ABC: MASSIVE shareholder FRAUD by giving away $40M movie for FREE

[DesEtoiles]

ABC - how do the shareholders feel about GIVING AWAY a $40,000,000 movie free?

SHAREHOLDER FRAUD!!!!!!!!!!



http://thinkprogress.org/2006/09/05/abc-distribution/

ABC Planning Massive Free Distribution of 9/11 Docudrama
ABC is planning a massive free distribution of its planned docudrama The Path to 9/11, including sending letters to 100,000 high school teachers encouraging them to have their students watch the series. Variety magazine reports:

allowing consumers to download the complete miniseries — for free — via Apple’s iTunes Music Store. Mini also will be streamed for free via ABC.com, and XM Radio has pacted with the network to make an audiocast of the film available to its subscribers. <…>

To spread the word about “Path to 9/11,” ABC is sending 100,000 high school educators a letter from 9/11 Commission co-chair Tom Keane informing them of the various platforms on which the mini is available. ABC and Scholastic have pacted to produce an online study guide.

ABC has also made deals to have the docudrama aired internationally, including in Britain on BBC and in India.

Most American high school students weren’t even teenagers when the 9/11 attacks occured. Now ABC is trying to present those students — and scores of people around the world — with its slanted and inaccurate version of history, which blames President Clinton for 9/11 while whitewashing the failures of the Bush administration. The events leading up to September 11, 2001 are too important to play politics with the facts.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

1. I will be speaking to my son's teacher about this...

I will be excusing him for that day if necessary.

[NanceGreggs]

9. I think you have just come up with the BEST idea ...

... I've heard in dealing with this -- and that's not to say there haven't been dozens of them suggested right here in the past few days.

Parents: Keep your children absent from school should any teacher schedule an airing and/or discussion of this film.

Call the school and let them know WHY your child will be absent.

Organize with like-minded parents in your school district to contact local newspapers, radio and TV stations to explain the position you are taking, and why.

Put up a yard sign, banner, etc. in front of your house ANNOUNCING that your child is not attending school that day, and why.

These kinds of actions can keep this IN THE NEWS for months to come.

[bleever]

17. In the "free market" educational system,

people of good conscience should shop wisely.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

23. Thanks Nance!

comming from you, that's high praise!

:blush:

[EVDebs]

54. Also, make friends aware of the wargames on 9-11 and Ptech

the Saudi software firm, now renamed GoAgile (who apparently STILL have access to FAA, DoD, and WhiteHouse computers).

The wargames were Vigilant Guardian, Vigilant Warrior, Northern Guardian, Northern Vigilance, Tripod II, and an NRO/CIA 'plane into building' exercise.

An INSIDER had to have given away this kind of detailed information about those wargames. Can you spell OSP ?

[SammyWinstonJack]

61. Can I protest my property taxes, most of which go to school taxes,

for promoting this blatant piece of propaganda? I am serious here.

[notadmblnd]

12. mines in middle school, I told him to let me know if he is told to watch

this movie. But from the posts, it looks like they're targeting high schoolers.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

22. hey sweetie!

long time, no see! :hug:

:hi:

[notadmblnd]

37. Hi there girl friend

:hi: :hug:

[BadgerKid]

25. So high schooler skip college, go into military (n/t)

[Pacifist Patriot]

44. My homeschool co-op has already reached out to parents...

in our neighborhoods and offered to do a special project with the kids if our school system incorporates the program into its curriculum.

[Coexist]

45. actually - I will send my kids to school ON PURPOSE!

armed with a condensed version of Will Pitt's fact sheet. To me, it is far better to get the word out that this contains many factual inaccuracies, and have them pointed out - than to have my child be the only one that knows the truth.

The older two are in High School, so there will be discussion afterwords. I have printed out Scholastic's Discussion Guide so I know where they conversation will go.

Just my .02.

[lyonn]

57. My granddaughter is an Editor of her high school paper

And a real democrat, with a mind of her own. This is going to be fun if shown in her school. What is cool about her is that she is intelligent and not radical (like her grandma) and would no doubt get her point across without being expelled. Red State here of course. Lots of repubs in area.

