"So, you're telling me now that if you want to know the latest news, Mr. President has to contact the USS Kennedy through the Pentagon's Navy Department, and now, any ordinary person in the United States can get more news than Mr. President if he turns on the TV?" White House press secretary and spokesman Marin Fitzwater had a rare look on his chubby face, and his voice was low and serious, staring at the White House press relations assistant James Salina in front of him and asking:

"I'm going to leave the White House with Mr. President in two weeks, but before that day officially comes, I promise to get you out of the White House in a mess! Because you're making me miserable right now! ”

"It happened suddenly, Marin, the Associated Press got the news from the Pentagon, and the news came out as soon as possible, normally speaking, the Associated Press should be the news organization on the planet that gets the fastest news." James, a press relations assistant who is in charge of helping the White House gather global news consultations, said with a bitter face: "I promise to contact you without any delay." ”

"The president and I all saw that Associated Press bulletin, and there was only a dry sentence, and you asked me as a spokesperson to take that dry sentence and deal with the reporters outside who seemed to be in heat because of the news? I don't have to try it to know that my old bones will never be able to withstand their ravage! Ignoring Larry's defense, Marin said aggressively:

"And, that's not the point, a short briefing is actually enough in one sentence, but that's in the case of maintaining speed first, but what about now?"

As he spoke, he grabbed the remote control and turned up the volume on the TV.

On the VOX news channel, the moderator was discussing the incident with reporters aboard the USS Kennedy and a North Africa expert at a think tank.

"Obviously, this time the Associated Press is not the first time! If I were to deal with those reporters who were in heat with a quick message, it would be clear to everyone that the White House would not be able to get the news as fast as a private television network! Marin grumbled angrily.

Dealing with sharp-tongued journalists is no easy task, and even though he has worked with journalists all his life and has been a journalist himself for many years, he is still often left speechless when asked by his peers.

Larry defended on the side: "I know, but it's just the luck of this VOX news, their reporters got permission from the Admiralty to shoot news footage documenting the life of the U.S. Navy during the Kennedy cruise, and they just happened to encounter this military conflict, so they got the opportunity to make their world premiere." ”

"I don't care if it's a matter of luck or not, what about PlanB that we were dealing with this situation before? Call VOX's White House correspondent in quietly and ask him to give me some more details, in exchange, I will give VOX a few more opportunities to ask questions at the next press conference, in short, I can't let those reporters who have more news than me by watching VOX news live besiege to death on stage! ”

“VOX…… There are no correspondents in the White House, and we haven't issued accreditations to their correspondents, so ...... The regular PlanB plan will not work. James's voice lowered his head in despair: "It's a news network that has just been established, and the application to send reporters to the White House is still under review......

Marin laughed angrily at the answer given by James: "This news network announced the news faster than the Associated Press, and then it actually didn't have the qualifications to enter the White House?" Do you want it to make a name for itself in the White House? Its boss is just as damn Canadian as you are? Canadians have humiliated the White House, and now you want VOX to do it again? ”

"Mr. Fitzwater?" A middle-aged woman dressed as a secretary hurried over and handed Marin a stack of papers: "Kenneth from the General Office asked me to send it over, and he thinks you should be able to use it for a White House briefing later." ”

While Marin opened the information, he asked: "If it is conventional information, I don't think I can use it too much, this is a temporary military operation, and the Pentagon did not expect that Gaddafi would let fighter jets rise into the air to intercept our reconnaissance plane." ”

"This is not a regular material, but it has just been sent, a former intern in the White House summer intern, Charles Samon, was called by his mentor to send this detailed information about this incident from VOX News Network, some numbers related to the details, has called the Pentagon Department of the Navy, the other party confirmed that it is true, he said that VOX does not have a correspondent in the White House, so he can only submit the information himself, hoping to help the White House." The female secretary said to Marin.

Marin immediately raised his head, stared at the other party in shock and asked, "How did his mentor get it?" ”

"The expert who was preparing to comment at VOX at this time was his mentor." The female secretary tilted her head in the direction of the TV and prompted.

"Who summoned this kid to the White House for an internship? Be sure to thank him for me! Kelly! Relieved, Marin carefully put away the document and walked briskly towards his office, ready for the editor to quickly draft his own statement based on the information.

