webnovelvip Chapter 14 Newspaper Redesign
Chapter 14 Newspaper Redesign
When the last reporter rushed into the conference room clutching his worn-out notebook, Lucy was already standing in front of Lin Zhou's office door, lightly knocking on the open door with her fingertips: "Boss, everyone's here, the conference room is ready."
Lin Zhou closed the old newspaper in his hand. It was the last issue left by his former boss, and the front page still carried some innocuous political reprints. He got up and straightened his neatly pressed shirt cuffs.
"Let's go."
Lin Zhou's voice was steady, with a hint of barely perceptible unfamiliarity. He had only been in Hong Kong for a little over a week. He could understand Cantonese, but he spoke it haltingly, so he decided to communicate entirely in Mandarin.
Pushing open the wooden door to the conference room, I found it already packed with people. The long wooden table was polished to a shine, but it couldn't hide the scratches of varying depths on its surface—the marks left by years of pens, inkpads, and documents.
All eyes turned to him, filled with curiosity, scrutiny, and a hint of barely concealed unease.
Yesterday, news suddenly came that the old boss had sold the newspaper. The new boss is a young man from mainland China. Judging from his fluent English, he must have studied abroad. No one knows where he will take this half-dead little newspaper.
Lin Zhou walked straight to the head seat, the wooden chair groaning slightly. As he sat down, his gaze slowly swept over everyone present: to the left of the head seat sat Editor-in-Chief Chen, his hair already half-white, his hand tightly gripping a fountain pen, his knuckles white.
Next to Old Chen were three editors, two men and one woman, all around thirty years old. The female editor had an open dictionary in front of her, her fingertips still on a certain page, clearly having just checked the words.
Sitting across from me was Lao Wang, the manager of the interview department. He had dark skin and ink stuck between his fingers. Behind him were five reporters. Two of them looked like recent graduates with blank stares in their eyes, while the other three looked exhausted, probably from years of running around covering the news.
To the right of the head of the table sat the white-haired editor, surnamed Zhao, who had reportedly spent twenty years in the Hong Kong press. He was resting with his eyes closed, seemingly unconcerned about the arrival of the new boss.
At the far end was Manager Li, who was in charge of operations. He was holding an account book, his brows furrowed, and he kept glancing at the abacus on the table. There were also two office clerks who were whispering to each other with their heads down. When they saw Lin Zhou looking over, they immediately fell silent.
The only sounds in the conference room were the clanging of trams outside the window and the soft tapping of a pen on paper. Lin Zhou cleared his throat, breaking the silence: "Hello everyone, my name is Lin Zhou, and from today onwards, I am the new boss of this newspaper."
"I'm from the mainland," Lin Zhou said without beating around the bush, starting to fabricate his background in a half-truthful way. Otherwise, who would respect a big circle kid like him? So, his identity was something he gave himself.
"I studied in the United States for three years, majoring in business administration, and I haven't been in Hong Kong for long." He paused, then smiled frankly. "I don't speak Cantonese very well, but I can understand most of what you are saying. I'll have to trouble you all to be understanding in the future."
These words eased the atmosphere in the meeting room slightly. Old Chen adjusted his glasses, feeling a weight lifted from his shoulders—he had initially worried that the new boss would be difficult to communicate with, but he hadn't expected him to be so straightforward.
"I'm not very familiar with everyone yet, so I only gave a brief introduction before," Lin Zhou continued. "Why don't you reintroduce yourselves and talk about your respective responsibilities at the newspaper, so that we can work together more easily in the future?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Old Chen spoke first: "My name is Chen Jingzhi, and I am the editor-in-chief here. I am responsible for the overall editing and review of the newspaper. I have been with the newspaper for eight years." His Mandarin was heavily accented with Cantonese, and he spoke with some difficulty, but he was very serious.
Next, the three editors introduced themselves in turn: "My name is Zhang Ming, and I am in charge of the social news section." "My name is Li Juan, and I am in charge of the supplement and GG layout." "My name is Wang Hao, and I am in charge of translating international news." Li Juan spoke in a soft voice and subconsciously smoothed the stray hairs on her forehead, appearing somewhat reserved.