Must check out Will's fact sheet again in case she needs some back up. Thanks

[warrens]

52. Class assignment: Find the lies

The kid who through research finds the most gets an automatic A.

[bigbrother05]

55. Would have the added benefit/penalty of lowering

the average daily attendance for the school. That is the usual way a public school gets funded. The idea/threat that a school district would take a significant drop in their funding stream, even for a day or two, would make them think twice about showing such claptrap.

An alternative would be to pair this with F911 for both content and to highlight the differences between a documentary and a docudrama. Force any class showing the ABC piece to show F911 too. The BBC's Power of Nightmares would be good also to give some history on the neocons and Islamic radicalization.

[napi21]

2. Do we really know for sure this movie blames Clinton?

I watched Richard Ben Vaniste on Countdown tonight, and he said there were some things in part one that weren't accurate, but he had only seen part one so he didn't know what was said about either the Clinton or the Bush Admin.

I've been seeing petitions and angry comments for a couple of daysabout this mini series, but has anyone actually seen it to be able to say for surewhat we've been hearing is really what the movie portrays?

I've always respected Richard which is why I'm asking.

[Justice]

5. E&P reviews movie (saw preview copy) - it seems very bad for Clinton,

not so much for Bush.

[Rockstone]

3. Maybe Bush gave them 100 mil

don't they have an admitted 200 mil budget for promoting false stories in the media?

[jean]

6. Precisely - with these people, it boils down to following the money

Seems like we get them every time by just following the money trail.

[bleever]

4. Had to log back in to make sure this hit the Greatest.

Shareholder's money, and public resources (schools) leveraged by the bushists to force a different history down our throats.

No thank you.

[biscotti]

7. I have written ABC News dept. asking if they fact checked and

condoned this erroneous piece of distorted revisionist history. Also, I was appalled to lean that Scholastic was taking part in this I just gave them an earful at their website.
http://www.scholastic.com/aboutscholastic/offices/index.htm

[EFerrari]

8. Tom Keane, Whore. n/t

[gumby]

15. Ben-Viniste, Whore Lite.

Lee H. Hamilton, BushCo's Whitewasher.

The rest = Gatekeepers of one stripe or the other.

[EFerrari]

19. You bet. All dirty. M@therf@ckers. n/t

[raysr]

56. And an ugly fucker to boot!

[EFerrari]

58. And a bad actor. That fatherly cR@p! doesn't go over, Tom. n/t

[Ilsa]

10. We have to get Congress and the WH back and bring back the

Fairness Doctrine (after a few years of getting even with the corporate GOP mudslingers).

[seabeyond]

11. good to know it is going into highschool and not my kids younger

schools. i can talk to the high schools. i think i will just hit the school board though tomorrow morning

[Canuckistanian]

13. This is insane

Does ABC not give a damn about even it's shareholders in the mad rush to get this POS docuganda out?

Man, they must be expecting a HUGE payout at the end of THIS deal.

[Kurovski]

14. Part of the plan is to indoctrinate an entire generation.

:puke:

[Cobalt Violet]

42. Exactly.

We can look forward to more of this.

[AndyTiedye]

16. Here Is What I Am Sending to Disney Investor Relations

Once again Disney managment is violating its fiduciary duties to its
shareholders to engage in partisan politicking.

"Path to 9/11" is a transparent piece of Bush Administration propaganda,
fine-tuned to help the Republican party in this election year.
It presents a fictionalized account of the disaster tailored to shift
the blame onto the prior Democratic administration.
That account has been disavowed by everyone who has first-hand knowledge.

ABC is likely to find that Bush's abysmal ratings start to rub off on the
network. Organized boycotts are likely. Local stations are already being
flooded with letters, emails, and phone calls protesting the show.

Over 40 million dollars was spent on this movie, but there will be no
revenue to the Corporation because there is no advertising, and the movie
is being made available for free downloads and given away to schools.
Why the effort to get a *fictional* account of 9/11 accepted as
educational material by our schools? Why indeed?

The ill will being created by such blatant efforts to shill for a deeply
unpopular Presidency will undoubtably cost Disney Corporation millions in
revenue.

