Volume 4: White Devil Chapter 193 For a Common Ideal
Although it would take at least a week for the third-party ratings survey company commissioned by BT TV to provide the ratings, and of course, although the ratings had not yet been released, all the employees of BT TV were certain on the second day of the broadcast that their TV station was famous, or in other words, notorious.
Because the TV station's four external telephones had been almost non-stop from last night until noon the next day, the two telephone customer service representatives who were on duty last night looked more tired when they took over in the morning than those women who worked in civilian clubs all night long to make money from men with their ventriloquism.
As for why you have to spend extra money to get the ratings data? Of course, it's because the major ratings companies in the United States are not interested in wasting energy on cable TV channels with less than 10 million subscribers, or free TV networks with less than 150 cooperative TV stations.
Therefore, BT TV Network is still one-third short of the hard target of 150 partner TV stations. If it wants to find out the ratings of its own TV station, it can only pay them extra to help with the investigation.
The phone is busy because of the popularity of the show.
All the calls last night were from enthusiastic viewers who were asking how to sign up for various reality shows. A large number of single mothers were very interested in how they could get on the show "Seeking American Daddy", and many young black people called to ask how to buy the videotapes of the show "The Almighty Gun King" because they wanted to collect them.
This morning, apart from six or seven calls from advertisers who wanted to discuss advertising cooperation and inquire about quotes, the rest were all from the FCC, which holds the power of life and death over the television industry.Basically, every ten minutes or so, the external relations department of the FCC's Washington headquarters would call BT TV in California.
The reason? It's simple. As the competent authority, the FCC has the obligation to inform BT TV that viewers can call the FCC to complain about BT TV.
According to relevant regulations of the US television industry, after receiving a complaint, the FCC needs to contact BT TV without disclosing any information about the viewer, and clearly inform BT TV of the basic information such as which program the viewer is complaining about and the reason.
In the words of the FCC secretary in charge of making calls, BT received 167 complaint calls in one morning. As a completely unknown new TV network, it could already feel guilty.
Even the secretary couldn't help but curiously ask BT's telephone customer service what exactly BT TV station showed to the audience that would cause a simple thing of just pressing a button on the remote control to change the TV station if they didn't like it to develop into a situation where the audience would specifically look up the phone book to look up the FCC complaint number and then make a phone call to leave a message to complain.
However, the FCC will not cause trouble for BT TV just because it received complaint calls. As long as BT TV does not violate the law, it will be of no use even if the viewers make complaint calls until they are in arrears.
Although they don't have to worry about legal liability, Rick Luther and his program editing team still received 167 complaint calls. This number shocked Rick. Rick is ready to gather the gang members to hold a department meeting to reflect on whether the self-produced program is really too exaggerated and has led to this situation.
At the same time, we should consider narrowing the scale.
However, before the department meeting was held, Rick received a call from Sophia in the office. Sophia told him that Tommy asked Rick to take his men to the meeting room.
"The boss seems very unhappy because Sophia specifically emphasized that Tommy told her to go to the conference room. I think our show might be a bit too much." Rick picked up his notebook and called his men to the conference room, reminding them, "So, be prepared."
When the group walked into the conference room, Tommy had a mocking expression on his face. He sat in the main seat and deliberately applauded them: "Welcome, welcome..."
"Sorry, Tommy, it's my fault." Rick took all the responsibility on himself as soon as he sat down. "I should have realized that this would bring you a lot of social pressure. It has little to do with them. They just followed my instructions. So, if you want to find someone to settle the score, I'm the most suitable person."
Tommy looked around at the team Rick had assembled, and listened to Rick's words expressionlessly: "Who else should I look for? Of course it's your responsibility, Rick. You and your people have disappointed me so much. My previous colleagues in the computer industry have never let me down so much."
"Those programs were only produced after you approved them, Mr. Hawke." A woman working for Rick heard the dissatisfaction in Tommy's tone, and then saw that her boss Rick just kept his head down and said nothing, so she mustered up the courage to defend Rick.
Tommy looked at the brave woman with dissatisfaction: "I didn't deny it. Of course, they need my approval before they can make it. Not only that, they also need my payment before they can start making it, ma'am, but that's not an excuse for you to mess it up!"
He tapped the table lightly with his fingers, motioning Rick to look up at him.
Rick raised his head and looked at Tommy. Tommy stared at him and expressed his suspicion seriously: "Are you sure you really worked in the Little Colors Film Company? Is your resume false?"
As this question was raised, everyone in the conference room except Rick raised their heads and looked at Tommy in surprise, because Tommy's question seemed to have deviated from the topic. It seemed that the focus now should not be whether Rick had made a short film.
"Your performance at the start of the show has made me doubt your work experience, Rick. One hundred and sixty-seven complaints. This is the result you and your colleagues handed in to me. It's a piece of shit!" Tommy continued when he saw that everyone was staring at him.
Rick nodded and did not deny: "Of course it is a piece of shit . I was just about to have a meeting with them to reflect on it..."
