Chapter 604: The Madman

[Chapter 604: The Madman]

At ABC headquarters on 66th Street in Manhattan, in the multimedia screening room, Anthony Edwards, playing Dr. Mark, stirred awake once more at 6:30 in the morning. He glanced at his watch, exhausted, as the 87-minute pilot episode of ER officially came to an end.

As the lights came on, a buzz of chatter filled the screening room.

Eric caught snippets of opinions from some at ABC, mentioning things like "too much medical jargon,"niche subject,"disorganized structure," and "not enough dramatic conflict." He merely smiled, not doubting these industry veterans' expertise, but aware that such professionalism could only keep a TV show at an average level. If every drama's ratings always aligned with these people's predictions, there would never be any dark horse hits.

Tom Murphy, sitting beside Eric, leaned over to chat with Buffett. Naturally, he could hear the murmurs around him. He smiled and said, "Eric, don't mind what they say. I actually think this is a solid TV show. In fact, niche subject matter tends to stand out more and could surprise with unexpected ratings."

Eric, unfazed, nodded and playfully asked Buffett for his thoughts on the show.

"It is indeed a bit too fragmented," Buffett remarked. "But I don't think the storyline is disorganized at all. A closer analysis reveals that the character arcs for Dr. Mark, Dr. Doug, and the intern John Carter are quite well-structured. I'm actually looking forward to how the plot develops."

Nearby, Katzenberg and Robert Iger shared their thoughts in a casual manner. ER was a project Eric had personally spearheaded. Until Eric faced his first major failure, nobody questioned his vision. The show's airing was already set in stone; the screening felt more like a formality after the merger with ABC.

It was now May 7, and the summer movie season loomed large. The major personnel adjustments following ABC's merger had concluded, and the focus was now on streamlining overlapping departments from both Firefly and ABC. Katzenberg would continue to direct his efforts in this area for a few more months. Eric, however, needed to squeeze in a trip to Boston to meet with managers from three companies responsible for the browser, Yahoo portal, and online email.

After a simple lunchtime reception at ABC's headquarters, Buffett and a handful of individuals involved in the acquisition in New York began to depart, heading back to their respective cities.

Though he hadn't found a suitable successor yet, Eric arranged for his right-hand man, Allen Fiseman, to take a position as vice president in ABC's primetime programming department. Following the merger, Eric hadn't conducted any widespread personnel changes at ABC, which eased many people's minds. Therefore, bringing in a trusted associate to ABC's core department raised no objections.

After saying goodbye to Katzenberg and others, who still had work to do, Eric pushed through the narrow glass doors and stepped outside ABC's headquarters onto the somewhat cramped 66th Street, resisting the urge to glance back at the red brick building that made him want to cover it with a mosaic. He patiently waited for his driver to pull up.

ABC, once headquartered in a grand building at Rockefeller Center in the '80s, sold that property at a high price to a Japanese company after Buffett and Tom Murphy, two famously frugal characters, took over. This sale triggered an anti-Japanese sentiment in America during the '80s. Subsequently, Tom Murphy opted for a new headquarters in the still-developing Upper West Side.

...

The driver soon arrived, and Eric got out ten minutes later at a cafe near Bryant Park in Midtown. Since it was working hours, the cafe was relatively quiet, and without needing a waiter to guide him, he spotted Tina Brown sitting by the window to his left.

Last month, Elizabeth had given Eric the contact details for the former editor of Vanity Fair, and finally, after some time, he had managed to schedule a meeting with Tina.

Tina was just in her early forties, dressed in a simple white shirt, sporting neat short hair. Unlike Anna Wintour's flamboyance or Emily's typical power woman vibe, she seemed more like a homemaker. However, anyone who knew Tina Brown wouldn't doubt the woman who became the editor of the century-old magazine at just 25.

Tina noticed Eric's arrival. She waved to the waiter and got up to greet him personally.

"Hello, Mr. Williams. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said, extending her hand warmly.

Eric shook her hand and replied, "I'm glad to meet you too, Ms. Brown, but it seems I might be a bit late."

Tina smiled and led him back to her table. "Not at all. I've been coming here every afternoon lately, so I was actually the one who arrived early."

Eric sat down opposite her, noticing an IBM laptop in front of Tina, connected to a phone line, with a computer tutorials book and a black notebook next to it. He couldn't help but look a little more closely.

Tina observed Eric's curiosity and turned her laptop's screen toward him. "The cafe owner is a friend of mine, which is why I'm able to use the internet here. I've been researching Yahoo's site lately and I have a lot of questions I'd love to ask you about it, Mr. Williams."

When arranging this meeting, Eric had been upfront about his intentions to talk, so hearing Tina's explanation, he said, "Of course. Feel free to ask me anything. And just call me Eric; I hope it's alright if I call you Tina?"

