Volume 4: White Devil Chapter 202 Once again?
"So, you're telling me now that if Mr. President wants to know the latest news, he has to contact the USS Kennedy through the Navy Department of the Pentagon, but now, any ordinary American can get more news than the President just by turning on the TV?" White House Press Secretary and Spokesman Marlin Fitzwater had a rare stern look on his chubby face, staring at White House Press Relations Assistant James Salina in front of him and questioning in a low and serious voice:
"Although I will have to accompany the President to leave the White House in two weeks, I promise to kick you out before that day officially arrives! Because you are making me embarrassed now!"
"It happened suddenly, Marin. The Associated Press got the news from the Pentagon and sent out the news immediately. Normally, the Associated Press should be the news agency on earth that gets the news the fastest." James, the press relations assistant who is responsible for collecting global news consultations for the White House, said bitterly, "I promise I contacted you without any delay."
"The president and I have all seen the Associated Press news flash, which only has one dry sentence. You want me, as a spokesperson, to use that dry sentence to deal with those reporters outside who seem to be collectively in heat because of the news flash? I know without trying that my old bones will definitely not be able to withstand their abuse!" Marin ignored Larry's defense and said aggressively:
"Besides, that's not the point. One sentence is enough to hold an impromptu briefing, but that was while keeping speed first. But what about now?"
As he spoke, he grabbed the remote control and turned up the volume on the TV.
VOX News Channel, the host is currently discussing this emergency with reporters on the USS Kennedy and a North African studies expert from a think tank.
"Obviously, the Associated Press is not the first to report this time! If I use a breaking news message to deal with those angry reporters, everyone will know that the White House gets the news slower than a private TV network!" Marin complained angrily.
Dealing with those sharp-tongued journalists is not an easy task. Even though he has been dealing with journalists all his life and has worked as a journalist for many years, he is still often left speechless by questions asked by his colleagues.
Larry defended himself, "I know about it. It's just that VOX News was lucky . Their reporters got permission from the Navy Department to shoot news footage of the U.S. Navy's life during the Kennedy's cruise. They happened to encounter this military conflict, so they got the opportunity to be the first to publish it globally."
"I don't care whether it's luck or not. What about Plan B that we used to deal with this situation? Call the VOX reporter stationed in the White House quietly and ask him to give me some more detailed details. In exchange, I will give VOX more opportunities to ask questions at the next press conference. In short, I can't let those reporters who know more about the news than me by watching the VOX news live broadcast besiege and kill me on the stage!"
"VOX... doesn't have a reporter stationed in the White House. We haven't issued a permit to their reporters yet, so... the conventional Plan B cannot be implemented." James lowered his head in despair. "It is a newly established news network. The application to send reporters to the White House is still under review..."
Marin was amused by James' answer: "This news network released the news faster than the Associated Press, and then it didn't even qualify to enter the White House? Do you want it to become famous by stepping on the White House? Its boss is a damn Canadian like you? Canadians have humiliated the White House before, and now you want VOX to do it again?"
"Mr. Fitzwater?" A middle-aged woman dressed as a secretary came over hurriedly and handed a stack of documents to Marin. "Kenneth from the Office of the President asked me to bring it here. He thinks you may need it at the White House briefing later."
As Marin flipped through the information, he asked, "If it's regular information, I don't think it can be used much. This is a temporary military operation. The Pentagon didn't expect Gaddafi to send fighter jets into the air to intercept our reconnaissance planes."
"This is not routine information. It was just sent to an intern named Charles Salmon who had been doing a summer internship at the White House. His mentor sent this detailed information about this incident obtained from VOX News Network. The information involves some numbers in the details. We have called the Navy Department at the Pentagon and they confirmed that it is true. They said that VOX does not have a reporter stationed in the White House, so he has to submit the information himself. I hope it will be helpful to the White House." The female secretary said to Marin.
Marin immediately raised his head, stared at the other person in shock and asked, "How did his mentor get it?"
"The expert who is preparing to make a comment at VOX right now is his mentor." The female secretary tilted her head towards the TV and prompted.
"Who summoned this kid to the White House for an internship? Remember to thank him for me! Kelly!" Marin breathed a sigh of relief, carefully put away the documents, and walked quickly towards his office, ready to ask the editor to quickly draft his speech based on the information.
