American Fortune Life

The silence of the meeting room could hear the sound of a needle drop, and there was trepidation about a possible "bloodbath," which would be a tragedy not just for the newspaper, but for the entire local news industry. If America's entertainment capital is going to be a local news desert, it's not surprising that elsewhere, California has no comparable news service.

No one will doubt that the layoff knife held high by the young big boss will fall, so the people present will be worried. Once the layoff decision is made, the newspaper and the employees will inevitably go against each other. This is not just about individual individuals, but about About this city, about this institution, about the people who lived here and what they lost.

"Boss, if you are dissatisfied with the black box reporter system, you can carry out reforms, but if they are all cut off, it will undoubtedly make the local government no longer subject to supervision and allow it to operate in an opaque and open environment, providing the greatest help. Losing them would hurt this vital California institution, one of our nation's news powerhouses."

Editor-in-Chief John Carroll's face was solemn, and he wanted to persuade his boss to reconsider the bloodbath decision. After all, it was a matter of hundreds of people's jobs and the influence of the Los Angeles Times in the local area.

"When I acquired the Los Angeles Times, I assumed all of its operating and pension liabilities, which amounted to tens of millions of dollars. Now facing the impact of the financial crisis, I think there is nothing wrong with large-scale layoffs to deal with "significant financial challenges", after all The whole world is doing it, but John, you can rest assured that I won't touch the newsroom. I know exactly what I'm doing!"

Hearing John Carroll's words, Andy just smiled faintly, looked at the other party and said, and at the same time gave the evidence that made everyone present speechless.

Indeed, layoffs have become commonplace in this struggling industry. At the turn of the century, the U.S. newspaper industry employed 424,900 journalists, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. By mid-2009, that number had been cut almost in half, with just 283,200 journalists working for the newspaper. While digital news outlets are growing, they employ far fewer journalists than can fill the void.

These were the best of times and the worst of times for the media. Digitalization makes everything a medium, and artificial intelligence technology is also integrating with traditional media expression, and has accelerated the reshuffle of the media industry. At present, "whether machines will replace text practitioners" has become a concern in the industry. And all of this not only put thousands of journalists out of work, it made the public worse off.

As far as "saving money", layoffs are undoubtedly one of the most direct, most effective, and most commonly used methods, and another method is to make a fuss about wages, such as salary reductions, suspensions, and unpaid leave.

For the Los Angeles Times, the above methods are all decisions that no one is willing to implement. Before, the whole newspaper office was indeed a little bit swayed because it had a wealthy boss as the backing, thinking that they could avoid getting into financial difficulties with others. Brothers and legs were cut off like the newspaper office.

However, no one thought that because of a simple investigation, the trade union, which was so complacent, would go against the boss, and those employees who were more willing to believe in the union, might really be purged this time. Can't bear the strong crush of the young big boss!

"Boss, I propose to significantly increase the number of external writers in the digital department to form a "Los Angeles Times Network" with more sources of information. At the same time, I suggest that the current editorial department of the "Los Angeles Times" focus on newspapers, combined with the parent company Smith Media Group. Partners and content submissions, expand content on news websites, apps, and social media.

Once this plan is implemented, the biggest change will be the establishment of the "Los Angeles Times Network" composed of external writers to achieve a long-term operation model that provides more extensive and in-depth reports without affecting expenses. "

Bieber Angel, the chief business development officer of the electronic version of the Los Angeles Times, who is a newcomer, suddenly proposed to Andy,

It seems that he wanted to use a new topic to divert the tense atmosphere in the meeting room. However, as soon as his proposal came out, everyone in the meeting room who had been silent immediately questioned and opposed it. On the contrary, it was more unacceptable to everyone present than layoffs. generally.

"Hiring outside writers to write articles can damage brand image, devalue news, betray readers..."

"We must not publish news that has no deep value, it is not even news!"

. . . . . .

"Your plan will trigger a strong backlash from unions...they will ask the newspaper to drop the plan..."

"Ha! Interesting!"

With a sneer on his face, Andy suddenly raised the volume, making the meeting room quiet again, ignoring the gazes of everyone, but looked around for a week, and said with a smile: "Just recruiting outsiders to write articles together can cause a strong reaction from the union? Will it be because of damaging the brand image? Belittling news value? Betrayal of readers?

Good guy, it's heinous! "

Following his words, the management present seemed to realize something, their faces suddenly turned pale, and each of them smiled wryly. They knew that this time they really committed suicide. Isn't this self-defeating?

Sure enough, Andy said with a frosty face, "This is my newspaper office! Bieber, I agree with your plan, it's a very good idea!"

After finishing speaking, Andy cast his eyes on the Los Angeles Times publisher and executive who had been silent all this time, frowned slightly and said, "I'll leave the layoffs to you, make a plan for me!"

"Okay, boss."

The other side nodded expressionlessly in agreement, as if he did not reject his decision, Andy nodded slightly, then looked around again for a week, and said in a cold voice: "All the contents of this meeting are company secrets, please keep them secret. , I don’t want to hear any gossip, then, we will wait for the result, I hope you don’t make mistakes that embarrass everyone! Let’s end the meeting.”

Seeing the backs of everyone leaving silently, Andy, who was still sitting on the chair, was smiling, and kept spinning the signature pen in his hand, wondering what he was thinking, until only he and CEO Eddie Harttenstein were left in the conference room.

"This time, whoever stands on the opposite side of us, no matter who it is, get out!"

Eddie Hartenstein's heart shook violently. He looked at the young big boss who was staring at him with Senhan's eyes, opened his mouth, and finally replied bitterly: "Understood, boss."

"It's still the same sentence, I don't need to eat my meal and scold me and oppose my employees. In that case, I might as well donate to the homeless, at least they still know to thank me!"

Saying that, Andy stood up from the chair, walked to Eddie who also stood up, stared at him, reached out and patted his shoulder, and said lightly: "The old ones don't go, the new ones don't come, More than 10,000 unemployed journalists are enough for you to choose, don't worry, there will be no chaos!"

Eddie, the CEO of the Los Angeles Times, already understood that his boss had already raised the butcher knife, dug a hole, and waited for someone to jump in. He already understood that his big boss really wanted to wash the entire newspaper with blood, wipe out all the thorns, and crack down on Trade unions, and even disintegrate the influence of trade unions, and those reporters and editors who don't know the truth will become the biggest victims.

Well, it's not considered a sacrifice. If they don't fight with the trade union, this time, they are really going to kick the iron plate. The person in front of him is the richest man in the world. Get the money, kick out all the troublesome employees, and let the trade unions be beaten to death!

The curtain has been opened, the pit has been dug, and the net has been opened, just waiting for someone to jump out onto the stage, fall into the pit, and be caught by the net. . .

Sitting in the car back to the Petit Versailles Palace, Andy, who squinted his eyes slightly and had a cold smile on his face, chuckled softly, "Hehe, I'm really looking forward to it!"