Exploiting Hollywood 1980

James Wells, editor-in-chief of the Daily News, was invited to Ronald's Fifth Avenue apartment. Ed Bastian, who runs the covert acquisition team, is also with him.

"James, I'm sorry to invite you here. You have also heard about the eavesdropping incident I have suffered recently. I must strengthen security measures." Seeing that James Wells did not mean to be unhappy, Ronald continued, " I heard that you have something that you can’t decide on, would you like to hear my opinion?”

"Let me be honest and say what I think, Mr. Lee.

You are the best candidate to take over the Daily News. During this period, your support for the newspaper, your respect for the news editorial team, and Mr. Bastian’s professional support are all admired by the knowledgeable people of our newspaper. Editors and reporters alike want a boss like you. "

Ronald looked at Ed Bastian. It means how did you disclose the acquisition to Mr. Editor-in-Chief?

"Ronald, Mr. James Wells is a journalist with traditional American media virtues. He is the type of person that our society lacks now, the type that is worthy of winning the Pulitzer Prize.

He said this out of respect for you. After all, your donation actually supports the operation of the Daily News.

Traditionally, when faced with particularly difficult issues, editors needed to obtain the approval of the newspaper owners. Just like during the Watergate incident, the two reporters had the support of Mrs. Graham, the owner of the Washington Post, before they dared to release the exclusive report.

Now you are effectively the boss of the Daily News, so Mr. Wells needed your help to say that. "

Ronald understood what Ed Bastian meant. This is not because his acquisition plan was leaked, but because the newspaper editorial department encountered something difficult to decide and wanted to get a promise of support.

Ronald looked at James Wells, "My support for the Daily News is entirely out of not wanting such a long-standing newspaper to disappear, and also out of respect for your editorial department. Although I am not the actual owner of the newspaper Undertaker, but if there is anything you need my help with, you might as well tell me.”

Generally, whatever newspaper reporters want to write is protected by the First Amendment. There are two sources that can make them endure pressure, one is high-level power and the other is capital.

Although reporting on what is protected, the newspaper could not withstand repeated investigations by high-level investigative agencies, and big capital boycotted the newspaper's advertising.

The problem that the Daily News suffered this time came from a very sensitive political issue.

At the beginning of the year, New York’s mayoral election also officially kicked off. The popular candidate representing the Donkey Party is Manhattan Borough President, black politician Dinkins, and the popular candidate representing the Elephant Party is Rudy, the former Attorney General of the Southern District of Manhattan.

Today, the primaries of the two parties have entered a fierce stage. The two leading candidates in the primaries have approached the Daily News editorial office and want them to endorse them.

"Daily News, I remember that we always support the candidates of the conservative Elephant Party, right?"

Ronald's limited political knowledge made him unable to understand James Wells's difficulties. What was there to be afraid of? Just support the Elephant Party as before, and the Donkey Party can't say anything.

"The problem lies in this year's election. Compared with previous years, neither candidate is a traditional bipartisan candidate."

James Wells lamented.

From Rudy's point of view, although his supporters are the basic base of the Elephant Party, including some people in Staten Island, Queens, Long Island, and Manhattan, as of today, Rudy has not officially participated in any campaign. , said that he was running for election on behalf of the Xiang Party.

Dinkins is also different from ordinary Donkey Party candidates. He faces the traditional Donkey Party strongman Koch, who has served as mayor for three terms. However, with his black political identity, he actually won the primary in the primary election. More than 50% of the polls suppressed the current mayor Koch and the current governor Cuomo.

Both parties have traditional media supporters. According to tradition, the New York Post supports the Elephant Party, and the New York Times supports the Donkey Party. However, the two media outlets, which have large circulations but are not as influential as the first two newspapers in the country, the Daily News and Newsday, do not. The two parties in Taihe are bound together and decide which party to support based on the candidates in each election.

The circulation of Newsday is mainly concentrated in Brooklyn and the Bronx in northern Manhattan. Many black people there are natural supporters of Dinkins, so there is a high probability that they will endorse Dinkins this year.

The main distribution channels of the daily news are mainly in Staten Island, southern Manhattan, and Queens. They should have supported Rudy, but because Rudy did not take the unusual path, they were in a difficult position.

Ronald understood that the editorial board was actually afraid of endorsing the wrong candidate and would be suppressed in various ways after the new mayor took office. If there could be a tall man like Ronald to come forward, then the grievances would be answered, and the grievances would not be spread on the heads of newspaper reporters.

"According to tradition, election-related issues are decided by the person in charge of the newspaper. The editorial department has already expressed its sincerity to you. If you can help them protect them from the wind and rain this time, it will be less difficult for us to acquire the overall assets of the newspaper. a lot of."

After seeing off James Wells, Ed Bastian gave his thoughts to Ronald.

"I still don't quite understand why Rudy doesn't want to talk about his elephant party?"