The interviewing department manager, Lao Wang, then spoke up in a loud voice: "My name is Wang Defa, the interviewing department manager. These five reporters are divided into two who cover Hong Kong Island and three who cover Kowloon and the New Territories. We mainly cover current affairs and social news." The five reporters behind him also introduced themselves. The youngest one was named Ah Jie, who had just graduated and was still a little shy when he spoke.
The editor-in-chief, Mr. Zhao, who had been keeping his eyes closed, finally opened them and slowly said, "Zhao Wenshan, editor-in-chief, responsible for writing commentary articles." His voice was hoarse, carrying the weight of years. After speaking, he closed his eyes again, as if saying another word would be a waste of energy.
Finally, it was the operations manager, Manager Li, and two clerks: "My name is Li Wangcai, and I'm in charge of the newspaper's operations, finances, and distribution." "My name is Lucy, and I'm in charge of receiving and sending documents and answering the phone." "My name is Aqiang, and I'm in charge of typesetting, printing, and contacting the printing plant."
"Alright, I have a general understanding of everyone's situation." Lin Zhou's tone suddenly became serious. "The main reason for calling this meeting today is to announce a few important things that concern the future of the newspaper and also the livelihoods of each of us."
These words perked everyone up, and Mr. Zhao opened his eyes again, his gaze falling on Lin Zhou.
"First, the newspaper will be renamed," Lin Zhou said firmly. "From today onwards, our newspaper will be officially renamed 'Zhonghua News Agency,' and the newspaper will be named 'Zhonghua Daily.'"
"A name change?" Old Chen couldn't help but ask. "Mr. Lin, this newspaper has been using this name for over ten years. Won't a sudden name change affect our long-time readers?"
"Old readers?" Lin Zhou smiled, picked up the old newspaper on the table, "How many old readers do we have now? This newspaper is full of reprinted political news, all the same, who wants to read it? Changing the name is to give everyone a fresh start."
Old Chen was speechless and could only nod silently.
"Secondly, the newspaper will undergo a complete redesign." Lin Zhou's gaze swept over everyone. "From today onwards, our newspaper will no longer report or reprint any military or political news."
"What?" The moment those words were spoken, the conference room erupted in chaos.
"Boss, what should we report on? Political news is the newspaper's main focus!" Wang Defa said anxiously, as his reporters had been covering these kinds of topics for years.
"Mr. Zhao, aren't all your commentary articles about current affairs?" Li Juan asked in a low voice.
Zhao Wenshan opened his eyes, looked at Lin Zhou, and remained silent, waiting for him to continue.
Lin Zhou raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet: "Everyone, please listen to me. We don't engage in military and political matters because we are a small newspaper and don't have the strength to compete with those big newspapers. Rather than struggling in the Red Ocean, we'd rather find another way."
He paused for a moment, then continued, "From now on, our news section will only focus on two types of content: one is news about people's livelihoods, such as daily necessities, neighborhood news, price fluctuations, and public facilities issues. These will be the focus of our reporting, and we will write in a down-to-earth way so that readers feel that the newspaper is about things happening around them."
Secondly, there's economic news. Hong Kong's economy is becoming increasingly vibrant, and businesspeople and citizens alike are concerned about the stock market, property market, and various industry trends. We can do more reporting in these areas, such as introducing popular industries, analyzing price trends, and even inviting industry professionals to write columns.
"What about entertainment news?" a young reporter couldn't help but ask, as he usually enjoyed following those kinds of news.
"Entertainment news is not only something we should do, but something we should prioritize." A glint flashed in Lin Zhou's eyes. "Hong Kong's entertainment industry is becoming increasingly lively. Movies, singers, and celebrity anecdotes are all content that readers love to read. We need to send reporters to film sets, nightclubs, and record companies to dig up exclusive news, write it vividly and interestingly, and satisfy everyone's curiosity."
"In addition to the news section, we're also adding a brand new column: serialized novels," Lin Zhou announced, dropping the third bombshell.
"Serialized novels?" Old Chen frowned. "Mr. Lin, only a few major newspapers serialize novels these days, and they're all written by well-known authors. Where would we get that kind of resource?"
