Chapter 940 - Strike While the Iron is Hot

Seeing that public opinion was taking an unfavorable turn, the company's public relations department immediately stepped in and devised a series of countermeasures.

First and foremost, they needed to address the negative reviews generated by the reports. This was when the online army Laila had cultivated could be deployed. They didn't necessarily need to aggressively praise Laila; as long as they could expose the malicious intent behind the New York Post's actions, it would count as a victory.

Next, they had to strike back. Letting opponents trample over them was not something to celebrate.

Who is Laila? She is the heir to the Moran family, personally confirmed by Old Man Moran. Attacking her was equivalent to stomping on the Moran family. Neither Laila nor Old Man Oswald, who was informed of the matter, would let this slide.

While everyone thought Laila would be furious and came to comfort her, she remained unfazed, stating that such a trivial matter didn't bother her at all.

"After all, the Oscars are over, and the results are clear. Even if it's tied with two other films, I still earned the title of being first in Oscar history. Those who aren't convinced can try to find a popular novel, make a trilogy, and see how high they can rank in film history."

Her indifference left those who came to comfort her speechless, mainly because what she said made perfect sense. If you think I relied on a good story and a trilogy to win those awards, then go find a good story, make a trilogy, and try to beat me.

The history of literature is far longer and richer than that of film. Over the years, countless excellent books have shone as classics. The rights to Tolkien's works are gone, but there are plenty of others, right? There are many great writers; surely, other classics can be unearthed.

"I feel like the New York Post's attack on you this time isn't simple. When Cooper targeted you before, although it was also in the Post, they were just publishing someone else's report. This time, they're directly aiming at you from the newspaper's position. Did you offend them?"

Roy had read the report multiple times before coming to this conclusion. As he said, in the past, the newspaper merely served as a channel for Cooper to vent, always adding a disclaimer like "the views belong to the author, and the newspaper bears no responsibility." But this time, they were directly involved.

Laila felt like she hadn't dug up their ancestors' graves, so why were they so eager to attack her?

"I've been so busy, how could I possibly have time to offend them? But even if I didn't, our two companies are competitors. We've secretly clashed countless times, so another round doesn't seem strange." Though she said this, she also sensed an "if I'm going down, I'm taking you with me" tone in the report.

Yet, no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't figure out what she had done to provoke such a reaction. As she said, she was busy coordinating with Nolan and "The Dark Knight" promotions, as well as preparing for the new movie with Leonardo's team. How could she possibly have the time to feud with a newspaper?

Roy thought of another possibility: "What if it's not the Post itself, but someone closely related to the Post that you've had a conflict with?"

"Someone closely related to the Post?" Laila frowned. "I don't know. How would I know who's closely related to them? All I know is that they're part of Murdoch's media empire."

"Murdoch and Grandpa have never gotten along. Maybe this is just routine provocation." Roy couldn't think of any other reason and attributed it to the longstanding rivalry between the two families.

If the other side couldn't gain an advantage over the old man, they might try to save face by targeting Laila, the future heir. It wasn't impossible. But for adults to take out their frustrations on the younger generation was downright despicable.

However, upon hearing the name "Murdoch," Laila suddenly froze. "I think I know the reason now."

"What is it?"

"It might be because NBC has been growing too fast, squeezing FOX's market share," Laila smirked.

During her time as acting president, she spent considerable effort revamping NBC, including producing several shows, reality TV programs, and other quality content. A series of actions led to a dramatic rise in the network's ratings, even securing top spots in many time slots.

When the old man acquired NBC, its performance was nowhere near FOX's; it was barely scraping by. But after Laila continuously infused it with high-quality content, the network began to thrive once again.

Then, during her tenure as acting president, she "accidentally" created some hit shows, including those that would have been FOX's future successes. What happened next was predictable: FOX's performance declined, while competitor NBC flourished. Such a stark contrast was something Murdoch, who had been at odds with Old Man Moran for decades, couldn't swallow.

When the higher-ups are unhappy, those below naturally look for ways to appease them. Coincidentally, Laila's massive splash at the Oscars made her a prime target. Attack her! They had to attack her! The most satisfying way was to drag her down from heaven to hell.

Although they knew their arguments would seem laughable to the discerning, not everyone is that smart, right? If they could fool even one person, it was a win. For every fan Laila lost, they gained.

In short, this report was a petty move by underlings to vent their boss's frustration.

Laila hadn't realized it at first, but once she figured it out, she knew what was going on. Whether Murdoch was aware of it or not, she had to make a statement. She couldn't just laugh it off when someone was stepping on her head.

So, her response was to stay up all night drafting several plans and sending them to NBC. Since FOX's ratings were hitting new lows, she would push them even lower. Whichever of their shows still had some ratings, she would have NBC launch more appealing programs or future blockbuster series in the same time slot.

Strike while the iron is hot—how beautiful, right?

As for Laila's method of retaliation, Old Man Oswald said, "Well done, very satisfying."

However, shows and series can't be produced overnight. Before that, Laila needed to make a suitable counterattack to show just how high their anger levels were.

So, after sending those plans to NBC, she also caused some trouble for the Post.