As a shareholder, one has to ask WHY is Disney doing this? Why are corporate
assets being misappropriated on such a massive scale to further a wholely
political agenda -- an unpopular one at that, the pursuit of which could
cause great harm to the corporation, as well as subject it to legal action
and shareholder activism? WHY?

Does anybody know how to get a shareholder initiative onto the annual proxy statement?

This is my 9999th post to Democratic Underground.

[Kurovski]

20. Congrats on your upcoming 10,000th post!

:party:

[BadgerKid]

26. How to File a Shareholder Resolution

http://www.aflcio.org/corporatewatch/paywatch/what2do/w_howshare.cfm

Am I Eligible?

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is charged with overseeing the shareholder process, requires that shareholders own at least $2,000 worth of shares in a company (or 1% of all shares) to file a shareholder proposal. In addition, you must own the stock for at least one year.

When Must I File the Shareholder Proposal?

To file a shareholder proposal, you must submit the proposal to a company by the deadline stated in the company's proxy statement, usually six months before the annual meeting. The proxy statement also describes the procedure for submitting the proposal.

Is the Company Required to Accept My Shareholder Proposal?

In general, the SEC has allowed shareholders to submit proposals to limit or disclose executive compensation issues. However, the proposal can be no longer than 500 words.

The SEC allows companies to omit shareholder proposals for a number of reasons. A company can omit a proposal that deals with the ordinary business operations of the company if the proposal is similar to proposals in prior years that did not receive a certain number of votes or if the proposal requires the company to do something illegal.

In addition, a company can omit a proposal that contains false information and if the proposal relates to a personal grievance against the company.

Are There Other Restrictions?

Section 14A of the Securities and Exchange Act provides the legal and regulatory framework for the shareholder proposal process. The regulations detailing the shareholder proposal process are available from the SEC. You can also get a copy via the Internet at http://www.sec.gov/

[AndyTiedye]

50. I Hope That's The Lesser Of…

requires that shareholders own at least $2,000 worth of shares in a company (or 1% of all shares)

I hope its the lesser of the above. 1% of DIS would be George Soros territory.

[gumby]

18. This Massive Propaganda is Mindboggling!!!!!

This is in-your-face propaganda on an unprecedented scale.

It's almost unbelievable that this is happening.

Those who have winced at the term 'fascism' to describe what's happening in our beloved country had better pick up a dictionary or history book.

[seabeyond]

24. this is the kinda shit they did in russia. or those fundamentalist

schools in saudi as they sway and chant i hate america. totally feed the kids lies.

ok, not on the same scale as saudi.... but same idea

[flyarm]

21. I JUST USED THIS AND OTHER POSTS TO SEND THIS OUT

TO ALL MY INTERNET GROUPS...YOU CAN DO THE SAME..SEND TO ALL YOUR EMAIL LISTS..WE MUST GET THIS STOPPED!!

thank you to other du'ers for the info...

and anyone who wants can copy this and send it out to everyone you know!!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

YOUR SCHOOLS ARE GOING TO BE MAKING YOUR KIDS PARTICIPATE IN PROPAGANDA!

ABC AND YOUR SCHOOLS ARE GOING TO FEED YOUR KIDS LIES ABOUT 9/11..LIES AND FALSEHOODS THAT ARE TOTAL PROPAGANDA..PLEASE CALL YOUR SCHOOLS TOMMORROW AND GET IT STOPPED!! SEE THE BOTTOM OF THIS FOR ADDRESSES AND # FOR Scholastic! GET THIS STOPPED!

Call your county school systems...
I am going to do that tomorrow. Maybe the curriculum supervisor.

A NEW LINK TO SEE WHAT THE LESSON PLAN IS..THEY JUST TOOK IT DOWN BECAUSE THEY ARE GETTING MANY COMPLAINTS..PLEASE PLEASE KEEP THE PRESSURE UP..OUR CHILDREN SHOULD NOT BE TAUGHT FALSE HISTORY..OR MADE UP CRAP IN OUR CLASSROOMS!
The link content.scholastic.com/browse/lessonplan.jsp?id=415 no longer works.


