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The Gulf War was an unprecedented modern, high-tech military lesson, and at the same time a fierce contest for influence in the global media. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

On January 16, at 23:35 GMT, ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN invariably presented the live situation of the possible Gulf War to the audience through satellite broadcast.

How difficult is this?

CBS was the first to come out with its war correspondent Dan Rather being unable to reach Pisé, a front-line correspondent stationed in Baghdad. Embarrassed, he could only face the camera, repeatedly quoting the latest news from the Associated Press.

Then, not long after, ABC's Gray Shepard, who was talking about the war, suddenly disappeared from the screen, and NBC's Aspel, after a few words, suddenly lost his voice.

In stark contrast to the poor performance of these three traditional television networks, CNN went on to broadcast live for 17 hours in a row, making it the first time in the world that the live broadcast of the multinational coalition air raid on Baghdad was watched simultaneously, and the limelight immediately overshadowed all peers, and its logo was deeply imprinted in the minds of all viewers.

It has to be said that although everyone has made a lot of preparations for the news coverage of the Gulf War, the degree of adequacy is still different.

CNN, which had been preparing for a rainy day, had obtained six satellite phones from Iraqi officials for hundreds of thousands of dollars through various connections a few months before the outbreak of the war.

When the multinational forces launched large-scale air strikes, all international telecommunications lines in Iraq and Kuwait were cut off, and journalists from all over the world in the Middle East could rely on a single telephone line from Iraq to Amman, the capital of Jordan.

This sudden change left various media organizations helpless, and only CNN was left with a steady stream of news about Iraq, which was equivalent to indirectly obtaining the exclusive right to report on the Gulf War and becoming the only source of information about Iraq in the world.

Even when US Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney was asked about the bombing of Baghdad by US planes at his first war briefing, he half-jokingly replied: "The most detailed report so far has come from CNN." According to CNN reporters from their hotels in Baghdad, the airstrike was highly accurate and quite successful. At least, that's what CNN says. “

US President George W. Bush even learned through the live broadcast of CNN that Baghdad had been hit by an air strike by the multinational force.

CNN reporters like John Holliman and Peter Arnett in Baghdad did a great job, reporting via satellite phone five minutes after the first round of airstrikes: "It looks like it's really going on, Baghdad is now on the lights, I'm going back to the window now and I'm going to see what's going on...... I saw a building in the distance being hit by a missile, emitting a blinding fire,"

This immersive sense of the war scene naturally makes CNN, which reports news around the clock, a source of news that the general public and other media cannot miss.

With its unique ability to convey the internal situation in Iraq, CNN has won the great favor of the US administration and military.

Because during the Vietnam War, uncontrolled media opinion led to a wave of anti-war in the country, so during the Gulf War, the US administration and military imposed very strict restrictions on the so-called freedom of the press~ -- most news reports came from press conferences organized by the military; only selected reporters were allowed to visit the front line and interview soldiers, and officers were always present during the interviews.

The fact that these interviews must be approved by the army before they are conducted and that they are subject to military inspection after the interviews has been interpreted as "to prevent Iraq from obtaining classified information".

Under such circumstances, CNN, which has the exclusive coverage of Iraq's internal information, can also get the latest authoritative information from the United States, the dominant party on the other side of the war, and directly give it wings.

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who was hiding in an underground bunker, tuned his television to CNN's channel to keep up with the latest developments in the United States.

Leaders in other Middle Eastern countries have mostly ordered their aides to monitor CNN's coverage 24 hours a day, and to formulate military and diplomatic countermeasures as soon as they find valuable and important news.

It's a two-way approach that has allowed CNN to become the world's most influential media outlet.

It must be pointed out that this influence is not imaginary, but substantial.

Every time CNN, which has the authority to hold the authority of the real "uncrowned king," throws up a unique and tricky question, both the multinational force and the Iraqi side will involuntarily and inevitably follow suit, making direct explanations and relevant statements, hoping to control the development of the situation in this way and make public opinion favorable to it.

In addition, politicians and diplomats from various countries have also actively participated in CNN's special discussions and interview programs, hoping to use these stages to expound their respective views and achieve their own goals.

It is no exaggeration to say that the current CNN is no longer just carrying out simple news reports, but has also expanded the channels of communication between the warring parties to a great extent, thus profoundly affecting the situation of the entire Gulf War, the diplomatic attitudes of many countries in the world, and even the decision-making process of international relations.

If the Second World War made the BBC a media standing, then the current Gulf War forged the glory of CNN.

In just over a month, Ted Turner, who tasted the "king of kings" in the media industry, smiled with joy, sat in Tang Huan's office and didn't leave, and opened a bottle of red wine from the richest man's collection and tasted it comfortably.

"Don, our plan was really planned and implemented perfectly, the goals were all achieved, and CNN became a number_one in the industry. ”

Tang Huan said with a smile while tapping on the keyboard of his laptop: "You, the boss of the cable news network, now have such an influence that you can stomp your feet and the whole earth will tremble - this year's person of the year is none other than you." ”

Ted Turner squinted his eyes and replied, "The title of Time Man of the Year is indeed good, but if you can eat the whole Time Warner in your stomach, I believe it will feel even better." ”

"Your appetite is really good. Tang Huan shook his head slightly and reminded: "The successful merger of Time Warner is in full swing, but it is not a bone to gnaw on, and CEO Steve Ross is not a fuel-efficient lamp." ”

"I've heard that Steve Ross is not in good health and that he has neglected his duties. "Ted Turner broke the news.

