Disney CEO Shouldn't Put Personal Politics and Favorite Presidential Candidate Over Shareholders; Shareholders Urged in New YouT
06 3월 2008 - 3:37AM
PR Newswire (US)
WASHINGTON, March 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Free Enterprise
Action Fund (Ticker: FEAOX) released a YouTube video entitled
"Disney for Hillary or Shareholders?" calling for shareholders to
demand answers from Disney CEO Robert Iger at the upcoming annual
shareholder meeting as to why the company is not selling the DVD of
the ABC TV miniseries "The Path to 9/11." The shareholder meeting
is on March 6, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The YouTube video may be
viewed at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=3gowJMAUJVk. The Disney-owned
ABC TV broadcast of "The Path to 9/11" unleashed a firestorm of
criticism from leading political figures in the Democratic Party
who urged Disney to cancel or edit the program. But the public's
reaction to the program was overwhelmingly positive when ABC aired
it September 2006: the miniseries had almost 28 million viewers,
and earned seven Emmy nominations. Despite the encouraging
response, Disney lost $40 million on the program because it was
shown without commercial sponsorship. As reported in The Wall
Street Journal, political considerations surrounding the
presidential bid of Hillary Clinton seems to be blocking sale of
the DVD. A producer of the program was told, "If Hillary weren't
running for president, this wouldn't be a problem." "Neither
personal nor presidential politics should be a reason to deny
shareholders a potential source of revenue," said Tom Borelli of
Action Fund Management, the investment adviser to the FEAOX. "By
refusing to sell 'The Path to 9/11,' CEO Robert Iger may be putting
his personal politics ahead of shareholder profits," Borelli added.
"The controversial nature of the miniseries improves its
marketplace appeal," observed Borelli. "Just look at the commercial
success of Michael Moore's 'Fahrenheit 9/11.' If Sony can sell DVDs
of 'Fahrenheit 9 /11,' there is no reason for Disney not to sell
'The Path to 9/11,'" said Borelli. Political campaign records also
show CEO Iger has invested thousands of dollars in Hillary
Clinton's political career. "Disney's failure to sell the DVD may
be the result of a conflict of interest between Iger's political
loyalties and his responsibility to shareholders," noted AFM's
Steve Milloy. "Disney ought to sell the DVD to dispel any notion
that Iger is using Disney as a tool for his own personal political
agenda," Milloy said. By investing in the FEAOX
(http://www.feaox.com/), individuals can participate in the effort
to stop CEOs from putting politics before profits while having an
opportunity to earn a financial return through ownership of a
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individuals can join FEAOX's effort to make CEOs justify their
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important information about the Free Enterprise Action Fund can be
found in the fund's prospectus. To obtain a prospectus, please call
1-800-766-3960 or visit http://www.feaox.com/. Please read the
prospectus carefully before investing. Mutual fund investing
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Action Fund is advised by Action Fund Management, LLC, which
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Fund Management, LLC. DATASOURCE: Free Enterprise Action Fund
CONTACT: Audrey Mullen, +1-703-548-1160, for the Free Enterprise
Action Fund Web Site: http://www.feaox.com/
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