Chapter 179 Return to First Street in Washington?

After several days of warm weather with clear skies.

On December 15, 1996, it suddenly rained and blew strong winds in Los Angeles.

The famous media tycoon Murdoch originally planned to hold an outdoor banquet in Beverly Hills.

Due to weather conditions, it was moved indoors.

The venue was changed to the InterContinental Hotel in Beverly Hills.

The InterContinental Hotel has several large indoor multi-functional conference halls.

The largest of them is over 2,000 square meters.

News Corporation's year-end celebration reception was held here.

This evening.

The red carpet of the Beverly InterContinental Hotel welcomed a large number of movie stars and celebrities from around Los Angeles.

In the past year, Murdoch's media group has achieved relatively impressive results in the United States.

"Shakespeare in Love", which was co-invested by 20th Century Fox, achieved very good box office results.

What is even more eye-catching is that the video tape of "Shakespeare in Love" is selling very well.

This movie can at least bring more than 200 million US dollars in profits to 20th Century Fox.

There is also a variety show called American Idol.

Since the variety show was aired, it has brought in hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising fees for FOX TV.

There are also some other excellent movies and TV shows.

Therefore, News Corporation has decided to hold its annual meeting tonight and invite all guests who will cooperate with News Corporation this year, in the past or in the future to attend.

With News Corporation performing so well this year, Murdoch, the helmsman, should be in high spirits.

But many people think that Murdoch probably doesn't smile much these days.

Because more than a month ago, Murdoch's second wife Anna suddenly proposed to divorce the Australian tycoon.

For more than a month, Murdoch's divorce from his second wife has been a hot topic.

Although all the media under News Corporation tried their best to remain restrained, The Sun in the UK even pretended to be sarcastic and claimed that even if he was their boss, they still had to report what needed to be reported.

But those in the know all know that they are just trying to cover up their own mistakes.

But Murdoch cannot control the media all over the world after all, even if some of the media have a good relationship with him.

Therefore, there are still many reports that are unfavorable to Murdoch, making it impossible for him to keep a low profile.

This made the News Corporation's annual meeting, which should have been dazzling, appear a little dim.

"Believe me, the closer we get to the millennium, the faster the development of technology will be, and the broader the market will be, so why not take a longer-term view? Especially with the rise of the Internet, it is bound to become a new force in the media very soon."

Milo held a glass of wine and talked to Murdoch.

As one of the media people who has a good relationship with Murdoch, Murdoch had sent out an invitation long ago.

Of course he wouldn't not come.

"Don't you think that IT stocks are a bit overheated right now? Milo, your Yahoo, I remember the last time I read in the newspaper it said that it had a profit of only 10 million US dollars."

Murdoch, dressed in formal attire, raised a question: "But I saw a few days ago that an investment bank on Wall Street valued it at more than 50 billion US dollars... My God, it's unimaginable. Neither News Corporation is worth that much!"

"A little bit, but it's far from overheating. I've been being cautious while being bold in this regard," Milo said confidently.

Murdoch didn't raise an eyebrow, but just looked at Hector who was standing next to him.

Murdoch did not invite Hector, the guy just happened to come to see Milo.

Hearing that Milo was coming to the party, this guy followed along.

When I heard that he was Milo's best friend and also from Boston.

Murdoch was very polite to Hector, and the three of them had been chatting for a while.

Seeing Murdoch's gaze, the latter shrugged and said, "In this regard, Milo and I have always been in agreement. I forgot to tell you, Mr. Rupert, that the First National Bank of Boston is also one of Yahoo's largest shareholders."

"You are indeed a young man," Murdoch laughed. "You are so enterprising. When I was your age, I was just starting my own business."

"The environment is different. We are living in a better era than decades ago, so I still admire you, Mr. Rupert, especially since you can bring many dying newspapers back to life. This alone is enough for people to look up to you."

Facing a media tycoon, Hector spoke very respectfully.

Murdoch laughed again, praised each other a few more times, and then said goodbye and left.

There are many important guests tonight, including the candidate of the Elephant Party.

The candidates and the current White House occupant will debate live in California tomorrow.

As a host, facing many guests.

Murdoch had to take care of everything, and he couldn't stay with Milo for long.

“He doesn’t seem to agree with you,” Hector said after taking a sip of his drink. “Or the Internet, for that matter.”

"After all, he was born in the 1930s. Even the most courageous people will become conservative, cautious, and difficult to accept new things after the passage of time. We will be the same in a few decades," Milo chuckled. "He is also a truly smart man, and he is in the media, so he can see some clues."

Just think about how Murdoch will later denounce online news as thieves, which is enough to illustrate this Australian guy's attitude.

Although that was largely for the development of News Corporation, it was also Murdoch's personal opinion.

“So the future is ours, right?” Hector laughed. “But I still prefer dealing with Murdoch. I met Redstone at a cocktail party in San Francisco last time. Although they are both old foxes in the media industry, Murdoch is not as slippery as Redstone.”

"That's why I've been working with News Corporation." Milo nodded.

The Telecommunications Act passed this year made substantial amendments to the Communications Act of 1934, thus loosening the last ties from large media conglomerates.

