MTL - America’s Road To Fame-Chapter 19 Meet Kaplan

"Mr. William, if you really want to acquire the New York Observer and carry out the follow-up business, I also recommend you to meet Mr. Kaplan," Nelson said.

"Kaplan? The former editor-in-chief of the New York Observer?"

"Yes, Mr. Kaplan has been in the newspaper since its inception, and has served in the important position of editor-in-chief of the newspaper for more than 10 years. He is very prestigious in the newspaper."

"Two months ago, he had a conflict with the current boss of the newspaper, Robert De Niro, because of business philosophy, and finally chose to resign. His resignation also had a great impact on the newspaper, causing many personnel turmoil."

When he heard Nelson say this, William Chen couldn't help but hesitate. To be honest, since he chose to acquire the newspaper, he definitely hoped that he would have enough control over the newspaper.

Although Chen William strongly disagrees with Robert De Niro's changes to the "New York Observer", he also does not hope that after his acquisition of the newspaper, there will be a prestigious and stubborn editor-in-chief against him. If Kaplan is Such a person, then he also would not choose to invite the other party back.

"What kind of person is Kaplan? Do you have any information about him?" Thinking of this, William Chen asked.

"I will send his detailed information to your mailbox later. According to our investigation and knowledge, Kaplan has a deep affection for the newspaper, and in his editor-in-chief, he has always pursued the concept of objectivity and fairness in the newspaper. Many authors, including the original author of the American TV series "Sex and the City", published in the emotional column of the "New York Observer", Landis Boucinelle, was also dug up by him at the beginning." Nielsen introduced to him.

Since this is the case, William Chen is going to look at the other party's information first, and then make a decision. And in his opinion, meeting with Kaplan is also necessary, at least in the conversation to understand the character of the other party and the idea of ​​​​the newspaper, if he is not too stubborn and unwilling to change, then inviting him back can also help himself. Hold on to the newspaper.

And William Chen is going to study at New York University soon, and he has other things to deal with, so he won't put too much energy on the New York Observer, and he needs someone to help him manage the newspaper.

Moreover, even if Kaplan is not suitable to be his assistant, some information about the newspaper can still be obtained from him, which will also help him to transform and develop the newspaper in the future.

After figuring this out, William Chen opened his mailbox to check the information about Kaplan that Nelson just sent him. After seeing it, he called Nelson back: "Please contact Mr. Kaplan for me. I'd like to make an appointment to meet him."

…

The meeting between William Chen and Kaplan was relatively low-key. In order to show his sincerity, William Chen met him directly at a cafe near Kaplan's house in the evening of the next day.

"Hello, Mr. Kaplan, I'm William Chen. Mr. Nelson should have told you, I'm going to buy the New York Observer. As the most senior employee there, I hope to meet and talk with you first." Chen William made clear his intentions directly.

"I know you, Mr. William. But frankly, I was a little surprised when I heard that you were going to buy that paper. But I hope you understand that I have now resigned and am no longer a member of that paper. "Kaplan is 45 years old and looks energetic. What impressed William Chen most about him was his composure and loud voice.

"Since you choose to see me today, it also means that you still care about the future of this newspaper, doesn't it? Mr. Kaplan."

"Indeed, I have been in this newspaper for more than 20 years. My first job after graduation was to come to this newspaper that I just founded. More than 20 years have passed in a flash. The most important and best time of my life is to stay. Given this newspaper, it would be a lie to say that I have no worries at all."

Kaplan's face showed a look of reminiscence, turned to look at William Chen, and said, "With all due respect, Mr. William, between you and Robert, I don't think I can tell who is running this newspaper. The boss will have a better future."

Heh, this guy is really straightforward enough to say that you, a prodigal son of a bitch, are not much better than Robert, at least in terms of acting achievements, they are veteran movie stars, and in terms of investment, they have their own investment companies, and It's doing well, how about you?

Chen William didn't have any special reaction because of his words. He had already prepared for this long before he came here. After all, after reading the other party's information, he knew that the other party's temper was a relatively straight person, otherwise he would not I chose to resign directly because of conflict with the new boss.

