The two flew to Washington, D.C., and the next day flew to the small town of Rosslyn, Virginia. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

They met with the newspaper's founder, Alan Newhas, who is also the CEO and president of the Gannett group, and was nominated to be the next chairman of the group's board of directors, at USA Today's headquarters.

Lin Qiangsheng wanted to grasp the initiative of public opinion, and he found it most convenient to start with the newspaper media, so "USA Today", which has jumped to the second largest circulation in the United States in just five years, has attracted his attention.

Several people visited the headquarters of USA Today, the first newspaper to disseminate news to the public in the form of color graphics and text, and it was it that really ushered in the "era of picture reading".

USA Today broke the traditional shackles of newspapers with large-format color printing, large pictures, illustrations, data analysis, etc., and brought a subversive change to the American media.

But such a huge change, contrary to convention, means that it is not accepted by traditional forces, and the appearance of this newspaper has also been ridiculed by the industry and business circles, even the famous investment expert Warren Buffett is not optimistic about this newspaper and ridiculed it, and even has an indecent nickname of McDonald's tabloid.

However, the idea of this newspaper is very clear and firm, and it not only impresses the people of the new era with its large color pictures and novel design, but also wins widespread applause and welcome.

Moreover, the founders also insisted on running the newspaper with a bright and positive attitude, and USA Today's reports were usually based on positive, positive content, which catered to the mood of most of the public.

It eliminates negative comments and reports, and allows viewers to read the newspaper to produce a happy, happy, relaxed mood, and a positive attitude towards life, so it is not surprising that USA Today is a pleasing newspaper to the public, and it has been consistently popularized.

Of course, this is contrary to the purpose of the newspaper and has been judged by many in the industry, but USA Today has continued to succeed in ways that are incomprehensible to them. Since its establishment in '82, its sales have doubled every year, and this year it has steadily become the second largest newspaper in the United States!

In the conference room, Alan Newhas was a little confused about Lin Qiangsheng's visit, and after a few people exchanged pleasantries, he asked Lin Qiangsheng directly: "Mr. Lin, I want to ask, what is the purpose of your visit this time?" ”

After receiving the news that Lin Qiangsheng was going to visit, Newhas also specially asked his subordinates to learn about this rich man.

He then realized that there had been some disputes between Johnson Lin and News Corp's Murdoch recently, but he was very confused in Newhas, USA Today or other media outlets in the Gannett newspaper group did not pay much attention to this turmoil, and even the reports on Lin Johnson were very neutral, and the two sides did not have much intersection, he wondered why this young man came to visit suddenly.

His most likely guess is that the other party wants to work with USA Today to crack down on Murdoch's News Corp. Because in a way, News Corp., which bought the New York Post, is also a competitor to the Gannett newspaper.

Seeing that the other party was so direct, Lin Qiangsheng said: "I am very interested in the newspaper "USA Today", but as far as I know, although your circulation is very considerable, the company is still in a state of loss. ”

It's no secret that starting a color newspaper requires a lot of expenditure, and USA Today, despite its high circulation, is the result of a constant expansion, and the cost is very high.

Lin Johnson said to Newhas: "I think with my financial support, USA Today will definitely expand more rapidly, will be rolled out throughout North America, and even accelerate the expansion in Europe." I want to invest in this newspaper and take a stake in USA Today! ”

"What? Newhas and the others looked at Lin Johnson in surprise, and then looked at each other, the other party's proposal was simply ridiculous, and they would never agree to invest in "USA Today".

Newhas said to Lin Qiangsheng: "Mr. Lin, I don't think you know about the Gannett newspaper group!" ”

"From the very beginning of our founding, we had a strategy of acquisition-oriented, and in 1906 Frank Gannett and his partners bought half of the assets of a newspaper," he says. It wasn't until 1966 that we started our first newspaper, Florida Today. Now that the Gannett newspaper group has more than 60 local newspapers in the United States, we will not give up on any newspaper, let alone USA Today! ”

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and said: "Of course I know the strength of the Gannett newspaper group, you are the second largest newspaper group in the United States!" ”

But then he poured cold water on Newhas and the others present, and said: "However, Murdoch's News Corp. is closely following you and is expected to surpass the Gannett newspaper group, I think the competition between you is not easy!"

Murdoch has an astonishing ability to make money, and in 1984 he bought Twentieth Century Fox Films, making him one of the hottest media moguls of all time. With a precise eye for acquiring high-performing newspapers and outlets, he expanded his empire.

