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The King of Hollywood Volume 3 Empire Chapter 347 There is nothing that cannot be traded

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    "Of course this is a mistake! And it's a big mistake! Have you read the Guardian newspaper? Since they dare to say that, they obviously have weighty evidence. You should respond politely, politely and not condescendingly, instead of  What a condescending tone!" Murdoch said loudly into the phone. Over there was his second son James Murdoch. This year, with the support of his father, he became the chairman of Sky Television and was responsible for News Corporation's Europe and Asia.  business.

    Damn it!  Murdoch put down the phone and cursed hard in his heart. He wiped his face with his hands before closing his eyes. He suddenly felt tired.  There is no doubt that this was done by ac media. After the Guardian revealed the wiretapping incident in the News of the World, its affiliated media outlets went all out to report it. Although there were not many newspapers and periodicals, they  AC Media has the advantage of the Internet. You can see discussions about the wiretapping incident everywhere on YouTube or Facebook. If you search for keywords on Google, all the reports that appear on the homepage are unfavorable to News Corporation.

    In short, there is no concealment at all, and a completely naked expression of hostility.  This is very bad!  Almost everyone now knows what Adrian said that night.  Now that they have taken the initiative and gained the upper hand, and done so with such great fanfare, the situation is very unfavorable to News Corporation.

    How did they know that the News of the World was wiretapping?  Murdoch couldn't help but think so.  You know, even he himself is not very clear about this.  Could it bethat they had discovered it a long time ago?  The old man's brows furrowed deeply. According to the information collected so far, reports about eavesdropping began to appear one after another two weeks ago. However, the wealthy News Corporation has rich connections and with their help, one by one  Straighten up.

    ¡°However, although those reports did not have much impact, they left an impression on many people.  So, it was a former employee of the News of the World who came forward to give evidence.  With a lot of evidence in hand, plus the Guardian, the rival of News Corporation, and AC Media's efforts to instigate, especially involving the royal family, the situation quickly expanded.

    However, Blair has resigned, and the current Prime Minister is Gordon Brown. His relationship with News Corporation is very ordinary, and he often appears in public as a conservative but liberal-minded person. He will definitely support the investigation, so  ¡­The more Murdoch thought about it.  The frown became tighter.

    Finally, he pressed the call button: "Mr. Miller? Please inform the crew immediately. I need to go to London immediately."

    "The Guardian's report on the News of the World's eavesdropping on the lives of royal family members, with the deliberate encouragement of some people, quickly swept the UK and even the entire Europe.  Under the urging of the House of Commons, Scotland Yard had to start a serious investigation, and then began various ups and downs, sometimes involving multiple cases, sometimes without the top brass of the newspaper knowing.  There will be evidence that News Corporation is using its influence to exert pressure and so on.

    But Murdoch believes that he can handle this. Even though ac media is adding fuel to the fire, they are still too hasty. If they wait for a year.  When Brown takes full control of Downing Street, he will face even greater difficulties.  But now, although Blair has resigned, his influence is still there.  Coupled with News Corporation's intricate connections in the UK, AC Media may have the upper hand for a while, but it will never last.

    However.  What he didn't expect was that two weeks later, News Corporation suffered a heavy blow from the United States.  When August came, it was suddenly revealed that News Corporation was suspected of eavesdropping on the phones of 911 victims, which immediately attracted the attention of Americans who originally just wanted to watch a good show.  9/11 has become a backlash for Americans. Some people may think that the Bush administration's launch of the Iraq war is immoral, but they absolutely support the retaliation for 9/11.

    Under such circumstances, this kind of thing was brought out, and it also had certain evidence, and the reports were also biased. There was no doubt that it aroused the anger of some Americans. Immediately, there was a proposal to cooperate with the congressmen, demanding that the  The FBI is investigating this matter thoroughly.  Murdoch finally started to get serious now. Although the British side was important, if someone were to pry away the foundation of the United States, it would definitely be more than worth the gain.

    Fortunately, George W. Bush is still in office, and he still has the confidence to control the development of this matter, but things soon began to develop in an uncontrolled direction.

    On August 4, Bear Stearns, the fifth largest investment bank in the United States, announced that its hedge funds would stop redemptions. In the eyes of ordinary people, this is not a big deal, but in the eyes of investors, it is a heavy blow.  It¡¯s not that no one is aware of the possibility of a subprime mortgage crisis, but they either think it¡¯s not that soon, or they can only ignore it for some reasons.

    However, when Bear Stearns announced that it would stop redemptions, everyone knew that it meant one thing: the subprime mortgage crisis had officially and completely unstoppably begun.  Immediately, European and American stock markets fell into a round of plummeting across the board!  Then Bear Stearns President Warren Specter announced his resignation, and many mortgage lendersOrganizations have declared bankruptcy one after another.  Although the Federal Reserve began to inject funds to rescue the market, it was unable to prevent the crisis from continuing to expand and spread to the entire European and American financial markets two weeks later.

