Chasing Stars in Hollywood

Upon receiving Simon's conditions, the Hearst family once again fell silent.

If this had happened before the turmoil began, losing their ESPN shares and paying a $370 million settlement would not have hurt the Hearst family too much. But now, things were different.

Due to the comprehensive boycott and litigation bombardment by the Westeros system, the continuous departure of business partners, and the public outrage caused by the murder scandal, the value of Hearst Group's assets has been rapidly depreciating before everyone's eyes.

Just as Simon has absolute control over Westeros, the Hearst family also firmly controls all shares of the Hearst Group, the ultimate parent company of the Hearst media empire, through personal holdings and family trusts.

Although many of their newspapers, magazines, and TV assets are joint ventures, most of the losses from this turmoil still need to be borne by the Hearst family alone.

With the deteriorating business conditions leading to a depletion of their cash flow, external bank loans, bond issuances, and other financing channels were also cut off. Now, the Hearst Group can only raise $370 million by selling its assets.

However, not only have the values of Hearst Group's major newspapers and magazines recently plummeted, but potential buyers are also seizing this opportunity to further depress the prices. If the Hearst family wants to cash out by selling assets, they can only sell at half the pre-turmoil price. This means that to raise $370 million, the Hearst Group would need to pay twice the initial price.

Including the ESPN shares, solving the troubles on the Westeros side alone would cost the Hearst family $1 billion.

Even though many in the Hearst family understand that cutting losses now is the best strategy, it is hard to persuade themselves and other family members to endure a one-time loss of $1 billion. They would rather bleed out slowly.

Simon, of course, did not stop after stating his conditions.

Under the operations of the Westeros system, the media continued to aggressively criticize the Hearst Group. The federal authorities, pressured by public opinion, recently initiated several other investigations into the Hearst Group.

Because of William Hearst III's escape to avoid punishment, and after Doris Fletcher's family also filed a massive $600 million lawsuit, the federal authorities urgently froze William Hearst III's stocks, properties, and other assets to prevent asset transfers.

Not only has Roger Halls, William III's assistant who failed to pay sufficient bail and remains detained, but other members of the Hearst family and some high-level executives of the Hearst Group are also frequently summoned by the FBI's Doris Fletcher murder investigation team for questioning.

The high-profile murder case continues to erode the Hearst Group's credibility.

Simon did not publicly release the surveillance footage of Doris Fletcher taking poison to avoid being accused of letting her die. However, he anonymously provided this evidence to the FBI investigation team to ensure that William Hearst III would have no chance of overturning the case.

On another front, the trend of canceling subscriptions to Hearst Group's newspapers and magazines, spurred by media propaganda, continued.

Competitors of Hearst Group's various newspapers and magazines also seized the opportunity to launch various marketing promotions, relentlessly stealing user resources from Hearst Group's media. Cersei Capital's Apollo Management Company even established a $200 million support fund to finance newspapers and magazines competing with Hearst Group's media.

The decline of the American print media industry is unstoppable.

If this had been decades ago, the Hearst Group might have survived the turmoil and regained its lost market share through various means. However, due to the overall shrinking of the American print media user base, this loss of users is now irreversible.

The Hearst Group was slow to react. Under the influence of the Westeros system and other capital forces, many newspapers and magazines under the Hearst Group refused to sit idly by.

Recently, the joint shareholders of seven newspapers under the Hearst Group have requested to buy back the shares held by the Hearst Group. They even demanded that the authorities intervene to facilitate the transaction, citing the negative impact of the Hearst Group's scandal on the newspapers and their employees.

Of course, these joint shareholders offered very low prices.

In short, under the step-by-step pressure from the Westeros system, if the Hearst family cannot quickly take decisive action, this old media giant will disintegrate within a year due to deteriorating business conditions.

After the weekend, Simon and Janet flew to the East Coast, while Veronica stayed in Los Angeles to assist with some pre-IPO auditing for Daenerys Entertainment.

Though the Hearst family is in turmoil, the Westeros system is also not having an easy time.

Besides dealing with the media storm caused by the Hearst family's series of exposés, the federal political and business circles' vigilance and suppression of the Westeros system's continuous rise have also become more frequent.

The series of lawsuits triggered by the March antitrust accusations against the "Cisco-America Online-Insignia" internet giants have resulted in only three settlements so far, with the rest entering formal litigation.

The Westeros system has ample resources. If it were just a matter of litigation, they could bankrupt many small companies. However, the potential large-scale antitrust risks these lawsuits bring must be handled with caution by the Westeros system.

