American Gossip King

Chapter 103 The Karl Family Always Seeks Revenge

Ian took a flight back to Los Angeles that night, and first went to see Gascoigne.

The old man's spirits have clearly improved a lot.

Sitting by the hospital bed, Ian and Gaskell talked: "It's been confirmed; the insurance was handled by Ankang Company."

Ancon is a company that specializes in medical insurance. I don't know if it's a variant of Antai from a previous life, but in the United States, Ancon is the leader in the medical insurance industry.

Gaskell wasn't surprised, after all, his health insurance was Ankang.

Gaskell asked Ian, "Did you get the evidence?"

Ian nodded slightly: "A department head."

Gaskell said softly, "Even if you expose them, it won't do any good. It won't cause any real harm to Ankang. On the contrary, it will further boost Ankang's stock price."

This time, Ian was surprised: "Are you sure?"

Gaskell stated with absolute certainty, "They can simply say it was orchestrated by their subordinates, throw out a scapegoat, and the problem will be solved. As for the stock market... I told you, investors don't care about corporate ethics, right? They only care about expected profits. A company that's willing to let customers die for money seems very profitable, doesn't it?"

Ian was amused.

Perfect logic!

Then the stock price should definitely rise!

The same applies to insurance.

Ankang Insurance Company only needs to throw out a few scapegoats, and then shareholders will think that this company can make a lot of money, and then they will buy in!

Conscience and morality are weapons for those who have no vested interests; those who do have interests only care about their own gains!

At that moment, Ian said, "Those guys almost killed you, I have to deal with them. Don't worry, I have plenty of ways to handle this."

Gaskell waved his hand: "Don't rush, don't rush, child. You face many problems now, and you must solve them one by one. Revenge should not be your primary goal, and even killing should not be a means to an end. You should turn hatred into benefit!"

Ian shook his head gently, holding the old man's hand: "That's not fair to you."

Gaskell laughed: "We're businessmen. There's nothing that can't be bought with money. Your plan requires a lot of funding, and even I can't lend you that much. But this can solve a huge funding problem for you. Ian, business is about using every available resource. I don't mind being a small pawn for you."

Ian understood.

He thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "So, as long as I get evidence that their higher-ups were also involved, I can ask them for money? Is that right?"

Gaskell shook his head slightly: "That's not easy. You know a good lawyer can solve a lot of problems. In my opinion, the way you obtained that evidence is what they're really afraid of."

Ian understood.

For a large company, negative publicity isn't scary; what's truly terrifying is its inexhaustible production model of negative publicity!

As Ian himself said.

He can steal anything he wants, including the lives of those big shots!

Then Ian smiled: "I know what to do. So, what's next?"

Gaskell said softly, "I'll take care of the funds for shorting the Italian lira; give the CBS funds to them."

Acquiring funds for companies is relatively easy, since the company itself can be used as collateral. However, short selling carries greater risk and requires substantial margin as backing.

This requires Gaskell's help, as only he can make some minor rule-breakings for Ian—as for Ankang, it's the opposite: legitimate loans, but the interest rate must be kept low.

Ian said, "So now the problem is how to convince James Perry."

Even if Ankang can provide him with funds, it won't help if CBS doesn't agree.

Gaskell chuckled, "That won't be easy. Whenever a new emperor arrives, the old one is always the most terrified; only the ministers applaud to welcome him. What do you plan to do? Coerce him using the same method?"

Ian shook his head slightly.

He pondered for a moment and said, "I feel like I'm going down a different path... using the method of controlling other people's dirt to conduct coercive business is not a righteous way of doing business either."

Gaskell laughed.

The intense emotional turmoil caused him to instinctively cover his head. Lena quickly helped the old man up, scolding him playfully, "Don't get so agitated."

Gaskell patted his wife's small hand gently: "Just happy to see Ian grow up."

Self-reflection is a valuable quality among Chinese people, but it is a rare and exceptional trait among Americans, almost legendary.

Then Gaskell looked at him: "But you won't give up that method, will you?"

Ian nodded: "As the Chinese military strategy says, the orthodox and the unorthodox should be combined. Blindly following the orthodox path is too rigid. Blindly relying on unorthodox tactics will not get you anywhere."

Gaskell was speechless: "I'm starting to understand why you wanted to invest in China... To put it simply, I don't understand."

"Those underhanded methods—we can't avoid using them, but we can't overuse them; they're only suitable for crucial moments." Ian smiled as he said this: "If I agreed to let James Paley continue as chairman of CBS, and he held all my CBS shares on my behalf, do you think he would accept it?"

