A hundred flavors of life

Chapter 1267 Part 1: A Major Twist in the Focus! (Please Subscribe!)

The former editor-in-chief of the Suzhou Daily also had connections. One of the current deputy directors of the Guojiatai branch is his old comrade-in-arms from when he joined the army. They are the four most loyal friends in life, having fought side by side.

When the old president arrived in Beijing, he arranged to meet with his old comrades-in-arms, and through them, he met Xiao Bai and Xiao Cui, two of the hottest new hosts in the industry.

In the deputy director's office of Guojiatai, the old director jokingly said to his old comrade-in-arms:

"Old Zhang, we've come here to ask for your help in upholding justice. Look at how badly our print media has been bullied!"

Deputy Chief Zhang laughed and said:
"Old comrade, you're really implying we're all in on this. With your temper back in the army, who would dare bully you? I don't believe you at all!"

The former president introduced Hua Twelve to the other party:
"This is our newspaper's popular writer, Su Daqiang, the author of 'Ghost Blows Out the Light', Mei Changsu. His story is very popular right now, I'm sure you've all read about it!"

Upon hearing the name Mei Changsu, both Xiao Cui and Xiao Bai frowned slightly. At this age, they were still intolerant of injustice and harbored dreams of becoming journalists. The affairs of this man had been reported by major media outlets in recent days, and in their eyes, he was precisely the person they wanted to report on and criticize.

Deputy Director Zhang, experienced and composed, said with a smile:
"Old comrade, judging from your tone, is there something else going on with Mr. Su's matter?"

The old club president took out two videotapes:

"See for yourself, and you'll know how I feel right now!"

There was a video recorder in the office. Xiaobai took the videotape, went to the video recorder, plugged in the tape, and played it directly.

The first version played was the one edited by reporter Bian, the version that was shown to the public.

In this version, Zhao Meilan is portrayed as a victim, while Hua Shier is depicted entirely as having an "ugly face".

After the tape finished playing, Hua Twelve said with a wry smile:
"So, leaders, I've become the universally hated villain in this report, haven't I? After reading it, don't you also feel the urge to drag me out for target practice and get rid of me as soon as possible?"

Xiao Bai and Xiao Cui chuckled but didn't say anything, clearly that was what they thought.

Deputy Chief Zhang smiled calmly, as if he had seen through everything:
"There are two tapes, right? If I'm not mistaken, the story is about to take a turn for the worse!"

Hua Twelve gave a thumbs up:

"The leader has a keen eye! The next tape was recorded by one of my neighbors with a home video camera. You'll see what I mean when you watch it!"

The neighbor he was referring to was, of course, the Ancient One.

At that time, the Ancient One filmed the entire process in the mirror space.

The second videotape was played by Xiaobai, and the entire interview process was clearly visible, showing the whole story to the group.

After watching it, Deputy Director Zhang's expression was heavy, as were Xiao Bai and Xiao Cui; they had clearly realized something.

This is because their peers fabricate stories, disregard the facts, and use editing to take things out of context, creating negative news in order to cause a sensation.

Xiao Cui is straightforward, and he immediately asked:
"You have evidence; you can file a lawsuit in court. With this videotape alone, you're guaranteed to win this case!"

Hua Shier and the old president both nodded, and the latter spoke:

“Xiao Cui, you’re right. We will definitely fight the lawsuit. But there’s another issue: this matter has caused us a huge negative impact. As the saying goes, it takes only a mouth to spread rumors, but it takes a lot of legwork to refute them. I don’t think just going to court is enough!”

The old president said to his old comrade-in-arms, Deputy Chief Zhang:

"Originally, after we published Xiao Su's 'Ghost Blows Out the Light,' our sales skyrocketed. But when their program aired, it presented a fake interview to the public, and Xiao Su became a pariah. Our newspaper sales plummeted. During this period, our newspaper sales were less than half of their peak. Who will take responsibility for this loss?"

Hua Shier also added from the side:
“When the incident happened, we didn’t intend to make a big fuss. Instead, we published a clarification in the newspaper and asked the TV program ‘Ordinary People’ to correct its mistake. An apology would have been enough, but they wouldn’t listen. As a result, the impact has gotten worse and worse, leading to the situation we have today!”

Deputy Chief Zhang roughly understood what the two meant and said with a smile:
"Old comrade, you asked me to meet with Xiao Cui and Xiao Bai because you're interested in the influence of their programs, right? Do you want to be on Oriental Horizon or Focus Interview?"

The old president chuckled:
"You know me best. We desperately need an influential program like yours to help us prove ourselves. Focus Interview would be best, but if that doesn't work, Oriental Horizon will do!"

Deputy Director Zhang looked at Xiaobai and Xiaocui: "What do you guys think? Which program should we talk about this on?"

After thinking for a moment, Xiao Cui said, "Let's do Focus Interview then. This program has the responsibility of public opinion supervision, and Teacher Su's case can be used as a typical case for two or three episodes!"