Therefore, it must be acknowledged that the Rwandan genocide in April not only diverted the federal public's attention from certain shocking family massacres but also significantly overshadowed the various lawsuits facing the Westeros system.

The recent aggressive attack on the Hearst Group by the Westeros system and the wooing of other old media forces have also largely suppressed the North American media's hype about the "Westeros system monopolizing the internet industry" topic.

After the recent wave of federal politicians "voicing their opinions" against the Westeros system, although most remain in the rhetorical stage, Washington has become less cooperative with the Westeros system. At least, all the legislation previously pushed by the Westeros system has stalled.

On another front, Cersei Capital's recent acquisition of State Street Bank's asset management department has also encountered obstacles in Congress.

The House Financial Services Committee questioned the deal, demanding that Cersei Capital explain how it could ensure the safety of investors' funds given that BlackRock Asset Management already manages over $200 billion in assets.

If Cersei Capital cannot provide assurance, Congress will block the further progress of this merger.

These questions are somewhat unreasonable.

In the inquiry letter from the House, no definition of the required "fund safety" was given.

For Wall Street financial giants, ensuring the safety of investors' funds is a basic requirement. The general principle is to inform investors of major investment activities in advance, not use funds for unauthorized transactions, and not engage in insider trading.

If these are the requirements, Cersei Capital can certainly ensure them.

Although BlackRock Asset Management's overall asset scale is enormous, the funds from different clients in the various sub-funds are clearly defined in the contracts for their investment purposes. Many funds are merely custodial, with investment decisions still in the hands of the investors.

However, even after Cersei Capital responded to the House's inquiries, they continued to hassle.

After several attempts, Janet roughly figured out that the House members seemed to want BlackRock Asset Management to make a promise of no losses, which is what they meant by "fund safety."

There's no such thing as a no-loss business, especially on Wall Street.

In essence, Washington is deliberately making things difficult, not wanting Cersei Capital's transaction with State Street Bank to succeed.

Many large mergers take two to three years to be approved by the federal government, a common occurrence in the United States. However, for this transaction, Simon and Janet know that prolonged delays will lead to complications.

Unlike those physical enterprises, for Wall Street financial companies, investors care not only about their profitability but also about their reputation, media perception, and legal risks. Any significant disturbances can lead to massive withdrawals by investors.

If the process drags on too long, State Street Bank might ensure its clients don't get anxious and withdraw their funds, or it might realize it shouldn't give up this business so easily, and the merger could collapse at any time.

After arriving on the East Coast, Simon stayed in New York while Janet went straight to Washington.

Moreover, they had decided that if negotiations with the House failed, Cersei Capital would resort to litigation, as the deliberate obstruction by the House Financial Services Committee was too blatant.

In the outskirts of Greenwich, Connecticut, at a manor.

It's Wednesday, May 25.

Simon didn't go to Manhattan in the morning but met with political lobbyist Paul Spitz from Wisconsin at the Greenwich manor.

Paul Spitz was once the head of Verizon's political lobbying department and corporate-affiliated political action committee. After the Westeros system launched its plan to target this year's midterm elections, Paul Spitz, who grew up in Wisconsin, was sent there to target the re-election of left-wing Democratic senator Craig Ames, who had been opposing the Westeros system.

Now, Paul Spitz has become the campaign manager for Robert Holtwell, a moderate Republican senator candidate from Wisconsin, running against Craig Ames.

Recently, Paul Spitz, collaborating with his temporary employer, developed a detailed and clear campaign platform based on Wisconsin's specific circumstances, making up for the lack of hot political issues in the 1994 midterm elections.

Paul Spitz even went further, conducting a meticulous voter segmentation in Wisconsin, crafting targeted campaign strategies and slogans for different voter groups like the middle class, veterans, and minorities.

Such meticulous operations in American political campaigns are not unprecedented. However, most political campaigns, even presidential ones, face a crucial obstacle to achieving this level of precision: funding.

For the Westeros system, money is not an issue.

Although current federal election laws are stringent, with many restrictions on political donations, it's not difficult to circumvent these barriers if one is determined.

For example, this time, many of the voter surveys needed

 by Paul Spitz's team were conducted under the guise of business surveys by Westeros companies like America Online and Egret in Wisconsin. This not only provided Paul Spitz's team with valuable voter feedback data but also effectively saved a lot of money for the campaign team.

This model is also not new in American political campaigns. Even if exposed and subsequently investigated by the federal government, the result would be a convoluted mess.

Though the intense election battle of the latter half of the year hasn't started yet, Paul Spitz has already spent or indirectly spent over $5 million of the Westeros system's funds in Wisconsin alone. This amount equals the average campaign funding for each Senate candidate this year.