Tang Huan thought for a while, and then said slowly: "In the entire Time Warner Group, the original Times Group is definitely full of talents, even if Steve Ross can't be in power, it's not easy to deal with." ”

Although Ted Turner is on the rise, he still attaches great importance to Tang Huan's views. He nodded, "Then wait for CNN to grow." ”

Tang Huan muttered a sentence of "AOL's access speed, how do you feel a little stuck", then got up and paced and analyzed: "The next expansion direction of Turner Broadcasting Company is indeed very compatible with Time Warner in terms of complementarity, but the key is that we can't lose in corporate politics, but become fat in people's mouths." ”

"The two of us continue to work together openly and secretly, what is there to be afraid of. Ted Turner waved his hand aggressively, "Murdoch hasn't suffered from us yet. ”

It's no wonder that Ted Turner is so confident that CNN once created a spectacular scene of more than 1 billion people watching the show at the same time during the Gulf War, which silenced all his peers, including Murdoch, an old rival News Corporation.

And so it is. Tang Huan muttered: "However, the top priority at the moment is that CNN should digest the resources obtained from the news coverage of the Gulf War as soon as possible. After all, the care from the White House is a special case of not having this store in this village. ”

Ted Turner agreed, then stood up and walked around. He came to Tang Huan's notebook and glanced at it, and quipped: "If it weren't for AOL's burning of money, I think Turner Broadcasting could have bought it." ”

In the media war that accompanied the Gulf War, AOL played the role of CNN's official website, and many materials that could not be released in traditional media channels were dumped into this network virtual space, and it attracted a large number of media personalities to register and use it.

It can be said that AOL also benefited a lot from the media war of the Gulf War, such as adding many more elites and experts in the field to the audience.

In addition, the Internet is increasingly getting involved in the current trend – with The Silence of the Lambs being released on Valentine's Day in the West, AOL's movie community is making "i_am_freaked_out!" - "I'm scared to death!" Adding to the buzzword, even professional film critics thought it exuded a "chilling vibe".

So much so that the graphics_interchange_format developed by Zheru specifically for the Internet - the image interchange format, that is, the GIF, has a more eye-catching gameplay - AOL specially invited Macaulay Culkin, the actor of the little male protagonist of "Home Alone", to make a GIF animation called "Scared the Baby to Death", regardless of the regional differences in North America, Europe or Asia, and was spread all over the Internet.

"The Silence of the Lambs" grossed nearly $15 million in its first weekend after its public release, recouping its shooting costs in less than a week, proving its commercial success and promising to become the highest-grossing film of 1991.

The movie theater line, which was not looking forward to the box office success of "The Silence of the Lambs", looked at the contract in hand to be released until October this year, not to mention how annoyed, and contacted Orion Pictures one after another to try to see if they could discuss.

In short, AOL, which has seen a surge in visits, has seen its popularity skyrocket.

In response to Ted Turner's side knock, Tang Huan said leisurely: "There are many buyers who want to get AOL, but it is now not for sale. ”

"Is AOL preparing for an IPO?" Ted Turner asked again tentatively.

"The second half of this year, or next year at the latest, has been set. Tang Huan replied affirmatively.

"When the time comes, there will definitely be another star stock on the stock market that bears your mark. Ted Turner complimented convincingly.

"Boss, Silicon Valley One is ready. The assistant reported in between the two of them chatting.

Ted Turner came this time to send a news gathering team by the way, because the richest man will be going to the Middle East again - how could the Kuwaiti royal family, which has successfully recovered, forget to invite an old friend to witness the results?

……

In the process of the Iraqi army's defeat from Kuwait, it can be said that it was destroyed all the way, and before Silicon Valley No. 1 landed, Tang Huan saw the raging oil field fire in the air from afar, and Kuwait, which had been looted, became more and more devastated.

Ambition is such a disaster to the country and the people, not only Kuwait has been harmed a lot, but the ordinary people of Iraq are also in dire straits at this time.

A reporter from CNN, who accompanied him, told Tang Huan about an incident passed on by a colleague -- In order to vent his resentment, the Royal Tulip Hotel in Baghdad, where a large number of Western media and diplomats lived, including CNN's war correspondents, set up US President Bush's face on the ground at the gate so that everyone staying in the hotel could step on it -- this is a rather serious insult in the Arab world.

Tang Huan just shook his head at this, "Pathetic!

At this time, Kuwait is busy reckoning -- those Palestinians who supported the aggressor during Iraq's invasion are rolling out of the calves! Yemenis are also rolling out of the calves! As for the Kuwaiti themselves, they are basically not to blame for the past.

The arrival of Mr. the richest man naturally received the supreme hospitality of the Kuwaiti royal family.

Tang Huan did not make a trip in vain, and Kuwait's post-war reconstruction would cost at least hundreds of billions of dollars -- more than that, and if you give an old friend a tenth of it, you will have a mouth full of oil.

After attending Prince Fahd's simple funeral, Tang Huan and the Kuwaiti royal family mainly talked about these issues.

When the richest man was done with all this and returned to the United States, Jobs' wedding date was also set.

Tang Huan opened his laptop and planned to log in to AOL, and on his own exclusive page, he broke the news happily, but found that the access speed was as slow as a snail, and there were complaints everywhere that "america_on_line-AOL has become a america_on_hold-US busy". (To be continued.) )