"That's a good question, Mr. Kaplan. As a journalist, you must know something about my past, and I won't hide anything. It's true that I have done a lot of wrong things in the past. But the things of the past do not 100% decision on the future, I know that you have always pursued the "New York Observer" concept of objectivity and fairness, so you should understand that we should not pre-set positions and face with prejudice in the face of anyone. "

William Chen looked at Kaplan and said with sincerity: "Everything in the world is constantly changing, just like the "New York Observer" once, it was brilliant, but now it is also facing difficulties; It's me, and even though I've done a lot of **** in the past, that doesn't mean I won't change. If that's the case, why don't you first hear my thoughts on the future of newspapers?"

Listening to William Chen's words, Kaplan still had a light expression on his face and said, "I'm all ears."

It's a good thing to be willing to listen. William Chen thought for a while and said, "Maybe in your opinion, I'm too young, and I don't have any experience in media publishing, if you don't count the interviews with reporters I've accepted. But in my opinion, I'm too young. It seems that it is not the experience of growing up from the traditional paper media circle, but my advantage. Similarly, it is because I am young that I can be closer to the current Internet trend. "

Seeing Kaplan's thoughtful expression after hearing his words, William Chen continued: "Mr. Robert De Niro's previous approach was to try to attract younger readers through entertainment. The idea is not wrong, because the newspaper needs to continue to exist, but the previous readership is gradually getting older, and the younger readership is in love with the Internet and is not interested in traditional print media, so attracting them is what makes New York Very important thing for The Observer to survive."

"But what he did was wrong. The mistake was that he got the wrong way of delivering the content and didn't target a specific group. The readers before the newspaper were mainly the elites in New York, and among them were the 30+, not very keen on that part of the internet.”

"The most attractive thing about newspapers to them is still the idea of ​​objective neutrality and humor. Therefore, entertaining print newspapers will only drive away these loyal readers, but it is difficult to attract those who are not interested in print newspapers. Interested young people, because they are now used to using the Internet to receive messages.”

"So, if I buy a newspaper, I'll change my thinking. I always think that no matter what era it is, whether it's the old print media era or the Internet era, people want objective and credible news. Demand will not change. I hope to regain the New York Observer's tradition of being objective and impartial and addressing current shortcomings, so that we can become a credible media that readers can trust."

At this moment, Kaplan's face showed a bit of interest. William Chen felt the change in the other party and continued:

"So for the New York Observer's paper newspaper, the most important thing is to adhere to serious topics, be objective and neutral, and present it to readers in a witty and humorous style. As for entertainment, it also needs to be preserved, which is an important factor for us to attract young readers. way, but not in the paper newspaper, but the electronic version on the website of our newspaper. I looked at the website of the New York Observer and I found that the content of the website is too simple, it is just a simple copy of the paper newspaper, This is not right, because you need to realize that the audience of the website is different from the audience of the paper newspaper, so in terms of content, there must be differentiation. UU Reading www.uukanshu.com”

"So if I can acquire the newspaper, I will increase the recruitment of network technicians. On the one hand, I will enhance the website technically, and on the other hand, the entertainment reports will be mainly presented in the electronic version on the website. Newspapers should use more photos and try to use words as colloquial as possible, because young people today rarely read those plain-text reports patiently. They prefer to receive information through photos and pictures, and prefer simplicity. Easy-to-understand words, these qualities, all require us to actively cater to."

When William Chen said this, Kaplan couldn't help but nodded and said: "William, now I do believe that you will bring changes to the newspaper. I am not a person who can't change the past. I knew before that the transition to the Internet is inevitable for paper media. I left the newspaper office mainly because it can be entertaining, but not only entertaining. The objective neutrality that we are most proud of cannot be given up, and we absolutely cannot tolerate the appearance of those fabricated news. There was hope for Robert's reforms, but disappointment in the end. I've worked for the New York Observer for more than two decades, and I don't want to turn it into a third-rate entertainment tabloid in my hands."

"I can understand your feelings, Mr. Kaplan. It's like when I left Los Angeles and returned to New York, I also had to reflect on my past. When I found that I was likely to lose the most precious legacy left by my parents. I also had a similar mood when I was in 2010, so I made the decision to get back on my feet and make changes to undo the consequences of my mistakes. In the same way, in the New York Observer's attempt, I also wanted to change other people's attitudes towards An important step in my opinion, I hope more than anyone can bring this newspaper back to its glorious path." William Chen said.