Here us the cached link

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:OiHYHaLGwNkJ:conte...


ABC: MASSIVE shareholder FRAUD by giving away $40M movie for FREE

ABC - how do the shareholders feel about GIVING AWAY a $40,000,000 movie free?

SHAREHOLDER FRAUD!!!!!!!!!!



http://thinkprogress.org/2006/09/05/abc-distribution /

ABC Planning Massive Free Distribution of 9/11 Docudrama
ABC is planning a massive free distribution of its planned docudrama The Path to 9/11, including sending letters to 100,000 high school teachers encouraging them to have their students watch the series. Variety magazine reports:

allowing consumers to download the complete miniseries — for free — via Apple’s iTunes Music Store. Mini also will be streamed for free via ABC.com, and XM Radio has pacted with the network to make an audiocast of the film available to its subscribers. <…>

To spread the word about “Path to 9/11,” ABC is sending 100,000 high school educators a letter from 9/11 Commission co-chair Tom Keane informing them of the various platforms on which the mini is available. ABC and Scholastic have pacted to produce an online study guide.

ABC has also made deals to have the docudrama aired internationally, including in Britain on BBC and in India.

Most American high school students weren’t even teenagers when the 9/11 attacks occured. Now ABC is trying to present those students — and scores of people around the world — with its slanted and inaccurate version of history, which blames President Clinton for 9/11 while whitewashing the failures of the Bush administration. The events leading up to September 11, 2001 are too important to play politics with the facts.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

PLEASE CONTACT Scholastic:

WHAT IS THEIR LINK TO THIS ABC DOCUDRAMA(?) OF PROPAGANDA??

THEY HAVE SENT OUT LESSON PLANS TO TEACHERS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY ..TO TEACH YOUR CHILDREN FALSE ACCOUNTS OF 9/11!! AND WILL BE TEACHING YOUR CHILDREN PROPAGANDA!

Scholastic link for lesson plans
http://content.scholastic.com/browse/lessonplan.jsp?id=...


TO GET THIS PROPAGANDA STOPPED IN OUR SCHOOLS!

Please see your "Discussion Guide for the Classroom The Path to 9/11"

Here us the cached link

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:OiHYHaLGwNkJ:conte...

Contact information and please do

For comments or questions concerning Scholastic products or services, please contact:

Customer Service
1-800-SCHOLASTIC
(1-800-724-6527)
[e-mail]
www.scholastic.com/custsupport/index.htm

For all other inquiries, please contact the appropriate Scholastic office:


Worldwide Headquarters and Editorial Office
557 Broadway
New York, New York 10012

General Information
212-343-6100
www.scholastic.com

Investor Relations
212-343-6741 [e-mail]

Corporate Communications
212-343-4563
[e-mail]



National Service Organization
2931 East McCarty Street
Jefferson City, Missouri 65101
573-636-5271

Scholastic Library Publishing
90 Sherman Turnpike
Danbury, CT 06816
800-621-1115

Scholastic Book Fairs
1080 Greenwood Boulevard
Lake Mary, Florida 32746
407-829-7300

Information Systems Center
100 Plaza Drive 4th Floor
Secaucus, NJ 07094
201-633-2400


Scholastic

Phone: [phone]
557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012

Richard Robinson, CEO
Email: [e-mail]

Jeffrey Mathews, Vice President, Investor Relations, or Tonia Bellamy
Phone: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

Corporate Communications: 212-343-4563
[e-mail]

Customer Service:
Phone: [phone] (toll-free)
M-F, 7:00 am to 9:00 pm and Sat., 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, CST


HERE ARE MORE EMAIL ADDRESSES YOU CAN USE!

[e-mail] <[e-mail] >
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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[cyberpj]

49. Google search Scholastic and Bush - they're quite connected. nt

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

27. It's not just the production cost, it's the cost of FREE AIRTIME. I'm

assuming this is prime time? How much ad revenue could they have ordinarily sold during that time?

