As the head of the DOJ, Edwin Meese was quite frustrated. Washington's atmosphere was somewhat strange. Around him were those with malicious intentions.
Alright, he underestimated the situation. William White's influence was much bigger than he estimated.
Twenty thousand people unemployed, losses of over a billion dollars. Could he withstand all this?
William White really didn't know how this brain-dead person climbed to this position.
Were there really any non-monopolized industries in the US?
Come on, if you tied a few conglomerates together, you'd see they played the entire industrial chain, from extracting minerals to making planes and tanks. They packaged all the steps in between. If you were so naive, why not break them up?
The current anti-monopoly efforts are essentially a joke. They couldn't possibly go against themselves. Don't tell me the DOJ isn't capable; even Kennedy couldn't do it.
Lawsuits involving rich people were fascinating. A protracted legal battle began over whether Legendary World constituted a monopoly.
The spectators were puzzled because Legendary World didn't entirely ban other games. Their access requirements weren't excessive. As for royalties, of course developers had the right to earn profits, right?
Moreover, with such a grand case, is the DOJ really free to waste taxpayers' money?
To let people play cheaper games?
Okay, this was a thunderous slogan crafted by William White for them.
Hearing his subordinates' reports, Edwin Meese was furious. When it came to verbal battles, who was William White afraid of? If your health wasn't great, it's best not to offend him.
Honestly, he wanted to act further, like dealing with that annoying TV station. Unfortunately, it was beyond his authority.
The media had a supervisory role. Without solid evidence, he had to endure it. Besides, they weren't wrong; this lawsuit could cost tens of millions.
...
"Boss, how's the lawsuit going? Why is it getting worse?"
"Heck, it's fine, the lawsuit can't be won."
"Can't be won? What if we can't win? The loss is massive."
"What're you afraid of? I've made so much money I could puke. Winning all day is boring. You know, Jason, life's lonely as snow!"
"Darn, you'd die if you stopped showing off!"
"Come on, man, I'm genuinely impressive."
"Alright, alright, even if that group wins, it wouldn't end well, right? That's quite the reputation hit, isn't it?"
"Haha, all for buying cheap game consoles, cracks me up! How do you like my creativity?"
"Sigh, that guy's unlucky running into you."
"What? Don't worry, it'll be a disaster. If I lose a billion, someone's coming down with me."
"Alright, do what you want. Seriously though, you really have too much money."
William White was baffled. Sure, he had a lot of money, but he worked hard for it. It didn't come with the wind.
...
"Mr. White, if this merger succeeds, ABC will move up a notch."
"Barry, are you worried?"
"Naturally, it's better to solidify our hard-won advantage."
"No need to worry so much. We'll just focus on content. I have some plans, but they're not complete. I'll get to them when I'm done with this."
"Alright, Mr. White, we've got some great ideas here too."
"Good, just do it. Don't overthink. In fact, having a strong competitor isn't bad. If we dominate, another Legendary World scenario could happen."
"Got it."
Barry Diller understood this. Recently, NBC had been pretty relaxed, lacking previous momentum.
TV networks were quite sensitive. If ratings were consistently above 50%, it'd make everyone uneasy.
Now that there's another strong competitor, there's no reason to be polite. Ensuring a leading position is urgent.
William White was confident that his real competition was still gathering strength. As for ABC, it posed no threat. Rupert Murdoch and Sumner Redstone were formidable opponents, everyone else was mediocre.
Speaking of Murdoch, the old guy was resilient. Despite William White's continuous blows, he was still thriving.
William White never took his eyes off that old guy from Australia, and vice versa.
Currently, Murdoch, who had lost the initiative, could only tangle with William White in Europe.
Murdoch thought that White Media should be the one investigated for antitrust. That damned bastard was hindering human progress.
His target wasn't Europe; America was where he should go.
But with William White around, there wasn't much he could gain.
...
Unknown to Murdoch, his outstanding performance had come under the watchful eyes of many influential forces. Since this guy had the capability, they decided to support him with greater effort.
They say the enemy of my enemy is my friend. This saying holds true everywhere, and with new allies, the old man started to covet his dreams.
It was a nice idea, but NBC was a massive entity. The thought of shaking its position was nothing short of a pipe dream.
"Sir, Murdoch is negotiating to acquire 20th Century Fox."
"Hmm, keeping it under wraps, are they? Who's helping them with the acquisition?"
"Morgan Stanley."
"Haha, Wall Street really only cares about interests. Fine, disregard the previous business, and keep a close eye on Goldman Sachs."
"Got it, sir."
"Alright, by the way, what about that small TV station Fox has?"
"It's quite small."
"Good, get Barry Diller to talk to Goldman Sachs. We want to acquire it. Also, the satellite prices here in the US need to drop. We're buying three at once, and if they insist on the current price, we'll change our cooperation intentions."
"Sure thing, sir. I'll get on it right away."
William White knew that Fox Television couldn't be sold separately, but that didn't stop him from making things difficult for Murdoch.
*****
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