Chapter 124: Hacker

[Chapter 124: Hacker]

Today was the day Gaskill was being discharged from the hospital.

Ian arrived to pick up Gaskill. Noticing Ian's expression, Gaskill asked, "You seem awfully happy today?"

Ian supported Gaskill as they walked downstairs. "Just got some bad news. Inigo Danielson from the FCC called out the Los Angeles Herald and WND for their overly violent reporting and intends to impose restrictions... it's aimed at me."

Gaskill furrowed his brow. "Are they coming after you?"

Ian nodded slightly. "Viacom is also in talks with CBS about a potential buyout. James Perry leaked my interest in buying into CBS to Viacom to drive up the price. But Viacom clearly isn't going to entertain that; they have a good relationship with Inigo Danielson. This is more of a lesson for me and a way to show CBS they don't have the leverage they think."

Ian wasn't upset with CBS for being cutthroat; business competition was normal. But CBS probably never expected Viacom to choose to undermine Ian instead of simply raising the price.

Gaskill quietly inquired, "What are you planning to do?"

Ian grinned. "I promised the White House I'd avoid negative reporting on major figures, but a righteous comeback isn't included in that... Finally, I have a major political story on my hands."

Gaskill couldn't help but chuckle. He had thought it odd that Ian seemed so cheerful.

Ian Carr thrived on competition. Every opponent was akin to breaking news for him.

In a certain sense, the corruption of politicians was as rampant as the moral failings of celebrities.

So, for Ian, whether politicians had issues was never the point; whether he could dig up dirt was what mattered most. The key lay in selecting the right target.

Inigo Danielson, the Federal Communications Commission chief? Perfect, he was his target!

...

Ian's fourth ability had yet to be used, and now, he had finally made his choice: hacking skills!

Many significant documents for politicians ended up in their emails.

The most notorious example being Hillary's incident; her assistant leaked a ton of confidential information, contributing heavily to her failure in the election.

Basic hacking techniques couldn't accomplish that, but Ian realized there were ways to bypass technical barriers.

For example, while my hacking skills might not break through your firewall, I could manually implant a trojan, then use my hacking skills. Combining these abilities alone could overcome technical limits.

So, after learning about the big shot targeting him, Ian quickly set off.

The rest was easy. Late at night, he snuck in, implanting a trojan virus program onto the target's computer, breezed through their firewall, and obtained a wealth of information directly from their emails.

Once that was done, Ian wiped all traces and left without a hitch. The whole process took just half a night.

...

"Extra! Extra!"

"Renowned journalist Butterfly uncovered Inigo Danielson's email information and broke the news."

"FCC Chair Inigo Danielson allegedly accepted bribes from Viacom to allow media censorship."

"Viacom is accused of unethical operations, using internal information for illicit gain."

"Inigo Danielson's extramarital affair revealed; he has a child out of wedlock, who is Black."

"Inigo Danielson used his position to grant at least eleven media outlets special permissions."

"Inigo Danielson's conversations with Alex Hadark revealed numerous scandals."

"Inigo Danielson..."

A barrage of negative reports instantly propelled this FCC figure into the limelight.

...

Owning shares in the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Herald, WND News, and Spark TV, Ian Carr now wielded considerable influence in the media landscape.

He didn't even need intermediaries; his voice alone could echo across the nation!

The most crucial aspect was that each report was substantiated by evidence.

Inigo Danielson became infamous overnight, with countless citizens denouncing his actions.

Ian didn't conceal the source of the revelations.

He wanted everyone to know this was the righteous retaliation from the Los Angeles Herald!

"You started it!"

...

In America, the media was a formidable force; possessing the power of the narrative meant they could sway public opinion at will!

In this situation, even the President couldn't protect him, and within just two days, Inigo Danielson resigned in disgrace.

As for his threats to clamp down on the violent reporting by the Los Angeles Herald, those fizzled out as well.

After all, it wasn't just the Los Angeles Herald covering violent news; all media outlets wanted to avoid tight controls on this front.

Ian Carr's counterattack made them realize just how fierce and powerful he was.

This guy could really dig up any dirt he wanted!

...

"Yes, Mayor Kuch... ah, of course I'm free, I would love to have dinner with you, but I think we could solve the issue without dinner. What I mean is, we're both busy and friends, so we can speak directly. Don't worry, I won't record the conversation."

In his office, Ian lounged back in his chair, phone in hand, grinning as he spoke.

On the other end, the Los Angeles Mayor cautiously chose his words: "I understand your perspective, Ian. Inigo may have overstepped. The media's duty is to report the truth; you did nothing wrong. But the situation now is that Butterfly hacked into his email, and there's more than just Inigo's issues in there."

Ian raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "I think you need not worry about that. Mr. Danielson is very careful; his email doesn't contain excessive national secrets since that too is against regulations. Although he has made many mistakes, that isn't one of them."

Mayor Kuch sighed in relief.

He knew full well that didn't mean Inigo Danielson had no other information; it was Ian's insinuation: we'll only expose this part.

Mayor Kuch asked, "So is this matter settled?"

Ian smirked. "I can't say for sure. You know I'm looking to acquire CBS, and CBS is a Democratic supporter, so the conflict will always be there."

"But there has to be a bottom line," Mayor Kuch insisted.

Ian replied, "Of course, Mr. Mayor. I don't like crossing lines unless my opponent does first. Since we're friends, I'm willing to give some slack. This matter could be put to rest, but on the condition that Inigo Danielson stays down! Dead is dead; there's no need to rise from the grave."

Mayor Kuch reassured him, "Don't worry, he'll end up in a company as a consultant, making a bit every year, and there won't be any chance for him to rise again. But we hope that you won't focus your future news on political matters."

"But I sometimes need political news to expand my reach."

"I'll make sure to mention this so that Carr Media's reporters get higher priority at the White House."

Ian laughed, "That would be greatly appreciated!"

Great, elevating the priority of political news would improve Carr Media's overall quality in covering political stories. That sort of resource was invaluable and would even aid negotiations with CBS.

*****

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