Deputy Director Zhang nodded, and then asked the former president and Hua Twelve if they had any requests.

Hua Shier spoke up at the opportune moment: "Actually, I have another tape, but I don't know if you dare to play it!"

This piqued the interest of the three people from Guojiatai. Xiao Cui smiled and said:
"We dare to broadcast anything that is objective and fair!"

Hua Shier chuckled to himself, thinking to himself, "You only dare to say such things now. In a few years, your show will be gone."

He took out another videotape from his shoulder bag:

"This was provided to us by someone inside Gusu Terrace. You'll understand once you see what's inside!"

Xiao Bai took the tape and put it into the VCR. On the TV screen, the static flickered, but soon the image appeared. Judging from the background, it seemed to be in a news van, where the reporter was talking to his assistant and the cameraman.

Then the reporter heard Bian say:
"If we air it normally, the ratings will definitely be limited. If we're going to do something, we should do something big. Let's go back and edit it, cut out all the parts that are good for Su Daqiang, and make it look like he's become a famous writer and then abandoned his wife. The ratings will definitely explode!"

The cameraman was dumbfounded: "Can you really do this?"

The reporter smiled smugly:

"Why not? The tape is in our hands. As long as we don't hand it over, we can do whatever we want. Besides, this will benefit Sister Liu's cousin. If she achieves good results, you'll get a bonus, and I'll get a permanent position. It's settled then!"

Hearing the blatant conversation, Deputy Chief Zhao, Xiao Bai, and Xiao Cui all looked indignant.

Deputy Director Zhao slammed his fist on the table:
"What a disgrace to the industry! Such a scoundrel must be removed from the ranks of journalists. Don't worry, old comrade, leave this matter to Guojia TV. We'll work on a program as soon as possible and give you justice in front of the public!"

That evening, the former president hosted a banquet at Dongxinglou Restaurant inside Dongzhimen, inviting his old comrades-in-arms and the two hosts, Xiao Cui and Xiao Bai.

The next day, Xiaobai and Xiaocui personally led a photography team to Suzhou, following the old president and Hua Shier.

The program crew spent three days in Suzhou, conducting undercover investigations to document the impact of the 'fake news' incident on the Suzhou Daily and Hua Shier himself.

He then secretly interviewed the neighbors in Tongdeli who had witnessed the entire interview, obtaining firsthand information. After obtaining the materials, Cui Yongyuan rushed back to Beijing to produce the post-production footage.

Xiao Bai, along with his photography team, headed straight for Gusu Terrace. Once inside, he didn't even need to introduce himself; his face alone immediately caused a sensation.

He specifically requested to interview Reporter Bian, and Suzhou TV immediately made arrangements. Reporter Bian, still unaware of what was going on, had his eyes light up when he saw Xiao Bai and immediately began:
"Teacher, you are my idol, my guiding light in the industry, and you show me the way when I am lost."

Xiao Bai quickly waved his hand: "Please don't! The lighthouse you saw must not be me, otherwise how could I have gone astray!"

The smile on the face of the director of Gusu TV who was accompanying him was frozen. Even if he was slow to react, he could tell that the other party was not friendly.

The reporter, looking somewhat embarrassed, said:
"Teacher, have you misunderstood something?"

Xiao Bai chuckled; "Let's not rush into misunderstandings. I want to interview you about how you edited content out of context, distorted the truth, and fabricated fake news to harm people!"

Reporter Bian almost fainted, her vision blurred. She knew perfectly well that Teacher Bai had come because of Su Daqiang's matter, because the only program she did during her internship was the one about Su Daqiang and Zhao Meilan, "Ordinary People's Homes"!
However, she still held onto a sliver of hope, believing that even if people found out, there was no evidence. So she steeled herself and decided to fight to the bitter end.

"Teacher, I don't know what you're talking about. I've only done one program since I started working, which was about Mei Changsu, the author of 'Ghost Blows Out the Light.' If you're saying that I took things out of context, then I'm sorry, but please provide evidence. If you don't have any evidence, it's really unbecoming of you, a senior, to accuse a junior like me of fabricating things!"

Xiao Bai chuckled:
"You know best whether it's true or false. I also welcome you to use the law to protect your legitimate rights. Besides, of course I have evidence. Just wait and see what happens on tonight's Focus Interview!"

He came to Suzhou TV to record reporter Bian's ugly face, and now he had achieved his goal. After saying this, he bid farewell to a director from Suzhou TV who was accompanying him. The director had already realized the seriousness of the matter, glared at reporter Bian, and then hurriedly asked Xiaobai:
"Teacher Bai, isn't there some misunderstanding here?"

Xiao Bai smiled faintly:
"I don't think there's any misunderstanding. There's a special episode of Focus Interview tonight. You'll know everything then!"

The director, completely bewildered, saw off Xiao Bai and his crew, then turned to the reporter and asked:
Are you sure there were no problems with that episode?