    This is not a big problem for News Corporation. Although it has also been hit, the stock price fluctuations are not very large when someone rescues the market. After all, they are not involved in the real estate industry. Even after the wiretapping incident, some people have shorted News Corporation.  stocks, the losses are also within the acceptable range.  But the next thing caused News Corporation to suffer a big loss. In the continuous reports on the subprime mortgage crisis, big news suddenly broke out again. Bernard McNair, chairman of Madoff Investment Securities Company,  Madoff's alleged Ponzi scheme has been controlled by the police. Two News Corporation executives were also involved. The crime was that they may have used their power to help Madoff cover up the scam.

    This bombshell made the entire United States, or the entire American financial community, caught in the subprime mortgage crisis, unable to recover for a long time.  Bernard Madoff is also considered a prominent figure on Wall Street. The stable returns of 1 to 2 per month from his asset management company have allowed him to attract countless customers, and they are all high-end customers. The Palm Beach Country Club he founded is also  It is well-known in the industry, and its reputation of "doing it only if you are invited" has attracted many investors.

    Such a big shot is suspected of using a Ponzi scheme to deceive investors?  How can it be!  But soon more and more evidence showed that Madoff's asset management company was indeed a Ponzi scheme.  So under the guidance of some people, investors who suffered huge losses began to become angry.  And being forcibly linked together, News Corporation, which originally had a negative impression in front of the public because of the incident of eavesdropping on 911 victims, began to be spurned by more and more people.

    "You should know. Barry, this matter has nothing to do with us! Many people let Madoff manage their own funds. Are they also helping the scammer cover up the problem?" On the other end of the phone, he tried his best to suppress his anger and speak calmly.  Murdoch, who was talking in a gentle tone, looked extremely ugly, and his hand holding the armrest was unusually tight.

    Finally, he closed his eyes and slammed the microphone on the phone, making a snapping sound.  Murdoch had never been so exhausted.  He was full of confidence at first, but he didn't expect that he would be in this situation after two or three months.

    The two executives of News Corporation in charge of U.S. affairs did have investments in Madoff, but their private behavior at that time had nothing to do with the group. Logically speaking, they should be victims, and among all the decent people in various investment banks, none of them was not involved.  Madoff trapped him, but those guys tried their best to tie News Corporation to this shocking fraud!  What a hell!

    But no one cares about the facts.  Just like what Fox News Network has done, the same type of content will attract a lot of people just by changing it to an exaggerated and special title.  Then, no matter what the content is, I start criticizing based on what I want to see.  It's just repaying the other person with his own way.

    It would be fine at other times, but now, after experiencing the impact of the 911 wiretapping incident and the subprime mortgage crisis, ordinary people need a scapegoat to vent their anger.  What scares Murdoch even more is.  AC Media is definitely not the only one attacking News Corporation. Various behind-the-scenes people who participated in the previous suppression of AC Media have now appeared in the campaign to suppress News Corporation.

    The simplest example.  Madoff's incident would never have had such a big impact at other times, and the damage he caused is not irreparable.  It¡¯s not that no one saw Madoff¡¯s tricks. It¡¯s just that he took the upper-level route at the beginning and had little contact with ordinary people. He also has a wide network of contacts, especially as a Jew. Wall Street also has to worry about face, so the most likely reason is that someone  Jump out to defend it, then turn the big thing into a trivial matter, and finally return to the original track.

    But it won¡¯t work this time. The disastrous consequences of subprime mortgages triggered public anger. Wall Street must have an explanation. Madoff happened to be put in front as a scapegoat, and then add another person who was affected by the wiretapping incident and had a negative impression among Americans.  How about the big-growth News Corporation?

    These bastards!  These insatiable vampires!  Murdoch punched the armrest again. If it were just AC Media, he was confident that it could still manage even in this situation. But if everyone started targeting News Corporation, it would be really in danger, and even more so.  What's more

    Why do they seize the opportunity so well?  This question has been bothering Murdoch, and the uneasy feeling is getting worse.  Finally, he reached for the phone and reluctantly dialed a number.

    "It's me, Sam, can you help me contact those two people?" At this moment, he seemed to have aged several years again.

    ??¡ª¡ª

    Under the blue sky, even though it has already entered winter, the vegetation outside still looks exceptionally green in the sunshine.

    ¡°So I like Los Angeles, even though it doesn¡¯t rain much here, it¡¯s definitely a great place in the winter.¡±Adrian, who was sitting at the round table, said casually with a smile.

    "You can't deny that New York has its advantages." Redstone continued with a smile.

    "That's true. At least it's not bad to walk on the drizzly streets of Manhattan in the summer." Claude came over with a golf club, followed by Time Warner President and CEO Jeffrey Bewkes.  .

    "What do you think, Rupert?" Redstone smiled and turned to Murdoch.

    "Every place has its own things that are worthy of nostalgia." Murdoch smiled. Seeing this, Redstone shook his head imperceptibly.