Gaskell was taken aback: "So easy to talk to?"

If that's the condition, then James Perry has no reason to disagree, and might even support it.

Ian laughed: "Managing a business isn't my forte. I joined CBS mainly because I wanted to expand my influence. And my influence comes from my reporting... Whatever I want to do, I don't need the board's approval; I can just do the reporting."

Gaskell's eyes lit up.

He understood what Ian meant.

Ian doesn't really need much power on the board.

If he supports something, he'll expose the other party's dirty secrets.

If he opposes something, he'll expose the dirty secrets of his own people.

As long as he can keep finding scoops on influential figures, he can influence CBS through his reporting, making them follow his plans. Even if CBS doesn't cooperate, it won't matter, because Ian has his own media outlets and channels for making his voice heard.

In that case, why not make James Peley the chairman?

Conversely, as a major shareholder, is it really possible that his words are useless?

Nominee shareholding can be given up or taken back. If you make me unhappy, you won't have another chance. Even if there are contractual restrictions, it's useless because I can expose you—just add "no scandals that could affect the company" to the contract.

Then I'll expose your scandals and rightfully revoke your nominee shareholding rights!

If you have someone's Achilles' heel, whether you have overt power or not becomes irrelevant.

The latest novel is first published here!

Gaskell laughed: "Anything else?"

Ian replied, "Two newspapers alone aren't enough to negotiate with CBS. I need more capital, like Hollywood! I plan to use my abilities to take on as much Hollywood publicity and distribution business as possible; that's also leverage in negotiations."

Hollywood produces a large number of films and television series every year, and these films all need to be promoted and distributed. Pearl Harbor is nothing compared to that.

These are also assets that can be used to negotiate with CBS.

Gaskell laughed and said, "Good idea. I suggest you start a celebrity interview program on WND first, after all, WND is also your asset."

"A celebrity interview?" Ian asked in surprise.

“Exactly!” Gaskell replied, “Celebrities are the easiest way to attract public attention, and it’s a stable source of revenue. Unlike your news, which, while sensational, isn’t something you can have every day. It’s just that inviting celebrities is usually very expensive. If you don’t have enough industry influence, nobody will pay attention… But you’re different.”

He smiled and said, "You have dirt on them, so they have to cooperate with you. You don't need to extort money from them; you just need their cooperation. For them, it's the lowest cost, but for you, it's an infinitely rich return. Your celebrity interview program may not bring you to the peak, but it will bring an increase in daily regular visits and circulation."

Not everything in the media is news.

Interviews, dialogues, films, variety shows, news, documentaries, and so on are all part of the media.

As a boss, the key is to control and influence others. Once you have access to dirt on many important figures, you can delegate the rest to your subordinates.

This is the only way to maximize the realization of value.

Moreover, this part is also one of the main contents of the television network.

When it comes to working in media, there are essentially two core elements.

First: High-quality content. Second: High-quality clients.

Ian's scoop was high-quality content, but as a businessman, the benefits of building a long-term, popular program with stable viewership far outweighed one or two sensational scoops. Of course, this isn't surprising, given his previous experience with newspapers. But with a website, he could produce variety shows, which also showcased his business acumen.

As for high-quality clients, the publicity and distribution deals Ian gets from Hollywood are equivalent to a large number of Google Ads.

He can use daily newspapers, news outlets, TV stations, and WND for his GG (Google Play), and adding CBS wouldn't be a problem either; the GG fee would only increase.

With Gaskell's suggestion, Ian immediately understood.

They discussed their plans by the hospital bedside, and a grand drama gradually unfolded amidst repeated deliberation and calculation.

This is a big project; it involves many things.

This includes a top U.S. health insurance company, a top broadcasting network, a country's currency, and a super event that may soon shake the world!

If Gaskell hadn't been shot, even if he had a high opinion of Ian, he wouldn't have gone through with such a huge risk.

But this brush with death deepened their trust and friendship.

Just as they were having a great time chatting, the phone rang again.

Ian took the phone, chatted for a few minutes, and then hung up. He said to Gaskell, "I have some things to take care of. Wait for good news."

Gaskell asked softly, "Is it about MS13?"

Ian smiled.

He no longer asks Gaskell how he figured it out; the old man knows him too well.

Ian gave a salute and said, "The Carl family always repays kindness and avenges wrongs!"

He gave the old man a hug, then gave Lena a passionate kiss, and walked out of the hospital.

(End of this chapter)