What could the reporter say now? At this point, he could only stubbornly resist. The little girl retorted defiantly:

"Director, I can assure you that what's in the program is absolutely the objective truth!"

Just then, the leader's secretary rushed in with a newspaper:

"Director, something terrible has happened! Look, this is the front page headline of today's Suzhou Daily!"

The director took it and immediately saw the large, bold headline on the front page of the *Gusu Daily*:
[Formal Statement: This newspaper is formally suing a certain television station and the "Ordinary People" program team for malicious defamation.]

(Reported by this newspaper) Today, the Gusu Daily has filed a lawsuit with the Intermediate People's Court of the city, seeking a total of 124 million yuan in compensation for the reputational damage and economic losses caused to the newspaper and its contracted writer Su Daqiang (pen name Mei Changsu) by the malicious editing and distortion of facts by a certain TV program "People's Home".

The defendants include a certain television station, the "Ordinary People" program team, and the host, Bian Moumou.

The director's face darkened, and he threw the newspaper at the reporter's face.
"Is this what you mean by 'no problem'? If there were no problem, why would they sue you!"

After reading it, the reporter was completely numb, but she still clung to a sliver of hope and assured the director:
"It must be our program that affected their newspaper's sales. Director, you must trust me; my reports are all true!"

She was proven wrong that very night.

Guojia TV's Focus Interview produced a special program titled "When Will News Fabrication End? — An In-Depth Look at a Certain TV Station's 'Taking Things Out of Context' Incident," which ran for three consecutive days.

That evening, the first report was broadcast, and Cui Yongyuan was the host. He first explained the cause and effect of the incident and the negative impact caused by the broadcast of "Ordinary People's Home".

Then, without further ado, the three videotapes were played in their entirety for comparison, exposing the editing fraud.

The influence of "Focus Interview" was simply incredible. In 1999, its average viewership rating reached an astonishing 17.3%. As a result, the news that "Mei Changsu" was maliciously framed spread throughout the country overnight.

Many viewers who were familiar with this news had previously condemned Su Daqiang and Chen Shimei as inhuman, but upon closer inspection, it turned out that Su Daqiang was innocent, and that Zhao Meilan was actually a wicked woman who was not only directly related to her mother-in-law's death but also had an emotional affair and maliciously transferred marital property.

These people feel as guilty as they used to hate Su Daqiang, and as much as they used to sympathize with Zhao Meilan, they now despise her.

Of course, what these viewers hate even more is the reporter who treated them like fools and maliciously deceived them with editing.

The next day, public opinion exploded. Major media outlets simultaneously reversed their reporting on "Su Daqiang," shifting from criticizing the unscrupulous writer to criticizing reporter Bian, a disgrace to the industry.

Zhao Meilan immediately took leave and didn't even dare to go to her workplace, fearing that people would gossip about her behind her back.

When reporter Bian arrived at the TV station, she was pelted with rotten eggs all the way to work, leaving her in a sorry state. She was then informed that she had been fired.

It was just an internship, not a formal position, and now they've been caught maliciously editing and fabricating information. This has ruined the reputation of this reporter in the entire industry, and they'll never be able to work as a journalist again.

The interview assistant and the photographer were also fired along with her.

The following day, Focus Interview conducted an exclusive interview with Hua Shier, who recounted the events and his emotional journey during this period from the perspective of the person involved, while also presenting evidence of Zhao Meilan's transfer of assets, etc.

On the same day, Su's three children also gave an exclusive interview. Su Mingzhe and Su Mingcheng declined to comment on the matter between their parents, while Su Mingyu firmly stated that she would stand with her father.

At the end of the interview, the reporter jokingly said, "Mr. Su, you're still so young and handsome, I wonder if you have any plans to start a family again!"

Su Mingyu said playfully, "My dad's dream girl is the Queen Consort!"

Hua Shier was caught off guard and hurriedly covered his daughter's mouth!

When the program aired, viewers burst into laughter.

On the third day of the program, Xiaobai, Xiaocui, and experts discussed 'media ethics and legal responsibility', and leaders from the Journalists Association also appeared on camera to talk about the topic.

Although Focus Interview has finished airing, the matter is not over yet.

Hua Shier was fully exonerated, and the sales of the Gusu Daily reached a new high, prompting the launch of a physical book.

Meanwhile, the court has officially opened hearings for the lawsuit filed by Gusu Daily and Hua Shier against the program team and reporter Bian.

When reporter Bian was surrounded by reporters at the courthouse entrance, her once meticulously styled curly hair was disheveled, and there were two broken, rotten eggs on her head, emitting a foul stench.

Faced with various questions, she panicked and knocked over the microphone of the Suzhou Daily. This scene was captured by cameras from other media outlets, and her embarrassing image will become famous throughout the country!
Of course, this was by no means the worst time for reporter Bian. In addition to facing legal sanctions, she also had to endure Hua Shier's vengeful nature, which would be the beginning of her miserable life. However, all of this was self-inflicted and deserved retribution.

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