    This situation has been going on for a while. Although he was the one who pulled the strings and both parties agreed to sit down and have a good talk, the relevant topics have not been mentioned until now, even though he specifically roped in Jeffrey Bewkes of Time Warner.  , in the company of Disney's Robert Iger.  Of course, he understands that after all, Murdoch has been in the media industry for decades, and it is difficult to accept the fact that he was forced to his current position by two juniors. Taking the initiative to seek peace is already a sign of weakness.  If possible, I definitely wouldn¡¯t want to speak first.

    As for Adrian and Claude, as rising stars, young, energetic and proud, they were tricked by Murdoch a few months ago, and now that they have finally forced him to where they are now, they are naturally more willing to act like winners.  When negotiating with Murdoch, speaking first is definitely not the first choice.

    This is bad. Murdoch will have to speak sooner or later. After all, he was the one who proposed the peace talks.  But when that time comes, the peace talks will be very difficult.  As the oldest media tycoon present, Redstone is not willing to see such a situation. After all, in the final analysis, the people on Wall Street are the ones worth watching out for.

    Fortunately, the two young people from ac media were not ignorant of the overall situation. Soon Adrian started to guide the topic of the subprime mortgage crisis: "Obviously, everyone has a premonition. It's just that they can't be sure when it will happen. After all,  , no one can stop the flow of capital, just like you can¡¯t stop people from eating and drinking water.¡±

    As he spoke, he looked at Murdoch.  With an indescribable smile: "For capital to flow, there must be transactions, but transactions are not limited to capital, or money. This is a very special word. In a sense, it can be regarded as  The foundation of the United States. Dealmaking allows criminals who deserve the death penalty to spend only decades in prison. Dealing allows drug lords to serve less long sentences. Dealing allows police to turn a blind eye to the petty crimes of billionaires.  , Trading can allow congressmen to aspire to the presidency, and trading can allow the president to boldly violate the law Here, there is nothing that cannot be traded, as long as you have enough chips."

    His unhurried words echoed in the ears of several people. Although they were not pleasant to hear, they were all true. None of the people here had ever walked in a gray area or made a deal with the government.

    "Thought-provoking words," Murdoch finally said, "No wonder you have such a huge influence in Hollywood. Now some people even call youthe King of Hollywood."

    Although he tried his best to use a relaxed tone and make it look like he was joking, the effect was not very good.

    But Adrian didn¡¯t care, still smiling: ¡°You misunderstood, Rupert, I admit that this played a lot of role, but most of it was achieved through my own efforts, just like ac media.¡±

    Murdoch fell silent. Although his words seemed to praise Adrian, the actual meaning was: Don¡¯t you want to become the most powerful spokesman in Hollywood?  I can help with another push.

    But Adrian¡¯s answer was: No.  He now has an influence that no one else has in Hollywood. He is only one step away from the top and can go up without help.  At the same time, he also vaguely said that he should not use compensation for the financing that was disrupted by Murdoch's intervention as a breakthrough.  As far as the current financial environment is concerned, if ac media wants to raise funds, it will have some impact, but it is not a big problem, so they will not consider it for the time being.

    "Then, tell me what you want." Murdoch suddenly got tired of this way of playing charades. Anyway, the other party had already shown some goodwill.

    Adrian and Claude looked at each other, and then Claude spoke: "We don't want too much, we don't care about everything you do, and we can also help News Corporation deal with the eavesdropping incident¡ª¡ª  The impact of this incident is much greater than you think, Rupert. We can even help News Corporation stabilize and survive, and deal with Wall Street and the White House together. You know, those greedy guys never think about it.  We are in control and we have only one demand.¡±

    "We hope you resign, Rupert." Adrian answered, and Murdoch's eyebrows raised involuntarily, and his face became a little ugly.

      "Don't worry, you can retain the position of independent director on the board of directors, or simply consult for News Corporation as a consultant. The person sitting in that position can also be someone from the Murdoch family, and you can continue to direct behind the scenes. You  You don¡¯t even need to resign now. You can step down gracefully due to physical reasons after these things come to an end. We can exchange mutual trust through cross-shareholding, and at the same time ensure that you want someone who will listen to you.  Get in that position,¡± Crowder continued.

    "This is our only request, you must give us an explanation." Adrian added.

    Murdoch¡¯s face turned red at first, and then became cloudy. Several other people involuntarily took a breath, and their expressions became subtle at the same time.  This proposal seems to be very beneficial to News Corporation, but what lies behind makes it difficult to make a choice.

    The two people who were singing in harmony looked at each other and smiled. This was a conspiracy.  (To be continued.)

    ps: Finallyit's almost hereAlthough I have always been looking forward to this time, it's really here, and it's full of flavors.  Of course, I will try my best to have a good ending. If you feel that the ending is not to your liking, don¡¯t worry, because the essence is in the ending.

    Thank you everyone.

    In addition: 4,900 words of special code today, it is a small gift, right?
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