American Fortune Life

In the night, the lights of Washington DC are brilliant, continuing the hustle and bustle of the day. The little lights come from far to near, accompanied by the sound of speeding cars, they turn into boundless dots of stars again, countless lights are connected into a shining flowing light belt, and the long road is like a bright galaxy in the sky.

"Honey, don't you think Donald Graham is a little weird tonight?"

In the smooth and slow Maybach, Ivana snuggled into Andy's arms with a trace of tiredness, squinting her beautiful eyes, as if thinking of something, raised her pretty face with a slight frown, and looked at the same girl who was also closing her eyes. Asked from the side of Andy who was resting his mind.

"It's really a bit weird. I always feel like he's been testing me to see if I'm interested in buying The Washington Post..." Andy thought of the other party asking him whether he had political intentions in the future, and the future direction of the newspaper industry. Deeply mentioned to him, an outsider, some of the plight of the Washington Post.

Although he bought "Newsweek" for one dollar at the beginning, he really didn't have a deep friendship with the Graham family. The reason why the transaction was successful was that Zhou Yu beat Huang Gai, and one was willing to fight and the other was willing to suffer. .

"That's right!" Ivana sat up straight with excitement, looked at Andy with burning eyes and said: "The future is uncertain, traditional media is beginning to be left behind by this era, and the decline of the entire industry is looming, and "" The Post’s circulation and income have been declining steadily. In recent years, it has suffered serious losses, and perhaps finding a suitable new owner has become a bitter consolation.”

Andy frowned, but he was taken aback when he heard Ivana's bold guess. He really didn't dare to think about it before. It wasn't about the money, but he never thought that the Graham family would sell " The Post, I believe that those who know the Washington Post would not think that the Graham family would do this.

Since the Watergate Incident, The Washington Post has become a benchmark in American journalism. Their courage and choices at the crossroads of that era have become an important stroke in the history of American journalism and American politics. Katherine Graham became one of the most powerful women in the world. In the 20 years since Donald Graham took over the CEO title, The Washington Post has won 32 Pulitzer Prizes for journalism, second only to The New York Times.

The Graham family has controlled the newspaper for 80 years, which shows how much the family loves the newspaper and how sad it is to sell it.

"It's unlikely..." Andy said suspiciously as he thought more and more that it was impossible.

"Why is it impossible? I can't think of a more suitable ideal boss for The Washington Post than you. You are rich, have many ideas, and you are an upstart in the IT industry. The most important thing is that you are willing to endure the newspaper's long-term losses and meager profits. Moreover, you have already used practical actions to tell the outside world that you have been adhering to the newspaper’s news concept and have no political intentions.”

Ivana, on the other hand, firmly believed in her intuition and analysis. The more she talked, the more excited she became. There was no way she could not help being excited. The Washington Post, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal belonged to the first echelon of American newspapers, and they were the only newspapers that could compete at the talent level. , The depth and breadth of coverage, international news coverage, etc. are really capable of emulating the newspapers of "The New York Times" and competing with it.

"However, come to think of it, even if the Graham family is willing to sell the Washington Post, there will be many restrictions and prerequisites, and it will not be so easy to buy it easily." Andy was said by Ivana, I also believe it a little bit.

Ivana's eyes flickered, the corners of her mouth raised, and she chuckled nonchalantly: "Hehe, once the post is in your hands, you can hold it for as long as you want, and reform it as you want.

You can spend as much as you want to make your newspaper grow. Those so-called restrictions are nothing but wishful thinking of the Graham family! "

"...It's really wishful thinking. Maybe I should ask Andy Smith to have a private chat."

At this moment, Donald Graham frowned slightly among the Rolls-Royces who were also driving on the streets of Washington DC, hesitantly revealing his thoughts to his niece, Post Chief Executive Catherine Wemus.

"He... isn't he too young?" Catherine felt a little bit tangled in her heart, but she also knew better than anyone else that the current "Washington Post" is already in the blood transfusion operation of the Washington Post Group. The newspaper has become a drag on the group company, but no one can easily make a decision to sell this newspaper. After all, this newspaper represents the glory of the Graham family.

"And, while most media buyers, like Rupert Murdoch, initially vowed not to interfere with the paper's content, they eventually reneged on their promises and took over the Post with the media empire Andy Smith now controls. "It may be difficult to resist the temptation to express one's own political views through the editorials of the "Post" after such an influential media, and the current political stance of the "Post" is mainly center-left. From the perspective of political bias, it may lead it to the right.

Especially the family behind him, even if he himself has no political intentions, but don’t forget the old Smith, and Alston Smith, who has already emerged. Will the "Post" become a tool for the Smith family to seek political intentions? I think There is no suspense at this point.

Just look at what the Los Angeles Times and Newsweek reported today, but there is no real non-interference in operations as he said at the beginning. "

Donald Graham frowned and looked at his niece with deep eyes. After pondering for a moment, he shook his head and said with a smile: "In that case, let's wait and see..."

"call--"

Hearing Donald's words, Catherine breathed a sigh of relief in her heart, knowing that he had temporarily dispelled his thoughts. However, she also knew that if the plight of the "Washington Post" was not fundamentally resolved, she would not be able to escape that day. She lamented that the paper media While facing a difficult situation, he was also thinking, since the newspaper industry is so difficult, why is Andy Smith willing to buy newspapers with serious losses at high prices and comers?

With the shrinking of traditional paper media, emerging media is coming with an irresistible momentum. Although almost all traditional media are currently trying Internet +, can the content advantages of traditional paper media be leveraged by Internet technology? Effectively integrate with the technological advantages of emerging media, and then transform a newspaper that is at sunset into a thriving profitable media? This is currently an unknown.

"Ankao, why do you value Andy Smith?"

Catherine still asked her own doubts. She knew that her uncle had the idea of ​​selling the newspaper to Andy Smith, but she hadn't thought it through carefully, it was just a temporary idea, so she was easily dismissed temporarily by herself.

"He insisted in front of me and Bennett that the paper media would die within 20 years..." Donald squinted his eyes slightly, with a slight smile on his lips, and continued with both helplessness and admiration: "He said that the Internet is changing almost every element of journalism, shortening the news update cycle and destabilizing traditional sources of income. Newspapers will definitely change in the next few years, this is an inevitable trend.  …

Bennett asked how he managed to turn Newsweek and the Los Angeles Times into profits, but he emphasized that he would not be in charge of the daily affairs of the newspaper, and that the core values ​​of the newspaper remained unchanged. Don't let the newspapers worry about money, bow down for the dollar, and keep the report pure! "

"Hehe, what you said is really rich and powerful..." Catherine shook her head and smiled wryly.

Donna de Graham squinted his eyes slightly, with a calm expression, and said lightly: "The technical elites represented by Andy Smith are the main beneficiaries of this world. In a sense, they have been taking advantage of our traditional media. The built ride, but less social responsibility and return to society.

Now, Andy Smith's continuous acquisition of traditional media may be a way for the technical elite to repay the society. It has begun to transfuse traditional media and rebuild the media ecology with new thinking and methods. On the other hand, he is also gaining social and political influence through the acquisition of traditional media. . . "

Catherine fixed her eyes, and smiled wryly again in her heart. It seemed that her uncle's decision had not changed. Also, instead of watching the Washington Post slowly die in her hands, becoming a sinner of the family and the laughing stock of the outside world, it would be better to, at the right time, Finding a more suitable successor can not only recover some losses, but also get rid of the infamy of a loser.