Chapter 313 The New Owner of the New York Daily News
Roberto Benigni was originally a comedy news presenter on Italian-language television in New York, partnering with Isabella Rossellini. Later in Italy, he helped Ronald and Gale Hurd find a man who had a fever in a hotel.
of Cameron.
Ronald has not been in contact with him for a long time, mainly because his English is very bad and he often cannot speak a complete sentence. And Ronald's Italian is much worse than his English.
This time they both became judges of the West Berlin Film Festival. The two chatted randomly on the phone for several minutes, but they still didn't understand what the other party was going to say. Fortunately, his wife Nicoletta Braschi happened to be home.
, the two agreed to meet and chat in West Berlin (with his wife acting as translator, of course).
…
Several important films of Daydream are moving forward as planned. The filming of Dances with Wolves has been completed, and Kevin Costner returned to Los Angeles and became an apprentice again in the editing room and recording studio.
Peter Buffy and his mentor John Barry taught Costner many basics of film scoring. Editor Neil Travers slowly taught Costner more basic editing techniques.
The editor of the TV series "Roots" at that time admired Costner's talent very much and reported to Daydream that Costner worked well with him.
For the actor-turned-director's debut film, Costner's mentality is very reassuring. As long as the star can be humble and consult professionals, his sense of responsibility and talent will allow him to ensure a high-quality completion of the film.
As for "The Silence of the Lambs", Jonathan Demme doesn't have to worry about Ronald at all. He is already familiar with all aspects of film production. As long as Demme still has self-respect for the film, he doesn't have to worry about the artistry of the film.
.Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster both rushed to the Virginia location to start filming.
Ronald planned to only go to the set for a symbolic visit, to fulfill his nominal duties as a producer. The task of visiting the studio was very low on the list of importance in Ronald's itinerary. It was the most important thing for him in the New Year.
The thing is still in New York.
Before the New Year's holiday, Ronald ran to 450 West 33rd Street in Manhattan, New York. It is also called the West Side of Manhattan. The building is next to the famous Pennsylvania Station. The bottom of the building actually spans the train tracks. Below is
North River Tunnel and New York Western Railroad.
The transportation here is convenient, but the noise is not small. The property is very spacious and the rent is not expensive, but after all, the conditions are very different from the commercial center not far away. Therefore, the tenants are institutions without money.
Take, for example, Ronald's latest business, the headquarters and editorial offices of the New York Daily News.
"This will be the office of the editorial department in the future. This is the management department. This is the communications department responsible for contacting several reporter stations. The offices opposite are reserved for WPIX-TV and radio stations..."
Ronald's former manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ed Bastian, who helped Ronald complete the acquisition of the Daily News, was showing Ronald around the new newspaper offices. He would also become
General Manager of the New York Daily News, as well as the local television stations affiliated with the group.
The entire Daily News editorial team has been retained. James Wells, one of the original editors, was promoted to editor-in-chief. The newspaper will continue to maintain a moderate center-right stance and operate in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, etc.
There are reporters' seats in the local police station to report on public security cases and breaking news that readers are concerned about at any time.
Most office buildings in New York have no special design, a boxy box with glass walls. This design is best for offices with several corners around it.
The office is divided into several functional areas. One corner is the planning room of the TV station. WPIX-TV is a local TV station that mainly produces local news, TV series and a small amount of its own programs.
But after Ronald acquired it, Daydream's production power can be practiced here, starting from a small TV station, training its own production team and filling in some time slots.
Another corner is the editor's office, which is the heart of daily news. News reports from various reporters must be checked here, checked from different sources, and then signed by the team of editor-in-chief James Wells before they can be released.
Publish it in tomorrow's newspaper.
The newspaper cannot go out of print, so it is still working in the original "Daily News Newspaper Building" on East 42nd Street. After the last issue is published in 1989, the entire newspaper will be moved to the new office building.
Ronald's acquisition, of course, did not include the most valuable real estate part of the Daily News. He just bought a well-run newspaper.
Many people believe that New York has four major newspapers, which is actually more than necessary. The mayoral election and general election every four years will give the media more advertising business in that year. But in other small election years, in fact,
Newspapers all lose money.
Therefore, after the property was no longer needed, Ed Bastian's acquisition team bought the newspaper at a very cheap price without spending much effort.