[bliss_eternal]

34. Consider the bidding wars the occur for the series finales

of shows, or even for the SuperBowl--and you'll get an idea of how valuable airtime is for prime time miniseries. Probably not quite as costly or valuable as it is for the events I speak of, but it is considerable.
:)

[berni_mccoy]

28. Sorry, but $40 million giveaway for a $62 BILLION company is not fraud.

It's not even one hundredth of a percent of what the company is worth.

It's much more than a stretch to claim this is shareholder fraud. This is an inexpensive marketing campaign for them to get marketing materials in the hands of every teenager in the U.S.

Not to mention the press they are generating with it. The shareholders will be thanking them with their investment money.

[w4rma]

31. I'm sorry. You are wrong. (nt)

[Monk06]

33. Wrong, Wrong, Wrong. Any public corporation has a fiduciary

responsibly to seek the MAXIMUM profit from all
it's products. Only advertising is considered a
legitimate non profit generating business expense
and advertising must be entirely directed toward
promoting the companies products and corporate
profile.

This production fails on all counts. It is an illegal
political campaign expenditure at the shareholder's
expense.

If Ford or GM gave away free cars to Republican voters
(which is essentially what Disney has done here) they
would be in jail for bribery and their shareholders
would have a strong case to sue to have the Disney
board of directors removed.

[berni_mccoy]

51. This is marketing all the way. Disney is getting all sort of free press

for this event. Plain and simple.

And Disney isn't giving the movie away to just republicans. They are giving it away to SCHOOLS... so that EVER teenager can see it. Every teenager who sees this will have ABC/Dinsey thrust in their face. Now try to do that with any other form of media. They are saving big $ here.

[Onlooker]

40. Nice try to defend Disney

But, the value is in what the product could sell for, not what it cost to produce. Further, your defense of Disney would be even stronger if you explained how this movie would promote Disney sales. Do you think more people are going to go to DisneyWorld after seeing a movie about 9/11?

[berni_mccoy]

53. How is pointing out that it is not shareholder fraud defending Disney?

I'm saying that any other ad campaign that would get every teenager in the U.S. to see a Disney/ABC miniseries would cost just as much if not more money. This will be a tremendous amount of exposure and it can be explained easily as Marketing related. Don't forget all the free press they are getting as a result of this. In no way is this MASSIVE shareholder fraud as the OP claims.

If you don't think so, then go ahead and start a class-action suit, but don't make a claim that I am defending them. We'll see how far you get with that law-suit.

[mp3hound]

63. No, berni mccoy is right

It may be a lot of things, distasteful things, but it isn't shareholder fraud.

Edit to add: they've probably got more publicity out of this already to more than make up for the few hours of commercial free time that they were going to provide. If they pull the show, they'll at least double their profits because they'll replace the commercial-free hours with commercial-laden hours and score a double win (they'll have got their agenda well advertised for free and then can still sell advertising space where they had previously not done so, probably for even higher rates than otherwise in light of all the publicity, thus making it at least a double win from their right wing perspective, and that would be a shame). I'd rather they just air the damned thing and have people refute it after they've seen it, let the lawsuits follow (for such things as libel, not shareholder fraud because that is a non-starter, make them spend a ton of money defending the lawsuits, etc. But maybe that's just me.

[bananas]

29. Negroponte Can Waive SEC Rules

Remember how the NSA AT&T wiretap investigation was stopped?

"The timing of Bush's move is intriguing. On the same day the President signed the memo, Porter Goss resigned as director of the Central Intelligence Agency amid criticism of ineffectiveness and poor morale at the agency. Only six days later, on May 11, USA Today reported that the National Security Agency had obtained millions of calling records of ordinary citizens provided by three major U.S. phone companies. Negroponte oversees both the CIA and NSA in his role as the administration's top intelligence official."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1276294&mesg_id=1276400

[w4rma]

30. 40 million dollar donation to the Republican Party. (nt)

[mnhtnbb]

32. Just e-mailed the Principal, Social Studies Chair, and US History Teacher

at my son's high school requesting a response whether they've received Scholastic materials and intend to use them. Sent them Media matters link and William Pitt's facts on Clinton and Terrorism.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/083006J.shtml

http://mediamatters.org/items/200609060005

[renate]

35. I think a responsible teacher would send a note home for permission

I would expect a teacher to inform the parents if he/she was going to show "Fahrenheit 9/11," too.

