledge and experience they need to do the job. A reasonable assumption. Yet he did not present that side.

I would like to know more about Jim Hill and why he has this axe to grind about Disney.

 

[JBSLJames]

And here I thought he was one of Benny's illigitamate (sp) sons.

 

[mkt]

Originally posted by SpongeScott
Can't we throw Grizz onto this list? :animwink:

in that case, you should throw me on that list as well

 

[JBSLJames]

Originally posted by mkt
in that case, you should throw me on that list as well

Strap on the Velcro Suit and prepare for the 'toss'.

 

[PeterAlt]

Originally posted by JepMasta
hey guys, I am always hearing about Jim Hill and his WDW prognostications. Well, pardon my ignorance, but I am wondering just who is Jim Hill, anyway?

also I am planning to come back to WDW in September 2005, how early should I start planning?

thanks a million

Brian A. Henegar

A couple of years ago, he used to post articles about various Disney projects that never made it to the construction phase for various reasons. I used to read his articles with amazement and insight on the world that could have been. I actually started writing to him via email, sharing ideas for future stories that he would write, etc. Eventually, he became too famous that the corespondence ended. His articles floated from Disney site to Disney site, until he eventually got his own site (JimHillMedia.com). Back two years ago, he was actually an active Eisner supporter... if you read his articles today, you'd see that he is vocal anti-Eisner. In fact, he lead the anti-Eisner protests in Philadelphia last week. He was kicked out of the media conference because Disney took away his "press credentials". I saw him and the Fabulous Disney Babe Michelle (his ex-wife) on TV after he was kicked out of the conference. In the interview, he said that Roy Disney had called him in the middle of the night to exchange ideas.

 

[cloudboy]

yeah, but who ishe?

I mean, supposedly this guy knows so much, and has so many connections and all that, but how? I guess I am looking for a little information to back up that he is not some flake who is just tossing out his opinion like the rest of us. Not to be critical, just to make sure this guy is believable.

 

[PeterAlt]

Originally posted by cloudboy
yeah, but who ishe?

I mean, supposedly this guy knows so much, and has so many connections and all that, but how? I guess I am looking for a little information to back up that he is not some flake who is just tossing out his opinion like the rest of us. Not to be critical, just to make sure this guy is believable.

I have no idea where he gets his info from. His sources are often labeled in his stories as "an anomymous sources inside Disney Imagineering..." You get the idea. For fear of getting his "inside sources" in trouble, he never reveals their names. But for the most part, his information often turns out to be credible. So, I believe he isn't making things up.

 

[stingrock23]

I enjoy reading his articles on what might have been, and I enjoy his other articles as well. I can see why he wouldn't want to name the name of his source, and agree with PeterAlt about them being credible. I don't think he has an axe to grind, I just think he wants what's best for the company.

 

[WDWcouple]

Re: Re: Who is Jim Hill, anyway?

Originally posted by PeterAlt
A couple of years ago, he used to post articles about various Disney projects that never made it to the construction phase for various reasons.

You mean ideas like Coaster Kingdom. Man that would have been great

:brick:

 

[MouseRight]

Originally posted by stingrock23
I enjoy reading his articles on what might have been, and I enjoy his other articles as well. I can see why he wouldn't want to name the name of his source, and agree with PeterAlt about them being credible. I don't think he has an axe to grind, I just think he wants what's best for the company.

I agree with you and PeterAlt that his since his sources are "Insiders" than the information they provide is probably creditable. However, what's missing in his stories is why is this person telling the story to begin with. Since they usually involve problems (at least lately they have), what is the person's motivation for bringing the story to light. Let's be realistic, not everyone wants what's best for Disney - some have other motives. For example, we have heard that WDW and the Reedy Creek Emergency Employees are in some sort of labor dispute. Is the source of the article I mentioned above, one of those Reedy Creek people? If so, then why is he/she telling the story? If Jim knows the person than he obviously knows more about the motivation and he should let the reader in on it.

Again, in the meat of most articles, he does not present both sides or he takes the messenger's point of view as absolute truth. We all know there are two sides to every story. JH seems to frequently forget that.

 

[PhotoDave219]

My main criticism with him is his failure to present both sides of an argument in a balanced, contextual piece. Everythign appears to be slanted in one form or another. While yes, true ojbectivity in journalism is often a pipe dream, at least most people try.

I'd like to see more sources, maybe a few on the record sources, etc., and some sort of balance - or even an attempt at it. LIke calling for comment, how hard is that?

Journalists get a bad wrap as it is, and i dont like seeing people like Matt Drudge and Jim Hill contributing to the downfall of the profession with their sloppiness.

 

[mkt]

but since when have you needed to present both sides of the story in an editorial... which is what these two tend to do

 

[PhotoDave219]

Then he needs to clearly label them as 'Editorials' rather than presenting them as news pieces.

Usually most editorials try to give at least a sense of balance. Try to anyhow.

 

[PeterAlt]

Originally posted by PhotoDave219
Then he needs to clearly label them as 'Editorials' rather than presenting them as news pieces.

Usually most editorials try to give at least a sense of balance. Try to anyhow.

His stories are more like columns or feature stories, not news. As columns, they are allowed by nature be editorials. As features, they should be more objective, but more focused and somewhat opinionated than news stories. This is what I was taught in my journalism classes.

I don't think he has "an agenda" other than wanting to see more magic out of the Disney company. When posting stories about what could have been, you get an insight on the decision making process of upper-management, and you can see where some bad decisions have been made. But, if you read his stories, you'd think that management (not only Eisner's, but all of his predecessors as well) keep ordering down-sizing, or even cancellations of great ideas before earth is moved. Makes you want the Imagineers be in charge and resposnible for the final decision. But in all fairness, companies do not exist to make the dreams of its dreamers real, but to make money for its shareholders. So, a formula of how much money spent versus how much money will be made if they spend that money must always be weighed, and that's the job of Big Bad Management, no matter who is in charge.

 

[Lee]

Who is Jim?
Let's see...
-He's been on the fringes of the Disney Co. for around 15 years, in various capacities. Michelle, his ex, was employed by Disney in the 1990s. During their time in Orlando they cultivated MANY rock solid sources, including many at WDI, at least one I know of that they were quire close to.
-He used to write a column for an Orlando paper.
-His internet columns have bounced around from site to site before he and Michelle put together JimHillMedia.

Why does he write negative things! To shine a light on them so that people will see what is going on. Like Feature Animation Florida. He took Disney to task for closing the shop, not because he doesn't like Disney, but because he wanted people to know that some uncool stuff goes on. Same with the article today. It sounds bad, it may be bad, and either way the issue is now on the table.

Don't take his columns as news. He ain't a reporter, just a writer who passes on information that is given to him.

Oh and he's a pretty nice guy. Michelle, too. Well, not a GUY...you know what I mean.