"Because he wants to abandon the Conservative Party and run jointly with the Liberal Party." Ed revealed the secret.

…

"There's no way Rudy can unite with the Conservatives, sorry, Mr. Lee."

Later, Ronald called Rudy. Rudy sent someone from the campaign team to contact him.

"You know, the main circulation area of ​​the Daily News is the traditional sphere of influence of the Elephant Party. People here will vote for Rudy as long as he comes out and says that he represents the Elephant Party. In this way, the newspaper's endorsement of him will also It’s just natural.”

"Hey, I just brought the campaign materials of the Conservative Party candidate, billionaire Lawton. Take a look for yourself."

Ronald took the materials from Rudy's campaign manager.

There is a reason why Rudy did not join forces with the Conservative Party in accordance with tradition. The Conservative Party is even more right-leaning than the Elephant Party. They don't like Rudy's ideas on abortion rights, gun bans, affirmative action, eliminating discrimination against minority orientations, etc., so they simply launched their own candidate.

"Where do these people come from? How come they are more conservative and stubborn than those evangelical XXs in the south?"

Ronald could understand the Conservative Party's opposition to women's abortion rights, gun bans, and equal rights, but he really couldn't stand the last item on the flyer.

Conservative candidate Lawton actually proposed reinstating Bible and prayer classes in public schools.

The founding of America adopted the principle of separation of church and state. Except for some church schools, which also retain Bible study and prayer classes, students are not forced to do these things in general public high schools. As soon as this idea came out, and in New York, which has an open and liberal atmosphere, any candidate essentially gave up the campaign.

"So, can you understand Rudy?" The campaign manager was also helpless. New York has always been a place where the Donkey is strong and the Elephant is weak. The Elephant Party candidate cannot compete with the Donkey Party unless he joins a small party.

With a policy that would clearly be opposed by voters in Brooklyn and Manhattan, the two most populous boroughs, Rudy was unable to ally with the conservatives.

As for the Conservative Party, they don’t want to win the mayoral election. They just want to keep their base, but this may ruin the overall situation.

"These people seem to be living in the 19th century..."

Ronald shook his head, "So, can Rudy publicly show that he is the candidate of the Elephant Party?"

"I'm afraid that won't work either. If voters of the Liberal Party only vote based on Rudy's political views, we still have the strength to compete with candidates from the Donkey Party. However, the Liberal Party does not like the Elephant Party. If we use the banner of the Elephant Party, then we have no chance of winning. .”

It’s still a simple math problem. If the candidate of the Elephant Party wants to win, he must join forces with a small party. The Conservative Party is too extreme, and the Liberal Party is unwilling to vote for a candidate with an (R) after his name on the ballot (R stands for Elephant Party).

"I'm sorry, sir... I personally support Rudy, but a newspaper is a newspaper and I am responsible to my subscribers. They cannot accept the Daily News endorsing a candidate who is aligned with the Liberal Party and dare not say his R .”

Ronald's hands and feet were also tied. The purpose of acquiring newspapers is to gain influence among subscribers and readers. It is impossible to lose one's roots by supporting Rudy.

"Of course, Rudy will understand...", the campaign manager expected such a result. This is a strategy that Rudy's team came up with after precise calculations to blur their positions to win the votes of the middle voters.

"So, on Staten Island..." The campaign manager's visit this time was more important to get Ronald's promise. In the conservative vote base of Staten Island...

"Staten Island voters will definitely support a candidate with a background as a prosecutor like Rudy. We all have a favorable impression of this candidate who focuses on reorganizing security and order and investigating Wall Street tycoons and the five major families in Manhattan."

The campaign manager shook hands with Ronald and was satisfied with his reaffirmation of his full support for Rudy on Staten Island.

…

"Mr. Dinkins, I would like to know your opinion on the Central Park attack."

When the campaign manager from Dinkins came to visit, Ronald choked up at the beginning.

They were very confident in their victory, so they came up not to ask what Dinkins should do to get the endorsement of the Daily News, but to first examine the personal views of Ronald, who is said to be the next owner of the Daily News. .

"Huh?" Ronald frowned. I am also a victim of the violent attack in Central Park. What do you mean by asking me what I think?

"What does Mr. Dinkins mean?"

"Mr. Dinkins believes that the five black and Latino boys were beaten into submission. The so-called confession was just that they used various intimidation methods to force these boys to admit crimes they did not commit while they did not have lawyers present. That’s all.

Mr Dinkins will fight to lodge an appeal to help the five boys gain their freedom. "

"Is this Dinkins's condition?" Ronald frowned deeper. Among these five people, there was a black man who attacked himself and Helen. If he hadn't run so fast, he might have been the one who made the news.

Admitting to a crime you didn't commit? What is this statement? In Ronald's view, these little brats had no respect for the law and no respect for social order. They were typical black people raised in slums.

A single-parent family, worshiping criminals rather than police, tending to violence, and treating robbery as a job.

