Image

Last week DAVID WESTIN, chairman of ABC News, killed a 20/20 news story critical of ABC’s parent, the Walt Disney Co. The network said, “We were looking into a possible story concerning theme parks, which would have included, among others, Disney. A draft story was submitted that did not work.” Indeed, the submitted story did mention other Orlando, Fla., parks, noting that theme parks tend to attract child molesters who seek to work at them. But the report singled out Disney as less responsive than other park operators to the problem. According to an ABC source familiar with the story, the report would have disclosed that Disney cooperates far less with law-enforcement efforts to educate employees and do undercover work. “Local law enforcement was upset,” the source told TIME. “The report didn’t say Disney has a worse problem with pedophiles than others. The way they handle the problem is at issue here.” A Disney spokesman denied that the company had any role in killing the story. On Friday the Orlando Sentinel reported that Walt Disney World has begun requiring criminal-background checks on all new hires.

–By Andrea Sachs/New York