Disney's Eisner sees "obvious" successor-report (http://www.forbes.com/business/newswire/2002/11/22/rtr804313.html) - Forbes, 11/22/02

QuikQuote: Walt Disney Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Michael Eisner has recommended "the obvious choice" to succeed him, Forbes magazine reported Friday, saying Eisner was grooming Disney President and Chief Operating Officer Bob Iger eventually to take his place.
But he told Forbes he had written a letter to the Disney board, recommending a successor in case some "bad fate" befell him. "There is a letter from me on what I think they should," the magazine quoted Eisner as saying in an interview, "I would hope that they would pick the obvious choice."

This article has been updated since originally posted here.

Update: Disney's Eisner wants Iger to succeed him-Forbes (http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.asp?Feed=RTR&Date=20021122&ID=2129386&Symbol=US:DIS) - Reuters, 11/22/02

The main addition are these two sentences.

A Disney spokeswoman said that the letter had not been distributed to the board and would be opened only if something happened to the chief executive.
A source close to the board said Eisner had not exclusively recommended Iger as his successor to the directors.

What is up with Forbes lately? Do they run all their stories based on nothing but rumor and innuendo or only the ones that relate to Disney? I'm really shocked that a major media publication like that would have to basically retract two stories with such major, glaring flaws that vastly change the tone of the piece.