However, Simon doesn't mind, as he is very satisfied with the work results of this political lobbyist.

Paul Spitz's idea of precisely targeting different voter groups with tailored campaign strategies showed Simon a feasible plan to quickly expand the Westeros system's political influence across the United States.

After all, the essence of political campaigns is to secure votes. As long as you win votes from various voter groups by any means, you are the winner.

In many past political campaigns, politicians often lost the support of the working class while catering to the middle class, lost the favor of anti-war groups while pleasing veterans, or alienated female voters while winning male votes.

The result is often a mess of trying to please everyone but ending up with nothing.

Even when some candidates thought of this targeted voting approach, they often couldn't achieve precise operations due to campaign funding or organizational capacity issues.

The Westeros system has enough capital and the political ambition to influence the entire federal landscape. Therefore, this precise operation plan, often too grand for other politicians, is almost tailor-made for the Westeros system.

In the study of the manor, Simon and Paul Spitz spent more than two hours discussing this in detail before turning the topic to the current targeting plan.

"In 1993, the average income of middle-class families in Wisconsin fell by 2.7% compared to 1992, far exceeding the national average of 1%. The unemployment rate also reached 8.6%, higher than the national average of 6.4%. Employment issues will be our main focus this year."

Situated in the rust belt region around the Great Lakes, where America's heavy industry has declined, Wisconsin's economy has been struggling for a long time. The recent years of overall economic downturn in the United States have only worsened Wisconsin's situation.

Simon did not interrupt, indicating for Paul Spitz to continue.

"Actually, economic issues have been a focus for the local government and Congress members in Wisconsin for many years. Craig Ames has also paid much attention to these issues. However, due to the overall national economic recession, Wisconsin's economic situation continues to deteriorate, a fact that is clear to everyone. If we operate correctly, the public will not know about the efforts of Craig Ames and other politicians. They will only see the continued economic decline, rising unemployment rates, and decreasing family incomes in their state. Then, our candidate can seize the opportunity."

"Moreover, Craig Ames has been pushing for increased subsidies for low-income families and minorities over the past few years and even voted in favor of last year's federal fuel tax increase bill. These actions indirectly harmed the interests of the middle class, which makes up most of Wisconsin. Recently, the average income of middle-class families has been decreasing, and their lives are not easy. Craig Ames, however, is harming the middle class to subsidize the lower class, which will further cost him votes in this election."

After listening to Paul Spitz, Simon suddenly said, "According to your logic, even without our support, it seems Craig Ames has a hard time getting re-elected. So, why do I still need you?"

This abrupt question was somewhat sharp.

Paul Spitz was only momentarily stunned before he laughed and said, "Boss, this is the impression I aim to instill in Wisconsin voters. Judging by your reaction, my strategy is very successful. So, you need me."

Before launching the targeting plan, the Westeros system had investigated Craig Ames.

As a skilled veteran politician, although his political views lean left, Craig Ames is also considered a practical politician and has maintained high support rates in Wisconsin.

The earlier question was just a spur-of-the-moment test.

Nodding in acknowledgment, Simon said, "Paul, you may continue."

Temporarily setting aside his thoughts on the unexpected question, Paul Spitz continued, "Additionally, we've uncovered some dirt on Craig Ames over time, which we plan to release at an appropriate time later this year."

This year's midterm elections, lacking clear political issues, have seen many campaigns devolve into mudslinging contests.

Handing Simon a document, Paul Spitz said, "Craig Ames is relatively clean: no gray income, no secret lovers, and a very ordinary background. However, in his efforts to build his network, he has written many college recommendation letters for students from Wisconsin over the years. As you know, a recommendation letter from a U.S. Senator, even at the Ivy League level, carries significant weight. For ordinary state universities, it's practically an admission ticket. Craig Ames's recommendation letters certainly include excellent students, but most are the offspring of wealthy families. The problem lies here."

Simon opened the folder and saw a copy of a recommendation letter for a student named Paul Skortel to the University of Wisconsin.

Paul Spitz continued, "Paul Skortel is the son of a local food company owner in Wisconsin. The Skortel family is a major supporter of Craig Ames. Two years ago, Craig Ames wrote this recommendation letter, helping the young man, whose SAT scores were far below the admission standard, get into the University of Wisconsin. According to our investigation, in the past two years, Skortel has allegedly assaulted at least six girls at the University of Wisconsin, all of which the Skortel family suppressed. We need to expose this, highlighting how Craig Ames supports immoral rich kids, thereby directly impacting his base among lower-income voters."

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