America 1982-Chapter 358 - 33: Goodnight, America_4
"I understand, Jim, I get it, that the big three networks haven’t created their own news channels for a reason, right?" Tommy said with a smile, looking earnestly at Jim, his face full of gratitude.
Seeing the expression on Tommy’s face, Jim’s mood shifted abruptly, his tone growing harsher, "You don’t understand! I know you’ve got your excuses ready for what comes next, and all I can do is talk! Because I’m aware it’s going to cost a fortune. Cable TV isn’t like these free networks; you have to fork over real cash to lease satellites, and the annual cost for satellite bandwidth leasing is at least thirty million! With over three hundred employees at CNN, labor is another huge expense, right? And you! You’d never pay out of your own pocket. You just say to me, ’Jim, I’ve got a fucking great idea; it just needs some cash, you figure it out...’ I’m your fucking nanny, always there when you shit out something you call a ’great idea’ and cry out, ’Jim, come use these things called bills to wipe my ass! Fuck!’"
At Jim’s words, Susan and Benjamin couldn’t help but laugh, knowing from Jim’s crazed expression and angry tone that Tommy’s schemes must have made Jim’s position anything but comfortable over the years.
"I don’t want to cover just domestic news. I mean, of course, domestic subscribers are important too. My BT network takes care of gathering the lower-class Black audience, this serious news network will draw in the middle-class and above domestic subscribers, but initially, the main audience will be overseas English-speaking subscribers. I mean, every country has its own news channels, but there seems to be no genuinely international English-language news network," Tommy began, addressing the three of them.
Benjamin nodded slightly before asking, "Can you elaborate?"
"The Soviet Union won’t last much longer," Tommy said deeply, taking a drag on his cigarette, "The newspapers are saying that the Baltic states have already erupted in a wave of independence movements, rebellions are breaking out in the Caucasus, this behemoth standing opposite the United States, owning the other half of the Earth, is already teetering—it’s just uncertain which day it will finally fall."
"At the time of this colossal entity’s collapse, there will be countless major news stories—such as the succession of various member states, German unification, a coup in Moscow, or perhaps Gorbachev defecting to America. Any kind of news could happen, and with just two or three major scoops, if our network can break the news globally first, plenty of regional news stations that can’t get news in time will seek partnerships with us. There will be a multitude of overseas English-speaking subscribers, willing to pay. We’ll be like a mother to those news stations abroad; we provide the news, and they become our children. America’s largest network, CBS, only has slightly over three hundred affiliate stations, and that’s just within America. But what if from the outset, we set our sights overseas?"
Neither the fall of the Berlin Wall nor the dissolution of the Soviet Union seemed like exaggerations to Jim, Susan, or Benjamin. In fact, as Tommy put it, the Soviet Union was now like a rotten old man teetering on the brink of death, with many American newspapers discussing the topic with a nonchalant tone—something unthinkable just two years ago when the mere mention of Soviet military exercises sent shivers down the world’s spine.
In the eyes of Americans, the Soviet Union was now seen as a country similar to America but far worse off. Their commonality, in the minds of ordinary Americans, lay in America’s past quagmire in Vietnam—a place most couldn’t even find on a map—and the Soviet Union’s predicament in another such obscure place, Afghanistan.
The Soviet Union’s failure in Afghanistan allowed most ordinary Americans to breathe a sigh of relief; if they couldn’t defeat Afghanistan, it was unlikely they could threaten America.
Benjamin glanced at the TV where a presenter was fervently discussing Black news, but his mind was pondering Tommy’s concept of a global news network.
As Tommy mentioned, there truly isn’t a global English-language news network in the world. The only somewhat global presence is the Murdoch Group’s network, which has almost monopolized the market in Europe’s England and Australasia’s Australia. Thatcher’s secure position as the Prime Minister of England was largely due to Murdoch Group’s sweeping propaganda, ensuring her voice and image appeared far more frequently to British citizens than her competitors. As for Murdoch’s home country, Australia—both political parties must cater to Murdoch’s whims; he decides which candidate appears most to the voters.
But even the ambitious Murdoch Group hadn’t dared to hastily construct a global English-language news TV network, instead opting for a steady approach. In Australia, they fully grasped control of public opinion, making politicians bow and scrape before securing themselves against worries. Only then did they move aggressively into England, battling against British media firms. After settling England, they dared to bring the power of two countries to land in America. Even so, the financiers providing Murdoch with loans remained on edge. Both Australia and England, successful as they may have been for Murdoch, held no comparison to America. And indeed, Murdoch found nothing but tough going in America.
Benjamin believed that it wasn’t for lack of desire that his Jewish counterpart didn’t take the leap, but fear—the risk of Tommy’s strategy was far higher than playing it safe. Saddled with nearly ten billion US dollars in debt, the financially-strapped Murdoch Group in recent years didn’t dare risk the move. Coming from Wall Street, Benjamin was aware that many investment banks were considering withdrawing their support due to the group’s significant losses and cash acquisitions.
