American Gossip King

Chapter 74 A Fair Bet

Acton Estate, a luxurious mansion on the outskirts of Los Angeles.

Inside the luxurious living room of the manor.

Dear Chandler sat on the sofa by the fireplace.

This was a middle-aged man who was fairly handsome, well-groomed, and had a refined demeanor.

His face darkened. "I will not agree to this bet. The Los Angeles Times is our foundation, and no matter how strong the temptation, we cannot stake our core business on it."

"Dill, you're too cowardly. That's why you can't expand the Times any further. I shouldn't have entrusted it to you!"

Leaning against the bar counter in the living room, Dandy Acton sipped his white wine and smoked a cigar with disdain.

The Los Angeles Times was founded by Georgie Acton, also known as Acton the Elder. He had two sons and a daughter: Dandy Acton, Alec Acton, and Isidora Acton.

They're all worthless junk.

Deer Chandler, the son-in-law of Acton the elder, defeated his two brothers-in-law to seize control of the Times and led it to grow into one of the most powerful newspapers in the United States today.

How dare you say I didn't make the Times stronger?

However, the problem is that although he holds the position of chairman, he does not have the corresponding shares.

In such important matters, the chairman's position is useless; it's the shareholding that matters.

Deer Chandler said helplessly, "I just want to remind you of one thing: the bet was made by Ian Carr, which means he has enough confidence. Considering his performance over this period, he is very good at digging up big stories, and his bet is to outsell us in a single day... I think he has a chance of doing it."

Dandy Acton scoffed, "Nonsense, of course he's confident, but the reach of news is never the same as sales! Deere, you know the newspaper industry isn't the internet. Expanding a newspaper requires more than just good news; it also needs sufficient distribution channels. The Los Angeles Times' decades-long cultivation of its channels and loyal users isn't so easily replaced."

Dear Chandler immediately replied, "But he can expand the channels."

Since a bet is to be made, it is impossible to do so without any additional conditions.

For example, you can't arbitrarily lower prices to seize market share; you can't win a bet this way.

However, channel expansion cannot be restricted; I can't just stop developing because of a bet!

Israel said, "The distribution channels are already saturated, and Ian Carl can't expand at will. In fact, even if the United States were hit by an atomic bomb right now, the sales of the Herald would not be able to surpass ours. He needs a distribution foundation! If his distribution channels really improve to a point where they can threaten us, then I have a way to deal with it."

Dear Chandler asked, "What method?"

"We can acquire trending news stories from our peers."

Dear Chandler understood.

With insufficient distribution channels, it's impossible for the First Report to win over the Times with just one or two hit articles.

Of course, you can expand your channels, but the Times can also buy news from its peers at high prices, using quantity to beat quality—this is equivalent to a disguised price reduction, and those greedy peers will inevitably open their bloody mouths and bite off a piece of flesh from the Times.

But it can theoretically prevent the loss of the time stamp.

As for Ian Carl, he couldn't possibly have that much money to do that, and he doesn't even have that many connections.

He developed too quickly, and many of his peers were wary of him and hostile towards him. They would be happy to see Ian die rather than support him—people are willing to join forces with the strong, but only if that strong person does not threaten them.

Ian Carl made many of his peers wary of him; no matter how strong he was, he could never defeat all of them working together.

Even so, Dear Chandler still disliked betting!

That was the cautious instinct honed over many years of experience.

Deer Chandler thought for a moment and said, "The rules don't allow for violations. If the Dubon Group doesn't agree, we can't do this."

Dubang Group owns only 30% of the shares and has little say in most cases, but the rights of shareholders still exist.

Acquiring competitors at high prices would cause the company to suffer losses and would not be considered legitimate business practice. If Dubang Group is not happy about this, it has the right to file a lawsuit, in which case it will still lose the bet. The bet must be legal and cannot be made at the expense of normal profits. If the internal shareholders file a lawsuit, it will confirm that the bet is cheated, and the company will definitely lose the bet.

Israel smiled: "I can convince them."

Dear Chandler asked, "What does Father mean?"

Isidora Acton: "He thought it was acceptable."

Deer Chandler looked helplessly at his two brothers-in-law, his wife, and an assistant beside him.

Their eyes gleamed with greed and excitement.

Everyone tends to accept...

Greed and pressure are the two biggest driving forces that make people take risks.

Deer Chandler sighed helplessly, "Since you've already made your decision, why bother asking for my opinion?"

........................

Wilmington, Delaware.

The latest novel is first published here!

Today, a very special guest came to the board meeting at the headquarters of the Dubong Group: Gasker.

The old man smiled at everyone and said in a gentle voice, "Ian Karl is the most outstanding young man I have ever met. I'm sure you all know about his brilliance and legend, so I don't need to say more."

He looked at everyone, his expression calm and confident:

"If Ian Carr were to take charge of the Los Angeles Times, he would make it even better and more outstanding, and I believe none of you would doubt that."

All the directors nodded in unison.

Ian Carr's personal reputation far exceeded the development of the Los Angeles Herald, so no one doubted his abilities—except for the Acton family themselves.

Gaskell continued, "So gentlemen, my proposal is simple: let them have a fair bet. If he loses, let him be a shooting star. If he wins, he will lead the Times to even greater glory and bring you all even greater profits."

One board member said, "But we've been working with the Times for a long time and don't know Ian Carl yet."

Gaskell smiled: "What you need to understand is not Ian Carl's character, but his abilities... The Acton family has no right to sacrifice shareholder interests for their own benefit. Besides, even if they win, they won't give you the Herald. You gain nothing from this bet, but it will actually reduce the Times' profits. It's possible that the Acton family wins the Herald, but the Times' 01 revenue turns into a loss, and you will also pay the price."

All the directors nodded in unison, agreeing.

One director said, "We can get the Acton family to compensate us."

Gaskell countered, "How much can they compensate? The Acton family doesn't have that much money, and they can't win their bet with Ian Carl without enough funds. Besides, even if they could come up with a hundred million, would they give you that much? Do you need a hundred million, or a superior company under the leadership of a media genius?"

Everyone understood this principle, so they fell silent again.

Another board member said, "But we're still friends with old Acton!"

Gasker offered another incentive: "Lino Bank is very willing to provide loans to high-quality companies like Dubon."

All the directors laughed at the same time.

Finally, the chairman of Dubang Group laughed loudly, "That's excellent! A bet should be made in a fair and reasonable environment, and what Dubang needs to do is uphold this fairness. I think this is very appropriate!"

Gaskell smiled: "Then, it's a pleasure to work with you."

"It's a pleasure working with you!"

(End of this chapter)