Seeing James standing there with a pale face, he growled in a low voice: "Are you staying here to mourn for Gaddafi? Get VOX's application approved as soon as possible! If the other party has shown goodwill, don't be stingy in giving back!"
Before James could take a step, the host on TV had already cut off the connection and announced to the camera:
"We have invited Professor Adrian Shearon, a doctoral student in international relations from the University of Pennsylvania, a professor at Yale University, vice chairman of the board of the Philadelphia Foreign Policy Institute, and an international relations expert, to give us the latest analysis of the situation after the call ends."
When Marin heard the name, he turned his head and glanced at the TV screen with a relaxed expression and said, "This old guy Adrian is really cunning. He seized a good opportunity. I guess he can already lock in a position among the new president's advisers in advance."
At the same time, the nervousness in his heart also dissipated a lot. He knew the guest of VOX at this moment and had met him many times. Adrian Shearon was a veteran member of the Republican conservative think tank and a strong contender for the position of the new president's assistant for national security affairs. He was one of the people under Vice President George Bush. He would not deliberately sensationalize and make remarks that discredited the government and embarrassed the president.
But before he could finish his breath, the host immediately spoke with a happy face: "I just received news that a local journalist colleague hired by VOX in North Africa is risking being arrested by the Libyan government for espionage and has sent a phone call to the studio. He should be able to bring more accurate information to those of us who are following this conflict."
Marin simply sat down in his seat and stared at the screen intently.
The female secretary saw Marin's actions and reminded him, "Marin, you should go prepare for the briefing."
Marin sighed. "What's the point of preparing? Just watch the news first. Anyway, those reporters must be waiting in the conference room to do the same thing as me. VOX, it's not just luck. Luck doesn't mean you can find local employees to help send back the latest news."
"What's going on in Libya now, Hughes?" the host asked.
There was no picture of Libya, only the reporter's voice sounded on the phone: "Hello, Merriman, I am now in Tripoli, the capital of Libya. Just now, Gaddafi gave a national speech. He said that the Americans invaded Libyan airspace without reason and shot down two unarmed Libyan reconnaissance planes."
"Kelly! Tell the President and his chief of staff that Gaddafi is lying!" Marin jumped up from his seat with an agility that was not in line with his size and walked quickly outside: "He lied, we won! The last time I knew of a reporter from an American news agency risking a report was when a reporter from the Associated Press infiltrated the Soviet Union! Thanks to VOX!"
…
At 2:24 p.m., Wolfe's eyes were fixed on the TV screen. At the anchor desk in front of the screen, the host was still switching between a North Africa expert from the Washington think tank Center for Peace and a VOX reporter on the USS Kennedy.
Next to Wolff, a stylist was quickly applying makeup to Adrian Shearon, senior advisor on international security issues at the Center for Peace Studies and vice chairman of the board of directors of the Foreign Policy Institute, who had come all the way from Philadelphia to apply makeup for the camera, to ensure that he would look more vivid when he appeared as a guest in the studio later.
Adrian Shearon, a member of the conservative think tank of the Republican Party and a strong contender for the position of Assistant for National Security Affairs to the incoming President Bush of the United States, was able to come to the hall, which was obviously not enough for Charles Salmon, his student.
The main reason why the other party was able to appear in the studio of VOX News Network's headquarters in Washington was that at 11:43 noon, the world's largest news agency, the Associated Press, called and asked to become a corporate subscriber of VOX in order to use VOX News Network's breaking news information.
The Associated Press's subscription to VOX does not bring much revenue to VOX. As a news media company, the subscription fee of 30,000 yuan per week seems much higher than the 20 cents per month for ordinary people. But the reward for the high payment is that the Associated Press has the right to quote the news text and pictures released by VOX News Network this week in its own news.
What shocked Wolfe and allowed experts like Adrian to come forward was not because VOX earned $30,000 in weekly subscription fees from the Associated Press, but because VOX News Network was the first cable TV network in the United States that the Associated Press subscribed to in the name of a company.
Yes, before the emergence of VOX, the Associated Press never paid money to subscribe to the three major American TV networks, FOX TV, even CNN News Network which was on the verge of running out of funds, and hundreds of American TV stations.