Seeing James standing in place with a dejected face, he roared in a low voice: "Are you staying here to mourn for Gaddafi?" Give me the fastest time to pass the VOX application! If the other party releases kindness, don't be stingy in giving back! ”

Before James could take a step, on the TV, the host had already cut the connection and announced to the camera:

"We invited our guest of honor, Professor Adrian Heerlen, Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania, Professor at Yale University, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Philadelphia Foreign Policy Institute, and international relations expert, to give us an update on the situation after the connection."

When Marin heard the name, he turned his head and looked at the TV screen with a relaxed face and said: "Adrian, this old guy, is really cunning, he seized a good opportunity, I guess, among the advisers to the new president, he can already lock a position in advance." ”

At the same time, the tension in his heart has dissipated a lot, he knows the guest who is a guest on VOX at this moment, and he has met many times, Adrian Hillen is a veteran think tank member of the conservative Republican Party, and a strong contender for the post of assistant to the new president for national security affairs, one of Vice President George W. Bush's subordinates, and should not deliberately grandstand and say something that slanders the government and embarrasses the president.

But before he could finish his breath, the host immediately said with a happy face: "I just received news that a local journalist colleague hired by VOX in North Africa is risking being arrested by the Libyan government on charges of espionage, and sent a phone call to the studio, and he should be able to bring more accurate information to us who are concerned about this conflict." ”

Marin simply sat down in his seat and stared intently at the screen.

The female secretary saw Marin's movements and reminded: "Marin, it's time for you to prepare for the briefing conference." ”

Marin sighed: "Prepare a ghost, let's go after reading the news, anyway, those reporters must be staying in the conference room to do the same thing as me, VOX, it's not just luck, luck won't be able to find local employees to help send back the latest news temporarily." ”

"How's Libya now, Hughes?" The moderator asked.

There was no picture of Libya in sight, only the voice of a journalist sounded on the phone: "Hello, Merriman, I am in the city of Tripoli, the capital of Libya, and just now, Gaddafi made a speech to the nation, in which he said that the Americans invaded Libyan airspace for no reason and shot down two unarmed Libyan reconnaissance planes. ”

"Kelly! Go and inform Mr. President and his chief of staff that Gaddafi is lying! Marin jumped up from his seat with a flexible movement that did not fit his body and walked quickly outside: "He lied, we won!" The last time I knew of a reporter from an American news agency who ventured to report, it was an Associated Press reporter who infiltrated the Soviet Union! Thanks VOX! ”

……

At 2.24 p.m., Wolff's eyes were fixed on the television screen, in front of which the anchor was still switching between a North Africa research expert at the Center for Peace Studies, a Washington think tank, and a VOX reporter aboard the USS Kennedy.

Next to Wolfe, stylists were helping Adrian Heeron, a senior adviser on international security at the Center for Peace Studies and vice chairman of the board of directors of the Foreign Policy Institute, who had traveled from Philadelphia to quickly apply camera makeup to ensure that the image of the other party when he appeared in the studio as a guest looked more vivid.

Adrian Hillen, a member of the conservative think tank of the Republican Party in the United States and a strong contender for the post of assistant to the national security affairs of the incoming new President George W. Bush, was able to come to the live hall, and Charles Samon, a student, was obviously not enough face.

The main reason why the other party was able to show up in the studio at the headquarters of VOX News in Washington was that at 11.43 p.m., the Associated Press, the world's largest news agency, called and asked to become a corporate subscriber to VOX so that he could use the breaking news materials of VOX News Network.

As a news media company, the subscription fee is 30,000 yuan a week, which seems to be much higher than the price of 20 cents per month for ordinary people, but the reward is that the Associated Press has the right to quote the news text and pictures published by VOX News Network this week in its own news.

To Wolff's shock, the root cause of an expert like Adrian was not that VOX earned the Associated Press 30,000 yuan a week's subscription fee, but that VOX News Network, the first cable network in the United States to be subscribed to by the Associated Press in the name of a business.

Yes, before VOX, there was never a case where the Associated Press paid to subscribe to them, whether it was the three major American television networks, the FOX television network, or even CNN, which was about to break financially and was unsustainable, and the hundreds of American television stations.

