America 1982-Chapter 365 - 35: For the Common Ideal_2
As this question was raised, everyone below Rick in the meeting room looked up in surprise at Tommy, because Tommy’s question seemed off-topic. It seemed that the main concern shouldn’t have been whether Rick had ever produced pornography.
"The performance at the launch made me doubt your work experience, Rick, a hundred and sixty-seven complaints, this is the score you and your colleagues have handed me, it’s a pile of shit!" Tommy continued, seeing everyone looking at him.
Rick nodded, not denying it: "It certainly is a pile of shit, I was just about to have a meeting with them to reflect..."
"You certainly should reflect, why only a hundred and sixty-seven complaint calls! Look at the glory of the FOX network at its launch, over seven hundred complaints, not to mention about twenty cities that erupted into protests specifically against FOX for violating TV program ethical standards. I have always believed that BT Television’s programs are more thrilling and cooler than FOX’s. Reality gave me a loud slap in the face, waking me up. A hundred and sixty-seven, this number is simply too embarrassing to boast about to friends." Tommy interrupted Rick with a face full of outrage.
Rick and his people looked at Tommy, who was full of anger, dumbfounded. They thought Tommy was angry because of the high number of complaint calls, but now they realized that their boss was angry because the number of complaint calls didn’t surpass the number that FOX received at its launch, depriving him of the title of the TV network boss with the most complaint calls at launch.
Rick opened his mouth a few times, only uttering the other person’s name without knowing what else to say: "Tommy... Tom... Tommy..."
"Tell me, what is the result of your reflection, why only a hundred and sixty-seven viewer complaint calls, are you all planning to become sanctimonious American do-gooders?" Tommy drank a sip of coffee, asking impatiently.
It was the same woman who had bravely spoken earlier who reacted the fastest, realizing her boss and all her colleagues had misjudged the reason for the boss’s anger, so she quickly adjusted her phrasing:
"Uh... Mr. Hawk, we haven’t formally discussed it in a meeting, but the result of our private discussions among a few of us was that considering the first day of the broadcast, we were not quite sure about the audience’s taste, so we chose a relatively conservative program schedule. In fact, we had some ideas before, such as introducing heavy storylines from the first episode of Wife Swap Game, like having women flirt with their new husbands and sleep in the same bed, but, as I said, we were afraid the audience wouldn’t be able to handle such plots, so we arranged a conservative lineup for the premiere, and the same goes for other programs... we were conservative in the first episode..." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
"Those complaint calls are the best medals for TV people, you could have stunk... but left a lasting mark in history. Unfortunately, you missed such a precious opportunity," Tommy said with regret and sarcasm after hearing the explanation.
"Just like Johnny Hyde missed out on Marilyn Monroe, as an agent, he created this stunningly beautiful American woman who astonished the world. Just like you love those programs, he loved Monroe, and in order to marry her and share her bed, he spared no effort, even abandoning his family. However, a small oversight led to a lifetime of regret. In her life, probably a hundred men had her like visiting a prostitute, but alas, Johnny Hyde’s name is not among those hundred men. He did the hardest work, worshipped the goddess all his life, yet died anonymously, do you understand? What’s there to boast about? At best, you can boast that you discovered Marilyn Monroe, but what of it? In America, just walk into a bar in the middle of the night, and you can hear at least three drunks boasting they’ve had Monroe."
"In the future, you can only boast like Johnny Hyde, claiming you created those exciting programs, but... that’s about it. BT will continue to grow and other outstanding employees will join, who will also be responsible for these programs. What can you tell them? Saying at the launch we didn’t even break the Australian TV station’s complaint record!"
"Tell them, at our launch, in terms of depth, we couldn’t outplay the three American networks, or out-crazy the Australian network, hence in the threesome, BT could only be stuck in the middle, tossed back and forth, in utter agony? It’s only the two on either side that might be deliriously happy; stuck in the middle, BT is the one suffering in silence."
"Be Tale Crazy, this slogan isn’t printed on the wall for visitors of the TV station, it’s to constantly remind you that BT Television believes in the way of madness, you can’t survive without being a bit mad." Tommy pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and put it to his lips:
"BT Television’s programming presented to the audience can only lead to two outcomes, one is to get the audience so fired up that their blood boils, and the other is to scare them until they’re soft and they spew praises. There is no third option. So, stop giving me these half-hearted, useless goods."
"Tommy, Wolfe from SBG is here to see you." Sophia knocked gently on the door of the meeting room, interrupting Tommy’s angry and vulgar meeting.
"Did you hear that? My best Black friend has come to see me just because BT Television only got a hundred and sixty-seven complaint calls. He’s here to mock you because if he hadn’t resigned, he would definitely have earned more medals than you. His coming is also to remind you, he could replace you at any moment." Tommy stood up and walked out, rotating his fingers at his temple, glancing towards Rick:
