An activist New York investor is trying to rally Walt Disney's largest shareholders to press the media company's directors for changes to boost performance.

Mr Herbert Denton has called a meeting next week at which he hopes a list of shareholder concerns from Disney's ailing share price to corporate governance will be drawn up and presented to the company before a September 24th board meeting.

Mr Denton, through his company, Providence Capital, which has a small stake in Disney, has a history of activism in troubled companies.

He said he thought shareholders would welcome a forum to discuss Disney's poor stock performance. Mr Denton expects to attract institutions representing about 20 per cent of Disney's shares.

At September's meeting the Disney directors are expected to discuss reducing the size of the board, which stands at 16. They are also expected to discuss developing a succession plan for Mr Michael Eisner, chairman and chief executive.

These probable moves come after years of criticism of the directors and the company's corporate governance. Mr Eisner this year sought to quiet the critics by hiring Ira Millstein, a noted governance expert, to suggest improvements.

"You have a company whose board of directors will be deliberating on some serious issues," Mr Denton said.

"It seemed quite natural to us the board might welcome some organised input from institutional investors."

Disney's business is ailing on two fronts.

Attendance at its theme parks has been hurt by a decline in international tourism spurred by terrorism fears after September 11th.

And its television network, ABC, has suffered dramatic declines in viewers and advertising.

Disney shares have fallen nearly 29 per cent in the past 12 months. Mr Eisner has run Disney for 18 years and, at 62, has not given any indication that he is ready to stand down.

Mr Denton said it could take Disney two to three years to boost performance and that it is possible Mr Eisner could lead the revival.