Chapter 196: The Impact of a Broad Perspective
The next day, contrary to Yan Wenhan's high expectations, *Fengyun Daily*'s daily sales actually decreased, dropping from 500,000 copies to 450,000 copies.
Moreover, after accounting for new readers that day, it turned out that the number of lost readers exceeded 50,000.
This left Yan Wenhan somewhat perplexed.
However, when he reported this to Xia Yu, Xia Yu remained calm and told Yan Wenhan not to worry.
"There are always different tastes," Xia Yu said. "International news, no matter how interesting, won't appeal to everyone."
The initial figure of 500,000 copies on the first day was already quite high and had surprised Xia Yu. Initially, he had anticipated a figure around 400,000 copies.
Upon reflection, it was probably due to *Jiuding Daily*'s hype that drew many readers to buy *Fengyun Daily* out of curiosity. Once the curiosity was satisfied and they realized they weren't interested in this type of news, it was only natural for sales to decline.
Marketing is important, but some people simply won't like certain things, and there's no way to force it.
Nevertheless, Xia Yu was confident that sales would rise again in the coming days.
As Xia Yu had predicted, *Fengyun Daily* consistently maintained high quality. Readers gained substantial knowledge and a better understanding of international affairs from reading the newspaper, benefiting greatly.
Consequently, the newspaper's reputation grew steadily.
With the increasing reputation, after the initial drop in sales on the second day, the following days saw sales rising again:
470,000 copies!
490,000 copies!
520,000 copies!
550,000 copies!
This performance and trend gave Yan Wenhan peace of mind, motivating him to work with renewed enthusiasm and energy.
Other competitors also realized that *Fengyun Daily* had firmly established itself.
The second-largest newspaper in the industry had emerged, and it belonged to Jiuding Media Group.
Now, Jiuding Media Group led the entire Xiangjiang, Macao, and Southeast Asia markets. The only newspaper that could barely keep up and squeeze into the top tier was *Sing Tao Daily* from Sing Tao News Corporation Limited.
If *Sing Tao Daily* failed to improve, it would fall out of the top tier, leaving the newspaper industry dominated by Jiuding Media Group and a few other competitors.
This scenario was unsettling to other competitors.
...
Behind the glory of *Fengyun Daily*, peers saw the crucial role played by Jiuding News Agency.
After consulting, others found that Jiuding News Agency's conditions were very flexible: just pay the fee and label the news as coming from Jiuding News Agency.
This requirement was reasonable, and they agreed upon realizing that similar conditions were standard for other news agencies worldwide.
Many newspapers subscribed to Jiuding News Agency's services due to these lenient conditions. The only difference was the various levels of news services at different prices.
In just six days, the total value of signed contracts reached 1.5 million Hong Kong dollars, and eighteen media outlets had purchased the services.
Among them, three newspapers opted for the highest-level services. Of the large newspapers, only *Chengbao* was the most determined, while the other two were smaller papers: one with daily sales barely over ten thousand copies and another with daily sales just over five thousand copies.
These two smaller newspapers were clearly hoping to ride the coattails of *Fengyun Daily* and get a taste of its success. They believed that even if they only gained a small benefit, it would still be worthwhile.
Indeed, these two newspapers succeeded, with their sales exploding and eventually surpassing the fifty thousand-copy mark. The decision-makers of these two newspapers were grateful for their initial choice.
Besides these three, other media were smaller newspapers with less resolve and no determination to risk everything for a chance at success.
Large newspapers like *Ming Pao*, *Hong Kong Economic Journal*, *Ta Kung Pao*, *South China Morning Post*, and Southeast Asia's *Nanyang Siang Pau* and *Sin Chew Daily* were still observing and had not rushed to adopt Jiuding News Agency's services. They remained cautious about Jiuding Media Group.
Xia Yu wasn't concerned about this. Such things couldn't be rushed. As long as these media realized that purchasing Jiuding News Agency's services offered only benefits and no drawbacks, they would eventually come on board.
However, by then, it might be too late. The longer they delayed, the greater the impact on Jiuding News Agency's development, and the more severe the consequences for their newspapers.
After all, under the combined pressure of *Jiuding Daily* and *Fengyun Daily*, their situation would inevitably worsen if they did not seek change. Those that didn't adapt would be at a disadvantage.
Should they fall, Jiuding Media Group would be the biggest beneficiary.
As for Xiangjiang's television and cable channels, they had not yet purchased Jiuding News Agency's news services, though one cable channel was reportedly in discussions about it.
It wouldn't be long before a TV or cable channel would purchase the news services!
...
On the seventh day of *Fengyun Daily*'s debut.
Xia Yu was in his office, handling company affairs as usual. After finishing, he continued writing *The Qin Empire*.
After all this time, aside from regular work, Xia Yu had spent his free time writing *The Qin Empire*, and today, only the final 1,000 words remained.
*Rustle rustle…*
The pen tip glided across the paper, making a soft rustling sound.
The book was complete!
After writing the final characters with flourish, Xia Yu sighed in relief, displaying a satisfied smile as he set down the pen.
"Finally done, what a relief! That was quite a project!"
Leaning back in his chair, looking at the notebook filled with text, Xia Yu felt a deep sense of accomplishment.
*The Qin Empire*, which had significantly contributed to his career, was finally completed after over five months. At 1.6 million words, it was indeed no small feat!
*Jiuding Daily* had already serialized up to around 1.3 million words, with 300,000 words remaining.
However, now *Jiuding Daily* had almost completely moved beyond the constraints of *The Qin Empire*. The newspaper's novel section had transformed significantly compared to when *The Qin Empire* had been its sole highlight.
It was now a gathering of outstanding works!
*Jiuding Daily*'s platform was substantial and highly attractive to martial arts novel authors. Thanks to Yan Wenhan's efforts, one of the masters of martial arts novels, Wen Ruian, had been directly recruited.
After paying a part of the penalty, Wen Ruian's *The Heroic Legends of the Middle Kingdom* was transferred to *Jiuding Daily*, and a ten-year contract was signed, binding him to the newspaper.
In addition to Wen Ruian, another master of martial arts novels, Liang Yusheng, had also started a new book on *Jiuding Daily*.
*Jiuding Daily* easily defeated its competitor *Hong Kong Commercial Daily* to secure the serialization rights for Liang Yusheng's new book, *Heroes of the Martial World*.
Besides these two masters, other martial arts novelists like Zhuge Qingyun had also been recruited.
Moreover, several martial arts novel authors previously promoted by *Jiuding Daily* had gained significant popularity on the broad platform provided, becoming well-known figures in the genre. They deeply recognized the importance of *Jiuding Daily* and were determined to stick with it.
With so many martial arts novelists joining, *Jiuding Daily* had attracted a large fan base for martial arts novels. These fans contributed significantly to the newspaper's sales, which had reached 950,000 copies, and was still climbing.
As a result, Xia Yu said that *The Qin Empire* had become less crucial for *Jiuding Daily*.
Even if *The Qin Empire* ceased serialization now, readers could enjoy other novels without affecting *Jiuding Daily*'s sales.
Given this situation, Xia Yu decided to let *The Qin Empire* conclude with a final burst of energy, giving his career one last push.
And that was...