Today, the basic structure of the American media industry has been established.

Paladin Media, which has the advantage of foresight, is currently at the bottom of the first group.

But it also leaves Time Warner far behind.

Now in the media sector, Milo has to face larger companies such as Viacom, News Corporation, Disney, Bertelsmann, and General Electric.

General Electric and Bertelsmann can be ignored. The former's main focus is not on media, but NBC is under their control.

Bertelsmann's main businesses are magazine publishing, television broadcasting, and music distribution, and its base is not in North America.

Therefore, Paladin Media’s real competitors are Viacom, Disney and News Corporation, which also own major film companies in Hollywood.

As for Sony, like Bertelsmann, their main base is in Japan, and games are their main source of profit.

Among them, News Corporation has always had good cooperation with Paladin Media.

Even though News Corp now owns Fox and FOX, it doesn't mean they need to fight each other.

In particular, the newspaper sector, which is where News Corporation excels, is their weak point in the United States.

The only acceptable News Corporation in the United States is The New York Times, which likes to use eye-catching headlines.

It just so happened that the newspaper field was exactly the area that Milo was trying to break into in the media industry.

This is also the reason why Milo and Murdoch have a good relationship. Their media groups are now challengers in the American media field.

Compared with other giants, they are all latecomers.

Murdoch only officially entered the US market in the late 1980s.

It was only in the last one or two years that it gained a firm foothold.

Not to mention Milo.

Paladin Media Group has not yet been fully integrated.

Judging from the scale, it seems that it can already be included in the list, but the power it can exert is only half at most.

It’s because Milo’s rise was too fast.

Before TBS was fully acquired, it immediately took over MCA, which was suffering from heavy losses.

If Milo had not gained a lot in Southeast Asia this time, the investment from MCA and TBS alone would have given him a huge headache.

So, Paladin Media and News Corp, before either one became dominant.

Even if there is a conflict, the two will try their best to keep it within a controllable range.

"How do you feel?" When Hector left to talk to other people.

As Milo's female self, Monica returns to him.

"She's well-spoken, very smart and sophisticated," Monica commented after thinking for a moment. "It's rare to see such a shrewd Asian woman. Murdoch is obviously looking for a partner, not a wife."

When the men were chatting just now.

Murdoch's female companion.

A young Asian woman named Wendy Deng chatted with Monica and the others.

Oh, although Hector came with Milo, he also brought a female companion.

It is said that she is his female secretary, but she is a middle-aged secretary in her forties with a very decent posture and manners.

Unless Hector had a submissive fetish that Milo didn't know about, it really could have been just a female companion.

What Milo had just asked was Monica's evaluation of Murdoch's new female companion.

The media is now saying that it was this person's arrival that squeezed out Murdoch's second wife.

In his previous life, Milo had only watched the news.

There was a chance in this life, and he could also train Monica, so he asked Monica to observe.

At this moment, Milo felt that her words were quite insightful.

Milo also doesn't think Murdoch is in love with Wendy Dunn.

Or maybe he cheated on her simply because he fell in love with her.

As a man who created a huge media empire, profit-first thinking is ingrained in his bones.

There have been rumors before that Anna wanted to retire and enjoy life, which led to conflicts with Murdoch.

There is no need to investigate whether these gossips are true or false. In any case, it is certain that Wendy Deng is a third party.

It can be seen from how she settled in the United States that she is very skilled in this regard.

With ambition, ability and self-awareness, Murdoch would naturally want a younger, more attractive, more intelligent and capable partner to continue to maintain his media empire.

Successful people have the privilege of not being blamed, and Milo had no ill feelings towards her.

I originally wanted to make fun of Su Shi's poem, but thinking about it, it seems a bit abrupt.

Besides, no one present except him and Wendy Deng would probably know the story behind this, so they just let it go.

Moreover, although I only talked to that person for a few sentences.

Milo could still conclude that even if he teased her with the saying "one pear tree overshadows a crabapple tree", she would be able to divert the conversation without showing any expression.

And to be honest, this kind of thing seems to be more common in the United States...

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

"Hey, Milo, there you are! Oh! Beautiful lady, I hope my arrival didn't disturb your time with Milo!"

A slightly abrupt voice suddenly interrupted.

Interrupting the conversation between Milo and Monica.

Milo and Monica looked over and saw an old white man with a round face and brown and white hair walking over surrounded by a group of people.

Murdoch, who had just left, was even with him at this moment.

When she saw this person, Monica's beautiful eyes were full of surprise.

Milo raised his eyebrows, then smiled and said, "If it were someone else, I wouldn't want him to disturb my date with the beautiful lady. But if it's you, Mr. Dole, I don't think it's a disturbance. Good evening, Mr. Dole, I'm Milo Blackburn. My grandfather John Blackburn mentioned you to me. He said that he was defeated by you back then, and he was convinced."

As Milo made his long opening remarks, he shook hands with perhaps the most senior politician at Murdoch's party tonight.

Bob Dole, the victim of the competition launched by the Elephant Party and Zipperton this year.

Most people think that he will only repeat the same three failures in 1976, 1980 and 1988 this year.