The Associated Press can be regarded as a consortium of all well-known newspapers and radio stations in the United States, from the day it was founded, it was those newspaper dealers who were grouped together to monopolize the news, and then sold it as exclusive news to those newspapers that did not join the Associated Press, and then with the emergence of radio, radio industry tycoons were also absorbed into it, and gradually grew, and now it has opened nearly 200 reporter stations in more than 70 countries, providing detailed news articles and news news for nearly 1,000 large newspapers and periodicals around the world, according to a single weekly subscription fee of 30,000 yuan. 1,000 copies is 30 million subscriptions.

Such a behemoth, which had been making money by selling exclusive news as a monopoly since 1846, actually became a corporate subscriber to the VOX news network!

This is tantamount to openly admitting that there is a slow timeliness problem in their own news, and they need to rely on paying a subscription fee to obtain the right to use it, and reprint VOX news!

With the Associated Press's subscription and guest comments from international experts, Wolf felt that there was no pressure to increase subscribers beyond 10 million this time, and even couldn't help but pray that Libya had better declare war on the United States immediately, so that the reporters on the USS Kennedy could exclusively bring back more news.

Although VOX News Network has just started broadcasting, the subscription is a bit miserable, but the hardware is extremely superior, renting three satellite lines to ensure that subscribers around the world can watch in time, which is the reason why Adrian Hillenken appeared in the guest seat, he used to write for the Associated Press at most, and published the world's international situation in major newspapers and magazines, but the text is more vivid and convincing than the video image, so when I learned that VOX asked experts from the Peace Research Center to connect by phone to comment, Adrian Hillen immediately realized that this was an opportunity to show his ability and eloquence to those around the world who were following the situation in Libya.

It was immediately decided to attend the show first to make a speech without agreeing on an appearance fee.

"It's time for you to change to a more professional host." As he sat calmly in his dressing chair, his eyes fixed on the TV and let the stylist do the work for him, he said to Wolf-Tucker next to him: "The editor needs to change some of them, and ask questions like a child's house." ”

The young news presenter of VOX, Merriman Thomas, did not realize that he had been advised to be dismissed by the upcoming guests, and was preparing to welcome the guests according to the director's request: "OK, thank you to our reporters, now, let's go back to the studio, for today's breaking news in the Mediterranean, we have Professor Adrian Heerlen, Ph.D. in International Relations at the University of Pennsylvania, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Philadelphia Foreign Policy Institute, and an expert in international relations, and ask him to give us a detailed introduction, Why is this conflict happening, and will there be a new overseas war waiting for the United States. ”

Adrian, who had silver and white hair, walked into the studio, sat in the guest seat, and saw that the camera was aimed at him, he did not say a word of greeting, his eyes looked at the camera calmly, and said:

"With regard to the illegal intrusion of US fighter jets into the country's territorial waters and airspace, as mentioned by Libya, I would like to explain here that in fact, the US Government has never recognized the Gulf of Sidra as Libya's territorial waters, and this conflict is just an act of counterattack by a US warship that has no choice but to strike back after being intercepted by two Libyan fighter jets during its normal voyage on the high seas and showing hostile intent."

The young host was directly shocked by Adrian's words, and almost froze on the spot!

Now the US government has not made any relevant statements except for announcing that it has decided to shoot down two MiG-23 fighters that tried to attack its own reconnaissance planes.

Fortunately, the director immediately gave a hint, and the host was just about to follow the prompts on the teleprompter to start asking relevant questions, and the director was happy, and immediately used the microphone to give the host the latest news.

Adrian was thinking that the host had forgotten the words, and the host suddenly said with a happy face: "This is the VOX news studio, we just received the news that the local journalist colleague hired by VOX in North Africa is risking being arrested by the Libyan government on espionage charges and sending a phone call to the studio, he should be able to bring more accurate news to us who are concerned about this conflict." ””

Wolf rushed out of the headquarters in excitement and stood in the street and roared!

If now, the world's newspapers rely on the Associated Press for news releases, then, in the future, all TV stations in the world will choose VOX to supply the latest image news!

"Wolf, when Tommy is done keeping you busy, call him." The secretary walked over and said to Wolf, who had been suppressed for too long and couldn't hide his excitement.

Wolf took the mobile phone from his secretary and asked his secretary, "Tommy?" What happened? Isn't he in Los Angeles with his girlfriend? ”

The secretary shook his head, indicating that he didn't know, but said with a smile: "Tommy said he wanted to ask you, are you ready to suffocate your dreams again?" ”

"Again?" Wolf froze.

(End of chapter)