Chapter 724: A flagship newspaper with two supporting newspapers

Yan Wenhan's plan was to first do his best to establish a flagship newspaper for Jiuding Newspaper Company, and this newspaper had to be a first-class newspaper in the United States' largest city, New York.

Establishing a flagship newspaper was not enough; it needed two supporting newspapers.

Yan Wenhan chose one in Washington, the capital of the United States, and then a newspaper in Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States, for these two wings.

Although Washington is not one of the top ten largest cities in the United States, as the political centre, it has its own special characteristics and advantages. Although it has a small population, it is able to nurture many large newspapers.

As for why the second wing was chosen to be Houston on the Gulf Coast of Mexico, Yan Wenhan explained in his acquisition plan.

The reason is that the second city in the United States, Los Angeles, has a newspaper with a huge advantage: the Los Angeles Times, which is the fourth best-selling newspaper in the United States and is owned by a California consortium. Jiuding Newspaper Company would have a hard time establishing itself even if it acquired a newspaper that ranked high.

Chicago, the third largest city in the United States, has the Chicago Tribune as its top newspaper, which is the sixth best-selling newspaper in the United States and is owned by the publicly listed newspaper giant Chicago Tribune Group. Jiuding Newspaper Company would also have a hard time establishing itself in Chicago and would be vulnerable to attack.

On the contrary, Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States, has the Houston Chronicle, which has the largest circulation in Texas, with 510,000 copies sold daily, and ranks among the top 20 in the United States.

The most important thing is that this newspaper is not controlled by the Texas Consortium, the overlord of Texas. Instead, it changed hands in 1974, and the owner, Douglas, died in a car accident a month earlier. Several of his children are fighting over his assets, which has caused a huge uproar in Houston.

Obviously, there is some room for manoeuvre here.

In New York, there are many major newspapers with sales of half a million copies, such as the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the New York Post, the Newsday, the Newark Star-Ledger and the New York Daily News.

The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times are unthinkable, and they definitely cannot be acquired now.

The New York Post, on the other hand, is owned by Robert Murdoch's News Corporation. It was on the verge of bankruptcy in 1976, losing 50 million a year, and was about to close down. Robert Murdoch took advantage of the situation and bought it. He changed the style of the newspaper, adding news about violence and sex, as well as scandals and cases. He also used sensational and exaggerated language to attract readers, and relied on competition with the Daily News to increase exposure. The newspaper has now come out of the doldrums and has a daily circulation of around 780,000.

The Tribune is, unsurprisingly, in the hands of the Chicago Tribune Group.

The Newark Star-Ledger is in the hands of the newspaper giant Hearst Corporation, and it is not available.

The only exception is the New York Daily News, which is not affiliated with any larger media company. It is the private property of real estate billionaire Mort Zuckerman, and now has an average daily circulation of around 700,000.

Yan Wenhan believes that this newspaper is the most likely to be acquired, as long as the price is high enough.

As for the choice of another Washington-based newspaper, it is the Washington Star, formerly known as the Washington Daily News. This newspaper is very popular among most African Americans in the United States and is the third most influential newspaper in Washington, after the Washington Post and the Washington News.

The Washington Daily News was founded in 1921. In 1972, E.W. Scripps Company, which had controlled the newspaper for 50 years, sold it. It then merged with its rival, the Washington Star-Evening News, in 1973, and was renamed the Washington Star News. Its sales soared to third place in the Washington area.

It was later renamed to its current name, the Washington Star, with a daily circulation of about 460,000 copies.

However, the Washington Star News is now running into problems, which were the result of the merger a few years ago. It has too many employees, high expenses, and an unstable style. As a result, the number of users has decreased year-on-year, and advertising revenue has also dropped.

The Washington Star News has already incurred losses this year. If no intervention is made, and if it follows the same trajectory as before, the Washington Star News will go bankrupt in 1981.

But now that the Washington Star has run into trouble, it is a good opportunity to be acquired. It doesn't matter if the staff is bloated, because after the acquisition, some of the staff can be assigned to the Jiuding News Agency to consolidate the Jiuding News Agency's roots in Washington and New York.

After reading Yan Wenhan's plan, Xia Yu put the document down with satisfaction and praised him, saying, 'The choice is very good. If these three newspapers can be acquired, Jiuding News Agency will have a daily circulation of more than 1.5 million newspapers in the United States, which is definitely enough to gain a foothold.'

'By then, we can acquire some small and medium newspapers in major cities across the United States, and with the help of the Jiuding News Agency, there is a good chance of becoming a newspaper giant in the United States.'

Yan Wenhan nodded with a smile and asked, 'Chairman, what do you think?'

Xia Yu said without hesitation, 'Just do it as you planned. I will give you full support in terms of funding, and we must take over these three newspapers.'

'Especially the New York Daily News, which is the most difficult. Use money to buy it for me, even if the price is doubled or tripled, I want it!'

When it comes to strategic issues in the media sector, Xia Yu never cares about the gains and losses in terms of money.

He has always regarded News Corporation as a potential rival. Now Rupert Murdoch has established a foothold in New York two years ago and acquired the more influential New York Post, which sells 780,000 copies daily.

News Corporation has a number of newspapers in other parts of the United States and has already established a firm foothold in the American media sector. He is now lagging far behind and must catch up.

Even if he pays twice as much to acquire the New York Daily News, at most he will only pay tens of millions of dollars more. He doesn't care about that!

As long as he has the New York Daily News in his hands and builds a good Jiuding Newspaper Company, there are plenty of opportunities to create huge value.

Understanding Chairman Xia Yu's attitude, Yan Wenhan suddenly felt a surge of pride and loudly promised, 'Please rest assured, I guarantee that I will complete the task!'

Xia Yu thought for a moment and said, 'For now, make preparations for taking over the newspapers. At the same time, acquire the three newspapers as quickly as possible. If the situation drags on, the more uncertain it will become. After all, the United States is not our territory. The extra money will be considered as a bribe.'

Xia Yu was worried that if the matter dragged on, it would attract the ambitious Rupert Murdoch, especially the Washington Star, which would most likely attract his attention.

After all, Rupert Murdoch is very paranoid about newspapers. He will do anything to boost sales, and there is no denying that he is a genius in the news industry. Even if a newspaper on the verge of bankruptcy falls into his hands, he can still pull it out of the mud.

He previously bought the bankrupt New York Post and succeeded.

It is hard to say that he will not suddenly get the urge to do the same thing to the Washington Star.

Yan Wenhan's expression became extremely serious, and he solemnly nodded in response, 'Chairman, I understand!'

'Chairman, there is no time to lose, so I will set off tomorrow with my team to the United States.'

'Go ahead. Once you get there, you can contact Julian Robertson and Ray Dalio. They are both experts in the capital market and know the United States better, so they should be able to help you.'

After saying this, Xia Yu took out a pen and paper, wrote down the relevant contact information and address of Julian Robertson and Rey Dario, and then handed it to Yan Wenhan.

'Okay, I will definitely contact them!'

'Then Chairman, if there is nothing else, I will go back first.'

'Go! Good luck!'