ASUPREMENEWYORKTHING

This is Wall Street Journal front page news. A small Kansas-based video production company Flagler Productions has a 30 year video archive of Wal-Mart Executives, sometimes during “unguarded” moments. Flagler was hired during the 70s based on a handshake and since then Walmart accounted for 90% of their revenue until 2006, when Wal-Mart decided to stop using Flagler. Now Flagler is offering up their archive to anyone willing to pay ($250/hr for video research and other fees for copies of clips on DVD). Flagler even offered Wal-Mart to buy all the footage for several million dollars but Wal-Mart made a counter offer of $500,000 b/c they did not think the footage had any value outside Wal-Mart’s circle.

Well, it turns out there are tons of people looking to sue Wal-Mart who are interested in the footage and according to the WSJ article, if you have keywords (i.e. board room meeting discussing the lack of women executives) Flagler can find something for you. This is pretty crazy. If you read the comments from the World Street Journal blog, below, you’ll find proponents for both sides saying that Wal-Mart should have been smarter about contracting a third-party or Wal-Mart should pay what would be considered a very small sum for them versus comments labeling Flagler Productions’ new business as extortion.

Pretty interesting stuff, Flagler has since created a Youtube account last month:

Flagler’s Youtube Channel
World Street Journal Blog - Read the comments (they’re great)
Original World Street Journal article

Anyway, for anyone who wants some real hard-hitting journalism, go to Gawker’s take on this whole ordeal. This thing reminds me of Michael Clayton -MAN, that was a good movie.