American TV series: Starting with exploiting young Sheldon

Sunshine...sports...plus a handsome guy...

The photos are simply too deceptive.

Just then, Mike's phone rang.

"Who's calling so early..."

After the call connected, Mike asked, "Who are you looking for?"

“It’s me, Jack…” Jack’s slightly excited voice came through the phone: “Did you see today’s newspaper? Our plan is about to succeed…”

What plan? A talent development plan?

Before Mike could voice his doubts, Jack on the other end of the phone continued, "You have no idea how much effort I put into getting this front page. Oh, and I have some good news for you. If this issue sells well, there will be many more front pages waiting for you. Just imagine, a whole series of full-color headlines..."

Well, it seems the newspaper does indeed have plans to create stars.

Jack, who is about to push this plan forward, is so excited that he's almost incoherent.

This is understandable, though, since if the star-making project succeeds, Jack, as the initiator, will definitely get a lot of credit for it.

“Wait, Jack,” Mike interrupted, “I’d like to know, are you planning to pay me for my likeness?”

"This..." Jack was stumped by Mike's question. After a long silence, he finally asked, "Are you serious?"

We were discussing serious business, and you asked me if my eyes were dry?

It's worth noting that no news figure had ever mentioned money to a newspaper before.

“I’m very serious,” Mike replied.

With such a large amount of photographic content, it's clearly no longer news in the ordinary sense.

It's essential for Mike to protect his image rights.

“Okay, your situation is a bit special. I’ll report it to my superiors. But don’t get your hopes up too high…” Since Jack didn’t have to pay, he naturally didn’t want to offend Mike.

From a personal perspective, Jack actually quite hoped to see a domineering newspaper do something.

"That's all for now, I'll contact you if anything comes up." Mike, who was in a hurry that morning, hung up the phone immediately.

"Well done, Mike. Those capitalists should be made to bleed..." Connie's grandmother, who had overheard the negotiations, supported Mike, not wanting to miss out on the drama.

It's important to understand that newspapers, as information giants today, are not short of money.

"Alright, hurry up and eat breakfast. You're going to be late!" After the little incident, Grandma Connie checked the time and urged Mike and the other boy to hurry up.

Of course, the main reason for this was that Mike was late in getting things done.

"Okay, okay, I'm leaving now..." Mike, feeling a little uneasy under Grandma Connie's gaze, finished his milk in one gulp, picked up the sandwich in front of him, and stood up: "Peggy, are you done yet? We should go."

Peggy, who was already prepared, picked up her pink backpack and walked out first, seemingly in a huff.

Watching the two people, one big and one small, leave in a hurry, Connie's grandma behind them shook her head with a smile.

……

When Mike and his companion arrived at the school gate, they just heard the school bell ring.

"Couldn't you have gotten up a little earlier in the morning?" Peggy, who still harbored some resentment towards Mike, seized the opportunity to vent her frustration after being late.

"It's not my fault, it was all because of that phone call... Jack needs to take responsibility for our lateness..." Mike cleverly shifted the blame.

Of course, there was one more thing he didn't mention: if the little girl's short legs could run a little faster on the way, the two of them wouldn't be late at all.

"Fine, I forgive you." Peggy, who wasn't really angry to begin with, vented her anger and then stopped arguing.

Then, the two entered the campus as the bell rang.

Actually, the two highly intelligent individuals didn't care much about being late for class.

After all, they had already studied the high school curriculum on their own.

Later, when Mike entered the classroom after reporting his arrival, he found the atmosphere in the class to be strange, with many students staring intently at him.

rugby...photo...front page...

Mike then learned from the students' quiet discussion why they were behaving so strangely.

Clearly, this is all thanks to the power of today's newspaper headlines.

Chapter 246 Rising Fame (Continued)

"Quiet down, everyone. You are students, it's class time now!"

Sensing the growing commotion below, Ms. Victoria, standing at the podium, slammed her hand heavily on the table with a dark expression.

The effect was obvious; the eleventh-grade students were quite afraid of this eccentric homeroom teacher.

The classroom immediately fell silent...

However, as class time went on, the students, who were full of curiosity about Mike, unconsciously started discussing him in hushed tones.

And so, time passed until noon.

On his way to the school cafeteria, Mike noticed that there were an unusually large number of students on campus who were showing him kindness today.

Previously, it was always girls who would intentionally approach Mike on the street.

Surprisingly, quite a few boys greeted Mike warmly with a nod when they encountered him today.

It must be said that newspapers still enjoy a high level of credibility in people's minds today.

Clearly, Mike became a "celebrity" at school quickly because he made the front page of today's newspaper.

"Mike, guess what I found this morning?" George, who was about to eat lunch in the middle of the cafeteria, could no longer resist his strong urge to talk when he saw Mike coming over with his food.

"What did you find out? Is it because I'm on the front page of the newspaper?" Mike asked with a smile.

"No, no, no..." Xiao Qiao whispered with a gossipy expression, "You know what? A lot of girls put your picture stickers in their lockers today..."

In private spaces like lockers, students usually keep some of their little secrets.

For example, you can secretly paste photos of your favorite boys or girls inside for easy viewing.

This is not unusual for teenagers.

"Really?" Mike knew a little about the secrets in the lockers, and he said nonchalantly, "As far as I know, a girl posted my picture in a locker last year. It's not exactly news."

Seeing Mike's nonchalant demeanor, George had reason to believe that the other man was just putting on an act.

However, upon seeing the two stunningly beautiful women sitting next to the other person, little George could only feel envy.

To avoid further damage, he wisely stopped the topic of the girl and the photo.