"No need to ask anyone else." Lin Zhou smiled slightly. "I've written a novel myself, and I can bring it to everyone tomorrow. Starting November 1st, it will be serialized in the newspaper every day."
This statement stunned everyone. They hadn't expected that the new boss not only had studied abroad but also wrote novels. Zhao Wenshan sat up straight, his eyes filled with astonishment.
"Finally, regarding the issues of distribution and funding," Lin Zhou's tone became firm again. "Today is October 27th, and I have decided that the *Zhonghua Daily* will be officially launched on November 1st. Starting from the launch day, for three consecutive days, 100,000 copies will be distributed free of charge each day, delivering the newspaper to every corner of Hong Kong so that as many people as possible can see our new newspaper."
"One hundred thousand copies? And for free?" Li Wangcai exclaimed. "Mr. Lin, that's a considerable expense! Printing and transportation alone cost several thousand Hong Kong dollars a day. Over three days, the cost is simply too high!"
"Don't worry about the money," Lin Zhou said, looking at him. "I will invest HK$30,000 into the newspaper specifically for this redesign, printing, and free distribution."
Thirty thousand Hong Kong dollars! This figure sent a collective gasp through everyone. This newspaper used to only generate a few thousand Hong Kong dollars in revenue each month, sometimes even operating at a loss. The previous owner sold the business because he simply couldn't keep it afloat. Now, the new owner has just thrown away thirty thousand Hong Kong dollars – this bold move has everyone in awe.
"Mr. Lin, what you're doing is too risky," Old Chen said worriedly. "Providing it for free for three days may attract many readers, but what about after that? If readers are unwilling to pay for it, we'll still find it difficult to continue."
"So, it all depends on the abilities of all of us." Lin Zhou looked at everyone present, his eyes filled with expectation. "I will provide you with funding and direction; the rest depends on everyone working together. The editors need to produce high-quality content that readers will find engaging."
Reporters need to cover as much news as possible, dig up exclusives, and write high-quality articles; the operations department needs to streamline distribution channels to ensure the newspaper reaches readers smoothly. In three days, whether we can retain readers and establish the *Zhonghua Daily* in Hong Kong will depend on whether these fifteen of us can work together as a cohesive unit.
The conference room fell silent; everyone was stunned by the barrage of news. A name change, a redesign, abandoning current affairs, focusing on everyday entertainment, serializing a novel, distributing 100,000 copies for free, an investment of 30,000 Hong Kong dollars… each event exceeded their expectations, leaving them momentarily at a loss for how to react.
Seeing everyone's silence, Lin Zhou didn't urge them, but patiently waited. He knew that these changes were too sudden for them and they needed time to process them.
After a long silence, Wang Defa broke the silence first: "Mr. Lin, what you said seems feasible! We reporters are good at covering people's livelihood and entertainment news. As long as it can help the newspaper improve, we are willing to give it a try!"
With one person taking the lead, others followed suit and expressed their opinions.
"I think so too. The political news we used to write was too dry. Changing our direction might really bring about a turnaround," Zhang Ming said.
"The HK$30,000 investment is enough for us to do a proper redesign. Mr. Lin is so decisive, we can't hold him back." Li Wangcai also breathed a sigh of relief. With the funds, he, as the operations manager, could finally get things done.
Zhao Wenshan looked at everyone and slowly said, "Since the boss has the ideas and the courage, I, this old man, am willing to give it a try. I can also write commentaries on people's livelihood news."
Seeing that everyone had expressed their opinions, Lin Zhou smiled and said, "Good! Since everyone agrees, let's each do our part and get started. The editorial department will start adjusting the layout today, planning the sections for people's livelihood, economy, entertainment, and novel serialization according to the direction I just mentioned; the reporters will start covering people's livelihood and entertainment news tomorrow, striving to accumulate enough material before November 1st; the operations department will contact the printing plant as soon as possible to determine the printing quantity and transportation channels to ensure a smooth release on November 1st."
"Understood!" everyone answered in unison, their voices filled with a long-lost enthusiasm.
Lin Zhou nodded and stood up: "Alright, that concludes the meeting. If anyone has any questions or needs my coordination, please feel free to come to me anytime. I hope we can work together to make the *Zhonghua Daily* a success in Hong Kong!"