The Associated Press can be seen as a union of all the well-known newspapers and radio stations in the United States. From the day it was founded, those newspaper dealers united together to monopolize the news, and then sold it as exclusive news to those newspapers that did not join the Associated Press. Later, with the emergence of radio stations, radio industry tycoons were also absorbed into the group and gradually grew stronger. Now it has opened nearly 200 news stations in more than 70 countries, providing detailed news releases and news for nearly 1,000 major newspapers and periodicals around the world. Based on a weekly subscription fee of 30,000, 1,000 copies means 30 million subscription fees.
Such a behemoth that has been making money by monopolizing and selling exclusive news since 1846 has actually become a corporate subscriber of VOX News Network!
This is tantamount to publicly admitting that their own news has a problem of slow timeliness, and that they need to rely on paying subscription fees to obtain the right to use and reprint VOX news!
With subscriptions to the Associated Press and guest comments from experts on international issues, Wolfe felt that there was no pressure to increase the number of subscribers by over 10 million. He even couldn't help but pray that Libya would declare war on the United States immediately so that the reporters on the Kennedy could bring back more exclusive news.
Although VOX News Network has just been launched and its subscriptions are somewhat terrible, its hardware is extremely superior. It has leased three satellite lines to ensure that subscribers around the world can watch it in time. This is why Adrian Hillenken appeared in the guest seats. Before, he just wrote for the Associated Press and published the world's international situation in major newspapers and magazines, but text is not as vivid and convincing as video images. So when he learned that VOX had allowed experts from the Peace Research Center to comment by phone, Adrian Hillenken immediately realized that this was an opportunity to show his ability and eloquence to people around the world who are paying attention to the situation in Libya.
It was decided immediately that he would go on the show and make his speech without agreeing on an appearance fee.
"You should get a more professional host." He calmly sat in the makeup chair, staring at the TV screen, letting the stylist help him, and said to Wolf Tucker beside him: "You should also change some editors. The questions they ask are like children playing house."
Merriman Thomas, the young news host of VOX, had not yet realized that he had been advised to resign by the guest who was about to appear. He was preparing to welcome the guest as required by the director: "OK, thank our reporter. Now, let's go back to the studio. Regarding today's breaking news in the Mediterranean, we have invited Professor Adrian Shearon, a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania, Vice Chairman of the Board of the Foreign Policy Institute of Philadelphia, and an expert in international relations. Please give us a detailed introduction to why this conflict occurred and whether there will be a new overseas war waiting for the United States."
Adrian, with silver hair, walked into the studio and sat in the guest seat. When he saw the camera was pointed at him, he looked at the camera calmly without saying a word and said:
"Regarding the issue of Libya's illegal intrusion of US fighter jets into its territorial waters and airspace, I would like to explain that, in fact, the US government has never recognized the Gulf of Sidra as Libya's territorial waters. This conflict was just a counterattack after the US warship was intercepted by two Libyan fighter jets during its normal navigation on the high seas and showed hostility.
The young host was so shocked by what Adrian said that he almost froze on the spot!
Now, apart from announcing that it had shot down two MiG-23 fighter jets that attempted to attack its own reconnaissance aircraft, the US government has not made any relevant speeches. As a result, the professor in front of him gave his attitude directly to the global audience before the government did?
Fortunately, the director gave a prompt right away. Just as the host was about to start asking relevant questions according to the prompts on the prompt board, the director's face lit up with joy, and he immediately used the microphone to give the host the latest news.
Just when Adrian was wondering if the host had forgotten his words, the host suddenly spoke with a happy face: "This is the VOX news studio. We just received news that a local journalist colleague employed by VOX in North Africa is risking being arrested by the Libyan government for espionage. He sent a phone call to the studio. He should be able to bring more accurate news to those of us who are following this conflict."
Wolfe was so excited that he wanted to rush out of the headquarters and stand on the street and roar!
If, now, all the newspapers in the world have to rely on the Associated Press to supply news articles, then in the future, all the TV stations in the world will choose VOX to supply the latest graphic news!
" Wolf , call him after Tommy asks you to finish your work." The secretary came over and said to Wolf, who had been suppressing his excitement for too long.
Wolfe took the mobile phone from his secretary and asked his secretary, "Tommy? What happened? Isn't he in Los Angeles with his girlfriend?"
The secretary shook his head, indicating that he didn't know, and just smiled and said: "Tommy said he wanted to ask you, are you ready to suffocate for your dream again?"
"Again?" Wolfe was stunned.