It was afternoon, time for outdoor exercise class.

Coach George, watching from the sidelines, observed Mike once again leading his teammates to score with unconventional offensive routes, but refrained from raising any further questions.

In sports, the winner takes all.

Clearly, Mike has already proven himself with his abilities.

"Wayne, what do you think about inviting Austin High School as our opponent for the next game?" Coach George asked the assistant coach beside him after a short while.

Last year, Melford High School was eliminated in the first round of the state's top ten, losing to Austin High School.

Coach George was clearly still dissatisfied with this result.

“Austin? That’s not a good idea!” Assistant Coach Wayne thought for a moment and said, “The team is getting a lot of attention right now, maybe we can continue to find some weaker teams in the surrounding area as opponents…”

Assistant Coach Wayne also saw today's front page of the newspaper.

It's conceivable that if the team continues to achieve good results in the upcoming games, Mike's fame will only grow even higher.

Similarly, the team's profile will also increase.

During this crucial period of increasing brand awareness, it is especially important for the team to consistently achieve more victories.

"No, with the team's current level, they deserve stronger opponents..." Coach George looked at his old colleague beside him and said seriously, "I know what you're thinking. But sometimes it's not a good thing to only pick weak teams to win."

Trying to compete with noobs will only lower your own standards.

Moreover, even if you win by bullying the weak, it will feel like an unfair victory.

Only by competing against a strong, equally matched opponent can one truly demonstrate their strength.

Coach George was obviously aware of what the newspapers were saying. In his view, while it was good to consistently win more games, it was even more important to compete against strong opponents and hone the players' skills.

Moreover, he believed in his team members and thought they might be able to win more.

Therefore, the choice lies between easy small wins and difficult winner-takes-all scenarios.

Coach George chose the latter.

As a long-time colleague, Assistant Teacher Wayne quickly understood George's thoughts.

"Okay, you're the boss, I'll listen to you..." Looking at the boys sweating on the field, Assistant Coach Wayne felt a rare surge of enthusiasm.

It's evening.

In the Cooper family's dining room, Missy, a little girl holding a newspaper with Mike's picture on it, buzzed around Mike, the person involved, chattering away like a happy little bee.

Although the little girl didn't understand many things, she knew that people who could be in the newspaper must be very impressive.

Therefore, what Mike reported is something to celebrate.

Just then, Mike's phone rang.

"Mike, you're going to be famous! Can you believe it? Today the newspaper's buyback rate reached an astonishing nine percent! Do you know what that means?" Jack's excited voice came through the phone after it connected.

Because it operates on a subscription model, the daily circulation of the newspaper is essentially fixed.

Only when a particular issue of a newspaper is of exceptional commemorative significance will someone choose to buy it back for collection.

A repurchase rate of nine percent indicates that roughly one in ten people who have subscribed to a newspaper will go to a newsstand and choose to repurchase the current issue.

Today's newspaper sales figures perfectly illustrate Mike's popularity.

"So, how much money is the newspaper going to give me this time?" Mike interrupted Jack's enthusiastic call and asked the question that concerned him.

It's not hard to imagine that most of the people who bought the newspaper again today were likely women, attracted by Michael's handsome image in the newspaper.

Therefore, he didn't feel embarrassed when the topic of splitting the money came up again.

"It's not about money, it's about influence, you know what influence means?" The mention of money again made Jack on the other end of the phone a little exasperated.

Being in the information industry, he was well aware of the hidden benefits that a good reputation could bring.

Money is not an issue at all compared to the benefits of fame.

Mike, however, didn't see it that way. He clearly thought talking about money was more worthwhile than vague fame and vanity.

"Okay, you win." Seeing that the other person wasn't on the same wavelength, reporter Jack gave up.

He then explained, "The newspaper is still discussing the revenue sharing with you, and someone will likely contact you to discuss it in detail later. Also, the newspaper is planning to collaborate with you on the distribution of your posters; I wonder if you'd be interested."

"Poster distribution? Tell me more about it." Mike became interested.

Compared to private workshops, newspapers obviously have a wider distribution network.

This approach of expanding business scale, even if the individual's share is lower, is clearly more profitable.

It's about making a living, not about feeling ashamed.

"The newspaper knows we sold posters last year, so they're planning to get involved. The revenue sharing might not be very good..."

Seemingly dissatisfied with the newspaper's overbearing interference, Jack paused for a moment before whispering, "Your market value is very high right now, so I think you can ask for more when negotiating with the newspaper. Maybe 40% net profit would be just right..."

“I’m very interested in the collaboration with the newspaper, but I don’t think it’s realistic to expect to keep 40% of the profits…” In business, even though he knew the other party meant well, Mike was still aware that, given his circumstances, it was impossible for him to monopolize 40% of the net profit.

“Okay, I’ll pass on your willingness to cooperate to the newspaper. You can handle the specifics yourself. See you on Saturday~” Clearly, Jack couldn’t say too much over the phone.

"OK, see you on Saturday~" Mike also needed to think carefully about where the newspaper's bottom line for interests lay.

After hanging up the phone, Mike noticed that everyone in the restaurant was looking at him; they had clearly all heard about the collaboration.

"Mike, was that the person who called this morning?" Connie's grandmother asked with concern.

“Yes, he told me the newspaper wanted to collaborate with me…” Mike had nothing to hide from the Cooper family, so he told them about the poster collaboration.

"Is it about negotiating a profit-sharing partnership? Maybe I can help," Peggy said with interest after hearing the whole story.

For a child prodigy like her, a little challenge is needed.

Of course, it's also possible that he simply wanted to help Mike in some way.