Chapter 199: Tabloid

"Do you want the Daily Mirror?" In a night club in London, Michael Kuhn heard Arthur mentioning the Mirror Group.

"The Mirror Group's debt exceeds 50 million pounds," Michael Kuhn said, a bit surprised.

"As a cheap tabloid, it needs a circulation of over 2 million to make money. The Daily Mirror now has a circulation of just 2.4 million copies, while The Sun has a circulation of 3.2 million copies. Are you sure you want to compete against News Corporation's Sun?"

Before the 1980s, it was called the Mirror. After that, it was renamed the Daily Mirror. The 1960s were the peak period for the Mirror, with a circulation of over 5 million copies.

Gradually, the circulation declined. After changing to the Daily Mirror, the content was reformed, aiming to shift towards more serious topics, and the masthead color changed from red to black.

It was obvious that the Daily Mirror's transformation was a failure, and if the circulation dropped below 2 million copies, it would be even more dangerous!

Arthur shook the drink in his hand. "The Mirror Group needs a complete overhaul, focusing primarily on sports, entertainment, and dark news.

The upper class is not the main customer base. It should still target ordinary workers. I know the biggest competitors of the Daily Mirror are News Corporation's Sun and the News of the World.

Why can't we compete? Price wars, news wars - what's wrong with that? News Corporation's current debt is also ridiculously high!"

Besides, who the heck buys a newspaper just to make money? How much profit does News Corporation's newspaper business contribute anyway?

Michael Kuhn, who managed PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, knew very well that owning a historically significant newspaper had many advantages.

"Arthur, you've never managed a newspaper before. Are you really confident?"

Arthur patted Michael Kuhn's shoulder and smiled, "I might not have experience, but I know how to create news and hot topics. What I want is to increase the Daily Mirror's circulation."

"With higher circulation comes profit. Then, the Mirror Group can merge with other publishing groups, and we could completely become a leading publishing tycoon in the UK.

If PolyGram is not interested, Germany's Bertelsmann Group would definitely be interested!"

PolyGram's size was substantial, and they had many music labels under their belt, being one of the six major record companies globally.

Investing in the Mirror Group was not a very big deal for them.

"Arthur, is it that you actually want us to help you smooth out the acquisition process?" Michael Kuhn quickly understood that the Mirror Group was, after all, a traditional British newspaper.

An American like Arthur Smith would face a lot of resistance if he wanted to acquire it.

Back in the day, Rupert Murdoch could successfully acquire the Times, the News of the World, and the Sun thanks to the support of the Conservative Party leader, Margaret Thatcher, who was also the UK Prime Minister.

Back then, the first goal of Mirror Group's Czech Jewish owner, Robert Maxwell, was to acquire the News of the World and the Sun.

He lost to Rupert Murdoch mainly due to identity issues. How could an outsider, an Australian, beat a member of the Commonwealth?

The Anglo-Saxon stronghold of the UK was not as easily swayed by Jewish interests as the US was.

Rupert Murdoch was not Jewish; his family had been Christians for generations, though a few generations back on his maternal side there seemed to be some Jewish ancestry!

"It's not a big deal. The Mirror Group is heavily in debt and needs someone to take over. With local British capital involved, it would be more convenient," Arthur said casually, spreading his hands.

"Don't forget, I'm also a shareholder of ESPN, the world's largest sports TV channel, and Galaxy is currently the only film production company that can compete with the six major film studios worldwide.

The amount of news I can bring to a newspaper is immeasurable. As long as the Mirror Group's creditors are not a bunch of unevolved monkeys, I think they'd know what choice to make!"

As for why Arthur chose PolyGram, it was clearly due to the resources PolyGram had with their artists.

In a tabloid, popular news is always about celebrities and politicians. Aren't actors and singers all within this range?

"A 28-pence tabloid, Arthur, would you really be interested in that?" Michael Kuhn could not understand why Arthur was interested in the Mirror Group. Did he really want to enter the UK media business?

Or maybe Arthur was interested in British politics?

Michael Kuhn laughed. Given Arthur Smith's age, he didn't think the latter would be interested in politics.

To him, politicians would definitely not be as appealing as the sexy beauties around him!

"Why wouldn't I be interested? The British paparazzi are world-famous. If they catch me in a scandal next time, wouldn't I be humiliated?" Arthur said with a hint of fear on his face. "Look at your Prince Charles. He's already a global laughingstock. He's going to be the future King of the UK, isn't he? That's terrifying!"

Nowadays, when British women buy sanitary pads, they just say, "Give me a pack of Prince Charles."

"Alright," Michael Kuhn interrupted Arthur, "Some royal family members do come to this club to relax."

Arthur widened his eyes, "At this hour, there are still royal family members coming to the bar to relax? Shouldn't they be locked up reflecting?"

Michael Kuhn responded helplessly, "Princess Diana often comes here to relax!"

"Oh, I see," Arthur didn't feel much about it. This couple had been leading separate lives for a long time.

Each had their own lovers. Princess Diana now had three publicly known lovers and recorded tapes.

"Alright, when you get back, report to the higher-ups. If they're interested, have them contact my advisor Jim Court directly!"

Michael Kuhn nodded. PolyGram Films had always wanted to deepen cooperation with Galaxy, mainly because Galaxy's progress was remarkable.

Besides, since Arthur had confidence in increasing the Daily Mirror's circulation, it did make sense to invest in the Mirror Group.

After chatting with Arthur at the club, Michael Kuhn left early.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Hurley, who was also at the club, ran into Catherine Zeta-Jones. They had collaborated in the TV series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, which had started airing last month.

Both Catherine Zeta-Jones and Elizabeth Hurley played supporting roles in the show.

"Catherine, good evening!" Elizabeth Hurley hugged Catherine Zeta-Jones.

"Hurley, it's great to see you," Catherine Zeta-Jones suddenly noticed Arthur Smith walking over behind Elizabeth Hurley.

"Arthur..."

*****

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