The development strategies of your two media companies are similar, but now that Murdoch is ambitious to expand in the United States, do you Gannett newspaper group watch this competitor grow stronger day by day? ”

Newhas hesitated for a moment and said, "However, USA Today is the first national daily newspaper in the United States, and although it is in a loss-making state, it is very important to Gannett, and we have no intention of selling our shares!" ”

Lin Qiangsheng saw that he couldn't talk about it today, he smiled and said, "There is nothing that can't be sold, I think we will cooperate in the future!" He stood up, nodded to the rest of the room, and walked out of the conference room without looking back.

Newhaas looked at his back suspiciously, and said gloomily to his subordinates: "Murdoch provoked this open-mouthed guy, what a mistake!" ”

His deputies all nodded in unison, everyone was not afraid of Lin Qiangsheng, but this guy was open-mouthed and excessively young, for example, a few years ago he boasted that the Soviet Union would collapse, and now he dares to ridicule Murdoch, who knows what he will do in the future, so it is still not troublesome.

Walking out of the headquarters of "USA Today", Lin Qiangsheng, who was sitting in the car, restrained his smile and was a little depressed on his face.

Esther, who was driving the car, asked inexplicably, "You just gave up?" ”

Lin Qiangsheng rubbed his forehead and said, "Yes, I can't help it if people don't sell it now." ”

Then he smiled and said relaxedly: "However, I expect that in a few months Gannett will be in trouble. When the time comes, I will directly buy the shares of this company circulating in the market, and as long as I have 10% of the shares in my hands, I will become their majority shareholder, and then it will be more countable, and at that time, "USA Today" will also be in the bag, hahaha..."

Esther said strangely: "Directly acquire the shares of the Gannett newspaper group? How is it possible, that's a big company with a multi-billion dollar production value, will Gannett be in trouble in a few months, how do you know? ”

Lin Qiangsheng shook his head and said mysteriously: "Secret, it can't be revealed yet!" ”

Esther glanced at him, glanced back at the rearview mirror, then looked again, and gave fuel under her feet, raising the speed of the car.

Lin Qiangsheng looked out the window, but he recalled in his mind that he remembered that a stock market crash would break out in October 87 that swept the world. It happened to be a Monday, so the crash was also called "Black Monday".

On Monday, October 19, 1987, the New York stock market on Wall Street erupted in a stock crash, the largest crash in history.

In the crash, the Dow Jones plunged 508.32 points, or 22.6%, in just one day, the highest single-day decline since 1941.

In 6.5 hours, the New York stock index lost $500 billion, worth 1/8 of the annual gross domestic product of the United States.

The stock market crash also shocked the entire financial world, and quickly produced a "domino" effect in the global stock market, with the stock markets in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Sydney, Hong Kong, Singapore and other places all being strongly impacted, with stocks falling by more than 10%.

The crash also caused a huge panic among investors around the world, with "everything getting out of control," the New York Times reported.

In the stock market crash, many millionaires were reduced to poor overnight. Shaken by the collapse of stock prices, the psychology of investors has become extremely fragile, and many people who have been overwhelmed by the weight of debt due to the collapse of the stock market have completely broken down and committed suicide.

However, although the stock market crash came violently, economists' analysis of its impact on the U.S. economy was not obvious, and the damage was limited to the stock market, and the recovery speed was relatively fast.

Of course, Lin Qiangsheng wants to take advantage of the stock market crash to make a big profit, such as shorting stock index futures. After the stock market crash, it absorbs the stocks of well-performing companies that have plummeted, such as Gannett's newspaper group, and Gannett will really have to beg to let them go.

Of course, Lin Johnson is not only aiming at Gannett, but also very interested in some listed companies in the consumer goods field.

"This is an opportunity to make a lot of money!" Lin Qiangsheng laughed secretly when he thought of this, he didn't notice that Esther had already driven the car to a very high speed, and suddenly made a turn and almost hit his head.

"What are you doing!" Lin Qiangsheng said angrily.

Esther took out a pistol from under the seat and threw it to Lin Qiangsheng, saying, "Take it, there is a car following us behind!" ”

"Huh?" Lin Qiangsheng glanced back in surprise, there was really a black sedan following closely behind, at this time the other party also turned around, the wheels made a huge screeching sound, and the other party obviously did not come to see off in friendship. (To be continued.) )