As for WPIX-TV, it is also a very small TV station limited to New York City. It mainly attracts viewers with cheap news obtained from the police department and baseball broadcasts. It has no competitors and won the contract.
There is only WPIX-FM station, which Ed Bastian's team has put a lot of effort into. This is the most profitable part of the Daily News Group. It plays serious music and some reports on Manhattan traffic conditions, which attracts
There are quite a few advertisers.
The third corner is the site of the radio station. The one with the best conditions among the three corners has some radio equipment. In addition to the radio reporter team that connects to the traffic conditions on location, it is also connected to the police station, weather station, Associated Press and other reporters.
If there is any major news on the website, it can be sent to the newspaper office through the private line first.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The last corner, where the windows face the Hudson River and have the best view, is reserved for senior executives of the Daily News Group.
"This will be your office as chairman from now on..." Ed Bastian pointed to the largest office in the corner and said to Ronald.
Ronald walked in and took a seat. The scenery here was really good. The Hudson River was sparkling, and his desk faced the large front desk of the entire office area.
"Ha, you brought this here too?"
"Yeah, they didn't appreciate it if they stayed on the ground floor of the Daily News building, so I moved them all here through negotiation..."
Ed Bastian smiled and walked to the door with Ronald, where daily staff and visitors would get on and off the elevator.
In front of the front desk, next to the elevator, there were two huge pieces of equipment. One was a globe, which could also rotate. The other was a meteorological instrument, which happened to be paired with the globe.
These two instruments have appeared in Hollywood movies before, including the first popular comic book adaptation movie "Superman"
The "Daily Planet" where Clark Kent and Lois Lane worked was based on the prototype of the "New York Daily News". The appearance of the Daily Planet was shot in the Daily News building.
A big guy who also appeared at the front desk of the Daily Planet in the movie.
Ronald was very satisfied that the office of his new industry still had some Hollywood elements. Looking at the empty office, it would soon become lively.
"Rich Lake will be coming over later, do you want to talk to her?" Ed Bastian said to Ronald again.
Richie Lake was Ronald's former fat girl assistant. She originally made her debut in the low-budget daydream movie "Hairspray". After her debut, she was unable to find a career in the film industry due to her body shape, so she worked as a actress for a while.
Nader's personal assistant.
When she worked as an assistant, Ronald was quite satisfied. The files were always organized clearly, the schedule was never wrong, and most importantly, the coffee always tasted good...
But Richie Lake refused to give up her dream of becoming a star. She still wanted to enter Hollywood as always. For this reason, she started to lose weight. Because the effect of exercise was not satisfactory, she also started taking weight loss pills...
After Ronald found out, he was still very concerned about this assistant. While asking her to stop taking diet pills, he also found a transitional career for her, becoming a program host at the new WPIX-TV.
Anyway, small TV stations don’t have high requirements for the quality of TV programs. If Rich Lake is a little fatter, it will have no impact on his role as a host. Oprah Winfrey, the host of the program who is now loved by black audiences, is just a fat person.
.She lost 67 pounds last year and her personal image has improved a lot.
However, the ratings of the show did not increase much because of her weight loss success. On the contrary, some viewers expressed dissatisfaction. So starting this year, her weight began to increase visibly...
"Is she going to work today too? I'm a little free, so I can meet her..." Ronald nodded and agreed. He could give some encouragement to fat girl Lake...
"Okay, I'll call him..."
Ed Bastian ran next door and made a call in his general manager's office. Ronald saw that his office was half the size of his own, and there were all kinds of documents in it, taking up a large space.
There is also a large wooden board on the other side, with some work plans of various media outlets nailed on it. There is also a large table in the middle space, which serves as a conference room.
"Richie is on her way, and she said she wanted to thank you in person..." Ed Bastian came over to reply to Ronald, and they just happened to have lunch.
"The one I want to thank is actually you..." Ronald walked to the door of the office, looked at the metal nameplate of Ed Bastian on the door, and pulled it off with a strong click.
"I won't come to the office too many times in the future. From now on, you can use my office and the original office will be used as a conference room." Ronald walked to the door of his office again and took off his name tag with a click.
.
"This... is not good..." Ed Bastian has always worked in a large company, and large companies are always hierarchical. Even if the chairman doesn't come often, the office must be bigger than the general manager's.