Even if there is no evidence to convict them of attacking and intending to murder the woman jogging in Central Park, the bad things they have done can actually be convicted of the crimes now sentenced by the court.

Of course, under the legal system of the jury system, such words can only be said by oneself and cannot be announced to the public, which is not in line with America's values.

"We already have the support of the New York Times and Newsday, and we will publicly endorse Mr. Dinkins as soon as the primary election is over. If you have such an idea, you should contact us as soon as possible and wait for our response to the Daily News Faced with the reports of this case, make an evaluation."

Dinkins' campaign manager walked away proudly.

He has the confidence and confidence. In the party primary, facing three-term mayor Koch, Dinkins still led by more than 10%.

His personal charisma and campaign strategies make him hopeful of becoming the first black mayor of the largest city on the East Coast and the first black mayor in the history of New York.

Dinkins has a very good chance of winning in the party primary, first of all because he has the support of natural black votes. Among black voters in the Bronx, he has an approval rating of more than 90 percent.

Therefore, he must use the Central Park case to speak out on a large scale for the five black and Latino suspects involved. Every time he went to a campaign venue, Dinkins talked about these five boys because of their black skin. been treated unfairly.

How many years have passed, but black people are still stopped on the street by white police for no reason when driving, and they are also stopped and questioned when walking into white neighborhoods.

And among white voters? Dinkins also has about a one-third approval rating. These people are mainly motivated by dissatisfaction with Koch and support for Dinkins' seemingly centrist position.

Koch, who has been reelected as mayor for three terms, is not as powerful as before. He himself is also deeply involved in scandals. Being single, he has caused many media, especially News Daily, to discuss whether he has a special orientation and likes men.

Most voters cannot be said to be discriminating against people of these orientations, but they also do not want their mayor to be one of them.

In addition, Dinkins knows that his weakness lies in the high crime rate in the black community, resulting in a decrease in the overall sense of security in Manhattan.

So he is also preaching that he will be a tough mayor who will crack down on illegal drugs and vicious crime. He proposed that New York should be built into a kaleidoscope, where citizens of all ethnic groups would live together and learn from each other's strengths to achieve common security and harmony.

The one-third white support rate may not seem high, but it is already double the white vote share in New York of Jesse Jackson, a black pastor and civil rights activist who ran on behalf of the Donkey Party in the last general election. above.

Everyone was very optimistic about him, so the black manager of the campaign team was a little disrespectful to the future boss of the Daily News. Anyway, they have already received the support of News Daily, two important media outlets in Brooklyn and the Bronx. Ronald's support is not as much as yours, but not as much as yours.

…

When it came to political issues, Ronald always discussed them with Douglas Jr.

This time Douglas Jr. also arrived on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. After listening to all the explanations, he asked, "So what's your decision?"

"I'm thinking that we don't necessarily need to express support for any candidate." Ronald's fingers tapped a rhythm on the table.

"When you choose a candidate, you choose a camp. All future reports need to be adjusted according to the position. Instead of this, what if we stand on a neutral position? By then, the four major newspapers in New York will only have the daily News can use a more neutral stance to report real information..."

"This is a good idea. It happens to be at the time of the election, and it is also the time when we take over the all-media platform of the Daily News. It just serves as a breakthrough for the new owner..." Douglas Jr. also thinks this is just right. By then, there will be no Daily News The news is relatively objective. Wouldn’t it increase readers and subscribers taking advantage of the popularity?

"So, I need understanding from the top..." Ronald did not take sides and would bear corresponding risks. Both sides do not rely on the media. No matter which candidate comes to power, they will be under pressure.

"I'll call little George right now." Little Douglas nodded.

"Your media, don't you want to endorse Rudy?" Little George thought that Little Doug and Ronald were talking about the small newspaper they controlled on Staten Island. "

"Yes, Rudy is running jointly with the Liberal Party, and there is no red, no elephant, and no capital R in his campaign materials. Our newspapers are read by die-hard supporters of the Elephant Party. .”

"You are absolutely right. I will call the National Committee of the Elephant Party. Rudy is going too far. The platform of the Elephant Party should only be open to those who are willing to pay loyalty to the Elephant Party. I don't think there will be anything Question." After hearing this reason, little George felt that Ronald was right.

Staten Island was the only New York constituency that supported his father in the last election. If there were more friends like this in New York, maybe my father could win the state.

After obtaining the understanding of the top leaders of the Elephant Party, Ronald decided that he and the Stanton Advance Newspaper controlled by Douglas Jr., as well as the New York Daily News, would only report neutrally in this local election and not endorse any candidate. .

…

"Ronald, are you in New York? How did I hear from the Elephant Party that you were in New York?"

After dealing with this matter, Ronald stayed in New York for another two days to get together with Helen. Just as he was about to return to Los Angeles, an acquaintance called him again.

"Bannon, are you also in New York? I happen to be going back to Los Angeles."

"Wait a minute, can you postpone it for a day? I just need your help."

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