"Of course you should reflect on why there are only 167 complaint calls ! Look at how glorious FOX TV was when it was first launched, but there were more than 700 complaint calls, not including the public demonstrations in about 20 cities that specifically protested FOX TV's violation of the ethical standards of television programs. I have always believed that BT TV's programs are more exciting and cooler than FOX's. Reality has given me a loud slap in the face and made me wake up. 167, this number is so embarrassing that I am embarrassed to show it off to my friends." Tommy said indignantly without waiting for Rick to finish.
Rick and his people stared blankly at Tommy's angry face. They thought Tommy was angry because he received too many complaint calls. But now they found out that their boss was angry because the number of complaint calls did not exceed that of FOX's start of broadcasting, which prevented him from getting the title of owner of the TV station with the most complaints since its start of broadcasting.
Rick opened his mouth and just said the other person's name several times without knowing what to say: "Tommy... Tom... Tommy..."
"Tell me, what is the result of your reflection? Why are there only 167 complaints from viewers? Are you all going to become holy American righteous people?" Tommy asked impatiently after taking a sip of coffee.
It was the woman who had spoken bravely earlier who reacted the fastest. She realized that her boss and all her colleagues had misjudged the reason for the boss's anger, so she quickly adjusted her words and spoke:
"Uh... Mr. Hawke, we haven't had a formal meeting to discuss this yet, but the result of our private discussion is that we are not sure about the audience's tastes on the first day of the show, so we chose a relatively conservative program arrangement. In fact, we had some ideas before, such as putting a heavy plot in the first episode of "Wife Swapping Game", letting the woman flirt with her new husband and sleep in the same bed. But, as I said, we were afraid that the audience would not be able to accept this kind of plot, so we made a conservative arrangement. The same is true for other programs. In the first episode, we..."
"Those complaint calls are the best medals for TV people. You could have left a bad reputation... a name in history, but unfortunately, you missed such a precious opportunity." After hearing the other party's explanation, Tommy said regretfully:
"Just like Johnny Hyde missed out on Marilyn Monroe. As an agent, he created this American beauty who amazed the world. He loved Monroe as much as you love these shows. He was willing to abandon his wife and children in order to marry her and sleep with her. However, it was just a small mistake that made him regret for the rest of his life. Throughout Monroe's life, there were probably more than a hundred men who had sex with her like a prostitute, but it was a pity that Johnny Hyde's name was not among those hundred men. He did the hardest work and licked the goddess all his life, but he was unknown. Do you understand? What is there to brag about? It's nothing more than bragging about discovering Marilyn Monroe. So what? In the United States, if you walk into a bar late at night, you can hear at least three drunks bragging about having sex with Monroe."
"From now on, you can only brag like Johnny Head that you created those wonderful programs, but... that's it. BT will continue to grow, and other outstanding employees will join us. They will also be responsible for these programs. What can you say to them? They say that we didn't even break the Australian TV complaint record when we first aired!"
"Tell them that when we first started broadcasting, we couldn't beat the three American TV networks in depth, and we couldn't beat the Australian TV network in craziness, so BT could only be caught in the middle of the three-way position and be tossed around by both sides. Was he in ecstasy? The two on the left and right were in ecstasy, while BT in the middle could only be in agony."
"Be Tale Crazy, this slogan is not printed on the wall for those who visit the TV station, but to remind you all the time that BT TV believes in madness, and you can't survive without madness." Tommy took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth and lit it:
"BT TV's programs can only have two results for the audience. One is to make the audience hard and excited, and the other is to scare them into softening and making them spit sweet words. There is no third way, so don't give me these half-hard and half-soft rubbish anymore."
"Tommy, Wolf from SBG is here to see you." Sophia knocked gently on the door of the conference room, interrupting Tommy's angry and vulgar meeting.
"Did you hear that? My best black friend came to see me. He came to laugh at you because you only let BT TV station receive 167 complaint calls. If he hadn't resigned, he would have received more medals than you now. He came to remind you that he can take over your job at any time." Tommy stood up and walked out, turning his fingers on his temples as he walked, and looked at Rick:
"Rick, use your intelligence and talents working in a small film company to come up with more good programs that attract audiences. You are the one who can sell small films to Christians! Use your brain!"
"I will, boss." After Tommy left, Rick breathed a sigh of relief. He closed his eyes and thought for a while, then raised his head and looked at his companion who was looking at him:
"Tonight's "Battle of Three Thousand Black Hairs" which was used to increase the audience's sense of participation will be suspended. Instead, we will broadcast an extra episode of "Nigger Boss" to fill the vacant time. Megan, take the reality show plan that we rejected before and go to the production company. If they refuse to produce it because it is too vulgar, let the Living Color Company help us complete the filming."
"We passed many plans. Which one?" asked the woman who had been brave enough to argue with Tommy on Rick's behalf.
"The show is tentatively named 'Insults to Morality.'" Rick stood up and walked out of the conference room.
