Chapter 88: Sales Skyrocketed
[Chapter 88: Sales Skyrocketed]
After negotiating with the three guys, Ian did not immediately encourage them to turn themselves in. Instead, he focused on ramping up the publicity plan, aiming to create a media frenzy around the situation.
Soon after, the Los Angeles Herald and WND News Network broke explosive news. Under the guidance of Ian Carr, the three bank robbers from Palos Bank voluntarily surrendered. Ian became a hot topic once again.
After all, not every big boss had the guts to chase down criminals with a camera and convince them to turn themselves in -- something even the police struggled to do. The nationwide commentary sparked a wave of amusement.
...
"I think Ian Carr should become a police officer. He's way better at tracking down and finding criminals than the police are."
"I think he should be a negotiation expert, because no other negotiator could get robbers to surrender."
"That's because he has money. He essentially paid the robbers off."
"I think what Ian Carr did was wrong. His actions are encouraging people to commit crimes."
"Come on, buddy, do we really need encouragement to commit crimes? Just give me an address, and I'll go rob you right now."
"Go rob Ian Carr! He's just waiting to be kidnapped."
...
Suddenly, Ian was everywhere in the headlines. Many turned to Ian in admiration, seeking his attention and approval. The only regret stemmed from the fact that this surrender didn't fall into the category of violent crime news; instead, it was classified under economic news, resulting in his right eye's influence points remained unchanged, while the effective power of his left eye in copying and hypnotism increased. But that was fine; after all, violence was never in short supply in America.
As Ian predicted, the surrender of the bank robbers and the serialized account of their story significantly boosted the sales of the Los Angeles Herald.
In an effort to further increase sales, Ian announced, "Due to the rising demand, the Los Angeles Herald would expand its page count in the third quarter and raise prices, with the second quarter being the last chance for regular pricing."
...
Once that news broke, sales skyrocketed from an average of 500,000 copies a day to about 650,000. This surge was also due to Ian nearing the completion of a wager -- he had generated four hot topics in one quarter, leaving no doubts about how much more could come from him in the future. Why wait to buy at higher prices later?
...
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times was feeling despondent, as many realized that a change in leadership was inevitable. The Times had an agreement not to undercut each other's prices, yet who would have thought that at this critical juncture, the Herald would not only maintain its prices but actually raise them, resulting in even more sales?
The Chandler family desperately tried to contact the DuPont Group, hoping they would relent and allow the Chandlers to pay top dollar for hot news from competing outlets. The DuPont Group's response was straightforward: "How much news do you need to suppress Ian Carr? In the wager, Ian's Herald only needs to win against you once!
If he breaks a major story today, and you buy a ton of heavy-hitting news to counter it, and then he publishes another hot topic tomorrow, how would you manage? If he churned out ten hot topics, you would have to purchase at least a hundred major stories to keep up. You'd end up in a massive loss. And in the end, you might not even suppress Ian's news.
Plus, other competitors won't sell you news like that. Sure, they might sell you some for a quick profit, but they won't hand over all their major stories. They still have to run their own business, too..."
This realization left the Chandler family in despair.
...
On April 1st, just when everyone was keeping their heads down, the next day, the Los Angeles Herald broke heavy news: Senator Inez Kasar implicated!
The evidence was solid and left no room for doubt!
Once this news hit, it created an uproar.
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[T/N: The rest of the chapter was about Ian meeting executives from China. He raised the possibility of switching countries once China develops better in the future.
Ian's media group would soon set up a Carr Media branch in partnership with China. They would commit to providing fair and neutral coverage of news related to the country, even if negative articles arose , the Carr Media Group could choose not to report these.
Simultaneously, China would do their utmost to facilitate Ian's news operations and investments, ensuring that news received top priority along with investment offers.
Ian decided to invest money in Shanda Games for 49% stake, which was currently worth under $500,000. And depending on the situation, he would invest in Tencent. Ian signed preferential investment agreements, ensuring he would be the first in line for any future funding, safeguarding his equity.]
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