That's right, including this year, Bob has participated in four US elections.

This is a unique record.

These records and the competition with Zipton this year make people feel that Dole is a victim of the Elephant Party.

But in fact, this person is one of the top leaders of the Elephant Party.

If he wasn't a big shot, it would be impossible for him to fail three times in a row.

He could be pushed to run for a fourth term this year.

"Is that what John said about me?"

“Ahahahaha!” Bob Dole seemed reluctant to let go of Milo’s hand. “Then I will forgive him for the punch he gave me 13 years ago.”

Seeing Milo's surprised expression, the old man explained: "It seems you don't know, John didn't tell you."

"Personally, I think your grandfather has the same personality as you. He lost to me that time and punched me when he was leaving the meeting room door!"

Milo: “…”

Was my grandfather this irritable before? I can't tell.

It seems that the mystery of where the original body's violent temper came from can be solved.

Milo didn't know whether what Bob Dole said was true or not.

However, my grandfather did lose his position as the whip of the Elephant Party in 1983.

And that's what put Grandpa Blackburn Sr. into semi-retirement.

This happened just after he lost the competition with this Bob Dole.

"He certainly didn't tell me. But he told me that he had a very good relationship with you, Mr. Dole."

Milo smiled and said calmly, "He also told me that he often talks to you on the phone."

"He didn't lie to you. We even just talked on the phone this morning!" Bob Dole said with a hearty laugh.

Looking at the old man like this, Milo thought that there was a reason why this guy was called the noblest loser in the presidential election in American history by the media.

Just this kind of hearty and open-minded smile is something that few people can act out.

Milo hadn't just lied to Bob Dole.

Old Blackburn did occasionally mention Bob to Milo.

Old Blackburn is in semi-retirement within the Elephant Party and is the Elephant Party boss he has the most contact with.

One of them is Bob Dole, who is even an ally to some extent.

This is also the reason why Milo did not give a cold response to the enthusiastic Bob Dole because he was actually supporting Zipperton.

As for what Bob Dole said just now, that old Blackburn had beaten him before.

Milo didn't know.

By this time, Bob had just let go of Milo's hands.

Unconsciously, or inevitably.

The conversation and interaction between the old and the young attracted the attention of everyone in the Golden Banquet Hall of the InterContinental Hotel.

Milo was already very eye-catching at the party.

As a result, Bob Dole, now one of the two most frequently televised men in the country, ran up to Milo to talk to him and shake his hand.

And they look very intimate.

If others don't pay attention to this, then they are absolutely blind.

Or maybe they don’t know each other and don’t know the identities of these two people.

"Honestly, you look a lot like John when he was young."

After Bob let go of Milo's hand, his eyes looked somewhat nostalgic, "But you are taller and more handsome."

"It's the same thing as the bacterial colonies that we study at the Wyss Institute for Biological Studies, where each new generation is stronger than the younger one."

Milo smiled: "It's the same with us."

"It's different." Bob suddenly sighed: "I think it's different. John lost to me back then. But now, it's obvious that Dirk lost to Joseph. Not to mention that Dirk's son is compared with you..."

Bob Dole talking about his son and grandson.

Bob's son Dirk is in business and is doing well with Bob's help.

But in Bob Dole's heart, Joseph, who did not go into politics, was obviously better.

Not to mention grandchildren.

There is no grandson in the whole United States who can compare with old Blackburn's grandson.

The same guys who laughed at old Blackburn for getting so angry after his failure that he punched Bob Dole three times and was ostracized by everyone.

Now everyone is envious of old Blackburn for having such a good grandson.

Things change over time, but unfortunately there is no such saying in the United States.

Otherwise they would probably say that now.

At this moment, someone suddenly walked up to Murdoch behind Bob Dole and said something in his ear.

From Milo's angle, he could see Murdoch's face change drastically.

At this time, Bob Dole suddenly whispered to Milo: "Dear Milo, what happened back then made your grandfather very angry and disappointed. It also made your father quit the Elephant Party and become a Donkey Party."

"But the Blackburns have been a party to the Elephants for a long time."

"Have you ever considered leading Blackburn back to 310 First Street?"

After saying this, he suddenly looked at Monica who was a little excited beside Milo.

Then he smiled and looked at Milo again, "For example, the beautiful lady next to you. If she is willing, I think her image is very suitable to be the news spokesperson of the Elephant Party."

Monica was completely confused at this time.

She was so excited about being brought by Milo to attend the party tonight that she hadn't slept well for several nights.

At the banquet, I met one real big shot after another.

All this made her a little excited.

At this moment, facing Bob Dole, a real American boss.

He even said something like that, and Monica felt like her brain was shutting down.

Fortunately, she is more rational after all.

And I have followed Milo for more than a year and have seen many big scenes.

So no matter how fast her heartbeat accelerated, she could still smile stiffly without saying a word.

Just at this moment.

Murdoch's expression changed, and he walked up to Bob Dole and spoke in a low voice.

Milo had good hearing, and Murdoch didn't keep his voice down very much.

So what Milo heard Murdoch say to Bob Dole was—

"Zipperton is here."

(End of this chapter)