Everyone in the room gasped. The woman named Megan shrugged, quickly packed up her notebook, stood up, and chased Rick away, reminding her colleagues as she walked:
"Everyone, be prepared to have your career completely cut off from the Emmy Awards."
…
Tommy pushed open the door of his office. Wolf Tucker was sitting on the sofa flipping through a copy of Time magazine. When he saw Tommy come in, he stood up and hugged Tommy.
"You'd better not come to congratulate me, Wolfe." After letting go of the other person, Tommy did not sit back in the chair behind the desk, but sat directly on the desk, looking at his black friend with a wry smile.
Wolfe was his mentor in the television industry. He told him many secrets about the television industry, the industry's unspoken rules, hidden power, hidden order and so on. Without the advice of Wolfe, an orthodox television industry talent, Tommy would not have been able to take a different approach and create the BT TV network so easily.
Of course, there was no need to let Wolfe know why he had created such a BT TV network.
"What? I can't congratulate you on the launch of your TV network?" Wolfe sat back on the sofa, looked at Tommy, whom he hadn't seen for a long time, and said with a smile.
"It went on air last night. Today, my secretary told me that we received a call from the FCC. Congratulations! BT received 167 calls complaining that the program was vulgar and made the audience uncomfortable. I was just in a meeting with the program arrangement team. I asked them what went wrong. 167 complaint calls. Are you proud? This achievement caught me off guard!" Tommy lowered his head and rubbed his hands in frustration, then raised his head and looked at Wolfe:
"Can you believe it? I've never been complained about by so many people since I was a child."
"It's not your fault, Tommy. Television stations that only care about ratings have a similar style of operation. They attract viewers with eye-catching, vulgar programs, and then earn advertising fees from advertisers. It seems that there is nothing wrong with this. There were even dozens of demonstrations when FOX was first broadcast." Seeing Tommy's bored expression, Wolfe could no longer say the words he wanted to question. Instead, he walked over, patted Tommy on the shoulder, and consoled him in a soft voice:
"Look at the bright side. Your employees are working hard to help you make money. And judging from my experience as an industry insider, your programs will definitely be favored by advertisers."
Tommy nodded his head slowly, and after a long silence, he raised his head. "But you know, I never thought about making money from the TV station. If I wanted to make money, there's no need to do this. I can easily make much more money than advertising fees by just going back to Silicon Valley. I'm not doing this for money, Wolfe. I'm doing this to realize the value of life."
"I know." Wolf looked at Tommy, sighed, and slowly retreated to the sofa and sat down. "Also, no matter how many complaints you get from viewers, you don't have to worry. You can do whatever the law says."
Tommy grinned at Wolfe. "So, you're encouraging me to keep doing this? God, I was so angry when I saw those shows last night that I just yelled at those people in the conference room. They don't know what television is!"
"I'm not encouraging you, I'm just comforting you. I hope you can cheer up. It's not without benefits. Although the style of the program means BT cannot compete with the three major TV networks for ratings, from another perspective, I'm afraid no audience of FOX TV Network can resist the temptation of BT's programs." Wolf said with a smile.
Tommy was silent for a while, as if he had made up his mind. He looked at Wolfe seriously and said, "Come back, Wolfe. Without you, I'm just like a fly that hits the wall everywhere. Remember? We said at the beginning that sooner or later, I will be the best TV station owner and you will be the best TV producer. We will go to the Emmy Awards together to win all the awards we can. If you are not here, how can I win them? "American Daddy" or "Wife Swapping Game"? "
Sophia personally brought two cups of coffee. When she heard Tommy's words, she frowned slightly and reminded Wolfe on the spot, "Tommy, I remind you that the TV station has just started broadcasting. It is extremely unwise and irresponsible to make large-scale personnel adjustments. And as far as I know, Earl has gone to discuss business with several large advertisers today. Although the programs he approved have some scale issues, from a business perspective..."
"I told them that I'm not short of money, Sophia. I didn't deny the achievements of Earl and others. It's just that they seem to have problems with their comprehension. I told them the central idea of the show "The Lamplighter", and then based on this central idea, they gave me the answer "Searching for Daddy America." Tommy took the coffee, put it aside, and said helplessly.
"Sophia is right, Tommy. We have just started broadcasting and any personnel adjustments will cause a huge emotional chain reaction among employees. Especially when the feedback from the advertising business is good, if you insist, the employees below will panic because they don't know what's wrong with helping the company make money and why they are being adjusted or fired. This is impulsive and undesirable behavior." Wolf took the coffee handed to him by Sophia and persuaded Tommy.
Hearing Wolfe say the same thing, Tommy lowered his head in frustration, but soon he raised his head again: "You are right, we really shouldn't blame these employees who work hard to help the company make money, but I have another idea, Wolfe."
"What?" Wolfe was drinking coffee with his head down, but when he heard Tommy's words, he raised his head and looked at Tommy.
Tommy said sincerely, "We will bypass BT and follow the previous preparation procedures again. You and your team will rebuild a TV network for our original common ideal.. "