I don't think schools are just for facts--discussion of various points of view can be really illuminating, especially in the higher grades--but I would object to my child seeing anything, liberal or conservative, presented as fact.

Well, okay, no. I wouldn't object to my child seeing a liberal movie in school--it would be fabulous. But I would still think it was wrong if the parents hadn't been asked for permission.

[LaPera]

36. It's a tax write-off donation...ultimately our tax dollars will

have to cover it. They don't give away anything without a tax write off.

[The Backlash Cometh]

38. Sounds like Rove is desperate to re-write history.

[Horse with no Name]

39. I just emailed Scholastic

[e-mail]

If your company continues on it's path to distribute government propaganda to students, I will have no choice but to ensue a boycott on your products in the future. I will enlist as many friends and relatives as I can across the country to assist with the boycott.
I will petition our school boards not to allow your book fairs at our schools because I do not believe children should be indoctrinated by the people entrusted to simply sell them books. Your participation makes you a political organization. I will fight you from this day forward to ensure that you not be allowed to be a purveyor of lies to our children. I would almost guarantee that organizing protests outside of your book fairs could not be good for your products and eventually, schools will stop inviting you.
Why would you distribute "study guides" to something that even ABC says is loosely based on facts? A "Docu-drama"? Please. This reeks of desperation.
It is very sad that you would allow something such as this to sever a relationship that has spanned many years.
I bought scholastic items as a student, my children bought scholastic items, but if this continues, I will make sure that my grandchildren who are just starting school do NOT buy scholastic items.
I run a bookstore and rest assured, I will ensure every item that bears the name Scholastic will be purged from my store.
I will NOT stand idly by while your company subverts true and factual history in order to serve political agendas.
Shame on you.

[Coexist]

41. Here is mine...

Customer Service,
I have three school-aged children and I have purchased hundreds of books from the flyers sent home from school and at book fairs over the years.

I am extremely disappointed that Scholastic has chosen to associate with a factually inaccurate "docudrama" that is being presented to the public - and the school system - as a way to teach our children history. If this were a documentary, I could see it being presented for classroom discussion, but several key characters in the mini-series have come forward and called this work "pure fiction."

I won't be ordering books from Scholastic anymore - I am sorry you got involved in this mess, but you are.

Sincerely,
FlDem5
Tampa, Florida

[OzarkDem]

43. Must be some FCC and FEC violations going on with this

Its almost like giving someone free time for a campaign commercial.

[9119495]

46. I'm a teacher and I'd love to have this movie

ABC did a similar thing with a series of John Stossel's videos and I requested every one I could get. They were entirely free.


So after I got the Stossel video, I completely destroyed it. I ripped out every inch of the tape, sliced it in parts and threw it in the trash. I did have a fear it would be found by archaeologists thousands of years from now and Stossel would be considered a god or something but I can't use fire in my school so I had to make do.

I'll do the same with the 9/11 movie if it's offered.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

47. self delete.

Posting as OP.MKJ

[populistdriven]

48. I told mine to go to the office sick and call me so I can pick her up

[indepat]

59. Massive campaign contribution fraud?

[EVDebs]

60. Worse. Money laundering. Who paid for this crock o' bleep ?

Really ? Is it CIA heroin from Afganistan money, laundered thru Toronto, to pay for this 'point the blame at Clinton' drivel ?

Seems so. Free distribution huh, sounds like they're trying to pre-empt the free distribution of Loose Change at Ground Zero on Sept 11, 2006.

[jwtravel]

62. How many commenters above have actually seen it?

I consider myself a "freethinker", but Jesus Christ, if I haven't seen it, I can't comment on it in an intelligent manner.
Giving it away is simply advertising. The sky is NOT falling. Instead of all this focus against the perceived propaganda by the "neo-cons", how about focusing on what the other party can do that we can look forward to? All this effort to ban the showing of this movie sounds very intolerant. It's scary.

[susanna]

64. Not nearly as scary...

...as the blatant convergence of governmental and corporate interests.

[Karenina]

65. Worldwide, might I add...

...