[Chapter 888: Just Love Watching You Act All High and Mighty]
"Hey, Lisa, did the New England newspaper raise its prices? That old guy is really something; five pennies was just fine. You could read it and still sell it as scrap paper afterward."
"Sir, the Daily Telegraph raised its prices too. The dispute on Fleet Street should be coming to a close, I suppose."
Coming to a close? William White chuckled but didn't respond. The newspaper industry had been embroiled in endless battles over the past two years. Thankfully, White Media had its solid foundation in the States, but even so, he had spent quite a bit in Europe.
"Sir, Tanner is here. Should I let him in now?"
"Yeah, let's have two cups of tea, the kind that's got a real kick to it."
"Got it, boss."
All day long drinking coffee left William White feeling conflicted, and as for English tea, he just couldn't get into it. Only those John Bulls seemed to fuss about it. He heard there were debates about when to add milk--whether it should be after sugar or before. Apparently, those idle folks even studied how many times it should be stirred.
In White's view, they just didn't know how to drink tea. Or better yet, they should just brew up something from the Rabbit Kingdom. Toss in milk and sugar, and it would taste about the same.
"Sir, I've checked--the Conservative member Conrad Black from the Daily Telegraph and Murdoch are both members of the Bilderberg Club. Their relationship isn't quite as simplistic as people think."
"Wow, these city folks really know how to play the game. Two fools like that, who would have thought they shared such a unique bond? Haha, since they're done bumping heads, let's jump into a price drop promotion. What's wrong with five pennies? I'm not going broke here."
"Well, both companies have been running at a loss. They've risked quite a bit to grab market share."
"Tanner, keep an eye on them. This club is definitely not simple. Just look at it; it's been stirring things up since the days of that little mustached dictator, and after all these years, it's still so shrouded in mystery."
"Yes, but while the club is mysterious, the people inside are not. Right now, it looks like we have the Rothschilds, Rockefellers, and Morgans, along with that Shell founding family. Sir, just those families represent a major trust. With those media outlets and politicians, are they planning to take the throne?"
"Cough, cough, that's nonsense. If it were that simple, we could just toss them all into a pot. Clearly, they're the puppeteers behind the scenes. By the way, Tanner, you missed one power player. If I'm not mistaken, a few old guys from the Federal Reserve should be in on this too. Overall, let's be cautious."
William White felt quite annoyed. This group was bound to lead to no good. Who ran the country tomorrow? They might not be able to determine that. What the price of a barrel of oil would be tomorrow was surely dictated by this gang of fools.
As for the current media rivalry, White had already seen through these two companies' tactics days ago. Alright, they thought they could squeeze out other competitors, did they? Fine, he'd play along for now, pretending to be a sheep while they courted trouble.
"What the hell is he planning?" After hearing his subordinate's report, Murdoch's face darkened. It was clear he wasn't just worried about Conrad Black's operations; he was feeling the heat himself. Five pennies for a newspaper was an absolute loss. Unless they intended to fill it with ads, both the Daily Telegraph and the Times were serious media players. Thirty pennies was its justifiable price range.
"Sir, White Media's newspaper sales have been shrinking for the past two years. He's definitely trying to reclaim lost market share."
Murdoch sank into prolonged silence; there was a lot he couldn't share with his underlings. People were social animals. If you wanted to live better than others, you had to consistently rank higher in society.
What gave him that right? The impact of Murdoch's media was where his value lay. When someone called upon him to make a splash, he had to be able to step up.
William White must have been spot on; the back-and-forth with Conrad Black was merely a show.
Of course, the bickering between those two didn't bother him. Pushing out small to mid-sized businesses was just part of their game. His current subscriptions had taken a hit, so let's tally this up. Five pennies? No problem. Let's see how much damage a year would do first.
"Fools, have you even considered White Media in your game? They have quite a circulation in Europe too!"
"Haha, Paul, what, are the old boys getting restless?"
Paul Volcker rubbed his aching head. It looked like the club's operations couldn't stay hidden for long. In fact, they didn't expect him to remain unaware either. By the time someone reached his status, they usually knew what they were supposed to know.
"Alan, this is trespassing on someone else's cake. While those two played their double act, others merely watched coldly. Haha, you say you won't fight, but did anyone ask for my opinion?"
Greenspan didn't even know how to respond. Such a messy layout clearly aimed to fool the naive.
"Go ahead, put on your act. Once the news breaks, you'll either keep pretending or face off two against one. Either option would mean falling flat on your face.
A similar scene unfolded between AMD and Intel, where Texas Instruments got pushed out of the game. The proud Motorola met a similar demise. Eventually, only two brands of X86 CPUs would remain, and that profit margin was hardly worth mentioning.
Too bad, those tricks wouldn't work against White Media. That was just wishful thinking.
"Paul, it's calculated though. At least NBC hasn't gone after Fox. So what does he need now? Money?"
"Alan, he doesn't want to fight anymore. If possible, he'd prefer a settlement, right?"
"No way. He must have lost his mind. If I'm correct, White Media just wants to regain its original market share. You have to remember, his company is massive; if things go sideways, investigations will rain down. Those two fools only have a slight advantage in Europe. This time, their game has backfired."
How much the media matters was something William White couldn't possibly misunderstand. Talking about internet eyeball economics was merely a concept. The average American preferred news from good old newspapers and public television stations.
In the age of so-called streaming media, had anyone seen the influence of news conglomerates diminish? No, they merely started bundling with those online platforms.
Whatever eyeball business or streaming nonsense you referred to still relied on content. Cat and dog videos might be fun, but after watching them every day, it would become boring.
In simpler terms, a big player remained a big player. Having a large scale didn't change that.
If today's news conglomerates loved playing tabloid games, the things of the future just got weirder. One sensational photo after another, and then the content inside would be totally off base.
One minute they claimed to have discovered a dragon, the next it was a pig that looked human, and then the geneticists would chime in with their two cents.
Wait, didn't they just say cloning humans was off the table? You clicked to find out that they were from a major fertility hospital specializing in reproductive issues.
And that was the moderate version. If things went wrong, a browser could get infected with some attachment they couldn't delete no matter how hard they tried.
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