"There's nothing wrong with it. I'll just wait for you to run the business well. When we expand the office area, we can rent out the upper floors. Then I can leave as much space as you want for me."
…
"Hahaha, Ronald, no... The chairman is such a person. When he is daydreaming, his own office is often used as a conference room..." Rich Lake arrived quickly, and the three
He ordered takeout from McDonald's in the office and ate it in the office.
"Ronald is a very rare kind of manager. I admire him very much..." Ed Bastian looked at the two metal nameplates on the table and flattered him from the bottom of his heart.
It is said that leaders must have charisma, but truly charismatic leaders are very rare in American companies. Most of them are packaged by corporate public relations departments. People like Ronald who can really serve
For the sake of subordinates, after setting a strategic direction, you create conditions and allocate resources for subordinates, and you will not get angry if there are any minor problems. That is the charm of being one of the best.
"Ronald, can you give me some advice?" Rich Lake also felt that a boss like Ronald was rare. Now that he is a host on a TV station, he has to hold on to his thick legs and ask for advice.
On the one hand, Ronald often has fantastic ideas, on the other hand, it is also a very smart move to show his relationship with the chairman in front of the general manager.
The show hosted by Rich Lake is the most popular live show now. Oprah's model, there is a live audience below, and then each episode invites guests or discusses a certain hot issue.
The cost of this form is not high. As long as the audience has the purchasing power, advertisers will come to advertise for such live shows.
"I don't have any advice. TV shows are not like movies. You don't have many opportunities to perform, so the most important thing is to be yourself..."
Ronald said that there was no advice, but he still gave a few words. He had seen Lake's program plan. The target audience for her program was teenagers, college students, or young people who had just entered society.
They are a group of young people now called Generation
They watch music videos on MTV, watch Hollywood videos, and buy products promoted in advertisements. In general, their perceptions are very different from those of the previous generation.
For this group of people, there are no programs specially created for them on television, so Ronald also supports Lake's program positioning. This is a live show like MTV.
The name of the show is called The Richie Lake Show, and Ronald has also contacted the guest for the first episode, who is the most impressive idol of this group of Generation X teenagers - Brooke Shields.
With a new agent, Brooke's career arrangement is much better now than when her mother was messing around like that. Brooke Shields' IQ is not low, otherwise she would not be able to get into Princeton. Most of the time, she lacks father's love.
Therefore, I lack the courage to live. I know clearly what is right, but I dare not stray too far from the circle defined by my mother.
After becoming independent this time, Brooke quickly showed her abilities with her new agent. She attended many fashion shows and participated in many charity galas. She didn't need an agent to worry about, she just relied on her own connections and abilities.
Created a situation of returning to the celebrity news page.
The new agent is very satisfied with her and hit it off with WPIX-TV's new talk show this time. Both parties are satisfied with the effect that the premiere can bring.
When it comes to this business, Ronald takes a hands-off approach. Bastian is very capable and can easily manage a small media company consisting of a daily news, TV station, and radio station.
Giving talents a stage and respect is the best management method for an industry whose business model has stabilized.
In short, this merger and acquisition was tight on the outside but loose on the inside, and the owner changed hands, which hardly alarmed any outsiders. The only business that Ronald directly intervened in was to let the Staten Island Advance, which was dominated by Douglas Jr.'s family, reach a news agreement with the Daily News.
Full cooperation. From now on, Forward Newspaper will be equal to a branch of the Daily News.
After finishing this matter, Ronald went to visit the "Silence of the Lambs" crew in Virginia. When he got off the plane, Ronald saw the heroine Jodie Foster waiting for him there.
"Why are you here? Don't you have to film today?" Ronald felt tight in his heart at such a high "courtesy"...
"No, I almost don't have to film any opposite scenes. I just monologue in front of the camera every day... Today is Anthony's turn to monologue..."
"Huh?" When Ronald heard this, he knew that Jodie Foster was very dissatisfied with the director. Did Jonathan Demme deliberately neglect her and downgrade his role?
It's unlikely. Jonathan Demme is relatively speaking, a very upright gentleman in Hollywood. He often uses various methods to mobilize actors. Maybe he is using some method to stimulate Foster's acting skills.
"Really? Jonathan is my senior brother. I learned a lot from him. Let's go to the set together and have a look..."