News Print & Digital

Bob Iger on ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill: “It’s About Right And Wrong”

Iger spoke with Chris Wallace regarding various significant topics, including Florida’s so-called ‘don’t say gay’ bill as the state is home to the Walt Disney World® Resort.

Published

2 months ago

March 31, 2022

Eduardo Razo

Rich Fury / Getty Images

CNN+ is up and running, and one of the marquee guests for the streaming platform was former Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger, who spoke with Chris Wallace regarding various significant topics, including Florida’s so-called ‘don’t say gay’ bill as the state is home to the Walt Disney World® Resort.

Iger’s successor Bob Chapek was hesitant to take a public stance on the legislation, leading to backlash. He stated that corporate statements are often “weaponized by one side or the other to further divide and inflame.”

However, this week Chapek and the company issued a statement condemning the Florida legislation, which was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis. During his interview with Wallace, Iger stated that sometimes issues aren’t political; they’re more right and wrong.

“A lot of these issues are not necessarily political,” Iger said. “It’s about right and wrong. So I happened to feel, and I tweeted an opinion about the ‘don’t say gay’ bill in Florida. To me, it wasn’t about politics. It is about what is right and what is wrong, and that just seemed wrong. It seemed potentially harmful to kids.”

Chris Wallace asks @RobertIger about Disney weighing in on hot-button issues like the "Don't Say Gay" bill and the decision-making behind it. #WhosTalkingToChrisWallace pic.twitter.com/u20jYbl9gx
— CNN+ (@CNNplus) March 31, 2022

Furthermore, Iger discussed that he thought about going public on topics like climate change and immigration during his time as CEO.

“I had to contend with this a lot, and the filter that I used to determine whether we should or should not weigh in considered a few factors,” Iger said.

“What would its impact have on our employees, on our shareholders and our customers? And if any one of those three constituencies had a deep interest in or would be affected by whatever was the matter at hand, then it was something I thought we should consider weighing in on.”

The CNN+ series “Who’s Talking To Chris Wallace?” is first aired at 6 PM ET then available on demand.

Eduardo Razo

Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.

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Lulu Garcia-Navarro to Host Opinion Podcast for NY Times

“When a lot of us hear the word “opinion” we think of hot takes — points of view in reaction to the news. But what about the experiences that shape our opinions?” The Times said in a press release.

Published

1 hour ago

May 20, 2022

Eduardo Razo

New York Times

The New York Times will have a new opinion podcast coming out soon called “First Person.” The company announced that Peabody Award-winning journalist Lulu Garcia-Navarro will host this new show beginning June 9th.

“That’s the question we’re exploring in “First Person,” a new podcast from New York Times Opinion with Lulu Garcia-Navarro. In each episode, Lulu sits down with people living through the headlines for intimate and surprising conversations that help us make sense of our complicated world.”

Garcia-Navarro will bring plenty of experience to her new podcast as a two-time Peabody Award-winning journalist with years of interviewing world leaders, authors, artists, and people living on the front lines of a changing world.

“This show is a new way of understanding where people’s opinions come from. It’s urgent and intimate and takes someone who is living through something incredible and asks them how they came to believe what they believe,” Garcia-Navarro said per Radio Ink.

Eduardo Razo

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News Print & Digital

Twitter Will Not Renegotiate Original Offer with Elon Musk

Twitter doesn’t plan on backing down from the agreement even as Musk attempts to cast doubt about the number of fake accounts on the platform.

Published

2 hours ago

May 20, 2022

Eduardo Razo

Twitter is playing hardball with Elon Musk, who initially agreed to buy the social media platform for $44-billion. During a town hall meeting, executives of the company told staffers they would not renegotiate the price of his takeover agreement, per The Daily Beast.

Furthermore, Twitter doesn’t plan on backing down from the agreement even as Musk attempts to cast doubt about the number of fake accounts on the platform.

Nonetheless, earlier this week, the company stated that they had plans to “close the transaction and enforce the merger agreement” between the Telsa CEO and the social media giant.

The terms of the buyout contract will make it hard for him to evade the deal with Twitter. It contains a $1 billion breakup fee, and the company could sue to compel Musk to follow through on the transaction.

Last week, the entrepreneur tweeted that he was placing the deal on hold until Twitter could verify that spam and fake accounts do not comprise more than 5 percent of its users.

Musk stated that he was dedicated to purchasing the company and indicated that he was open to a deal at a lower price.

Eduardo Razo

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News Print & Digital

Donald Trump Accuses Google of Trying to Ruin TRUTH Social

Truth Social was developed by Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) and is headed by former congressman Devin Nunes.

Published

3 hours ago

May 20, 2022

Ryan Hedrick

Former President Donald Trump is not happy with Google. According to Rolling Stone, Trump believes that the tech giant is trying to ruin his new social media platform, TRUTH Social. The platform is currently not available to Android users which have drawn the ire of Trump.

“One person whom the outlet did not identify claimed to have discussed TRUTH Social’s unavailability for Android users with Trump,” the magazine wrote. “The person said he has also asked questions such as, “What’s up with Google?” and, “[is Google trying to] screw with me?”

Truth Social was developed by Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) and is headed by former congressman Devin Nunes.

Trump reportedly believes that Google and YouTube are out to get him. “This has left Trump with questions about the status of the product and whether his perceived enemies at Google had any plans to reject it,” the report said.

“Is Google trying to f**k me?” Trump asked.

Big Tech banned Trump from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat following the Jan. 6 riots.

Ryan Hedrick

Ryan Hedrick serves as the Co-Host of the Morning News Express at WFMD. He started in radio at 17 years old, doing sports and news for his high school radio station. He then spent several years at WFMD in Frederick, MD before joining WBEN in Buffalo, NY. In 2016, while working at WIBW-AM in Topeka KS, Hedrick earned the Kansas Association of Broadcasters (KAB) award for Major Market enterprise reporting. Hedrick grew up in Southern California where he attended Cal State University of Northridge. He can be found on Twitter @SureToCover.

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