"Of course," Tina nodded, about to say more when Eric pointed to the laptop displaying the Yahoo homepage. "This version isn't the latest Yahoo homepage. Can I take a look?"

Tina pushed the laptop closer, and Eric casually ordered a coffee from the approaching waiter. Then, he skillfully entered a URL, revealing a completely different design for the Yahoo homepage than what was currently displayed.

The original Yahoo homepage had a basic T-shaped layout cut into three sections. The new one was a typical "H" shape layout, a successful model that future classic portal websites would adopt. This strategy was something Eric had been discussing with the Yahoo team via email for some time, but the new homepage was still in an internal testing phase.

Unlike the old homepage where you had to scroll for ages to reach the bottom, the current design, due to limited internet speeds, was only as big as the screen could handle. The top still featured the Yahoo logo and search bar, with a series of links on the left. Login, email, Yahoo forums, and soon-to-be-launched instant messaging tools were moved to the right while the main "H" shape showcased highlighted news content.

Initially, Eric had planned to add a recommended sites section above the news content, as these "super traffic links" could attract advertising revenue. With Yahoo's anticipated site traffic, these ad spots could generate significant income in the next few years. But at the moment, trying to charge websites for advertising was unrealistic. Since it was impossible to collect fees now, Eric preferred to scrap that section temporarily. After all, launching a navigation section now would have to be free, and shifting from a free model to a paid one on the internet is notoriously challenging.

Eric opened the test interface, positioned the laptop screen so they could both see it, and pointed at the links for "News," "Finance," "Entertainment," and the highlighted news stories in the middle, addressing Tina Brown. "If you're willing to take on the role of Yahoo's editor-in-chief, these content sections will be your future projects. The center's featured news is akin to the highlighted pieces on a magazine cover, while each sub-section resembles the various pages of a magazine," he explained, casually opening the entertainment section and offering a brief overview.

Tina listened patiently before looking up at him. "Eric, why do you think I'd be suited for this role?"

Eric shook his head. "I can't say for certain, Tina. It's a whole new industry that never existed before, so I'm only looking for candidates from traditional media. Someone recommended you to me, and after some research, I truly believe you're a strong candidate. However, Yahoo doesn't have much time to let you acclimate to this job. You'd get a one-year contract, and within that year, if your performance isn't satisfactory, you'll need to move on."

Tina frowned slightly at the stringent conditions. As a woman who had been a powerhouse in the magazine industry for nearly twenty years, even high-ranking executives at Conde Nast wouldn't speak to her so harshly. Yet, considering Eric's status, Tina held back her initial retort. This young man's position in media had already far surpassed any executive at Conde Nast, not to mention his enormous wealth, which represented real power in society.

After gathering her composure, Tina said, "Eric, I've heard rumors you've already invested over a hundred million dollars into browser software, Yahoo, and online email services. I just want to know how you plan to recoup those investments. While you're affluent, no industry can survive on pure investment without profit for long."

"The user base for Yahoo is already large, and the company is developing a unique advertising system. These projects are currently under wraps, and you'll only get the full details once you sign a contract with Yahoo," Eric replied.

Yahoo had previously tested basic banner ads and email promotions on a small scale. Tina had noticed those while researching Yahoo's web presence, but she didn't think those seemingly trivial ad moves could cover the site's massive expenses. However, since Eric wasn't willing to share any details ahead of time, she shifted the topic. "What about content, Eric? Yahoo primarily relies on republishing material from other sites, and there's a lack of original content. I feel that the current internet content is quite sparse, and if this continues, Yahoo will quickly hit a growth plateau."

"I'm aware of that," Eric said, flashing a hint of confidence. "While it's part of Yahoo's next step, I can reveal that starting in the second half of this year, Yahoo will establish a special angel investment fund to support promising websites. The initial investment will be around one hundred million dollars, and all of that will be spent in a year. With an average investment of one million dollars per site, Yahoo will support about one hundred new websites. Additionally, I don't mind annually investing another one hundred million dollars into this initiative. Besides that, you'll also need to set up your own content editing department at Yahoo. If your ideas prove feasible, I'm open to funding adequately."

Burning through a hundred million dollars annually to support website development!

At that moment, Tina's first thought was that this legendary young man across from her must be crazy. Although countless websites had emerged, very few were truly profitable. Most were either corporate profiles or small sites created out of individual interests. The legitimate commercial websites were still quite rare. In Tina's view, Eric pouring that much money into this venture was akin to throwing gold coins into the water.

Noticing the fleeting expression on Tina Brown's face, Eric chuckled. "When Columbus proposed his grand sailing plan, many thought he was insane too, but he went ahead with it. That's why we can sit here today on this continent he landed on, discussing another madman's crazy plan, don't you think?"

*****

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