The Fox of France

Chapter 248: The Conspiracy of the Ministry of Truth (2)

Honestly, when it came to the activities of the French media and the political conspiracies hidden behind them, the British were not oblivious. After all, when it came to conspiracies, the British considered themselves second to none on a global scale. Whether it was their innate cunning or the skills accumulated over the years, the British excelled in the art of conspiracy.

So, when the French came to England to run their media, the British naturally reciprocated by establishing various French publications in Paris. However, the circulation of these British publications in France was far from matching the popularity of French publications in England, not even by a small margin. In fact, they couldn't even hold a candle to their French counterparts. The primary reason behind this was that the costs for these British publications remained relatively high.

In France, the main source of income for various publications, apart from academic journals like "Nature," was not the cover price, but advertising revenue. Of course, journals like "Nature" were non-profit organizations by nature and weren't intended to make money.

For a newspaper, the larger the circulation, the more valuable its advertising space became, and the higher the revenue it generated from ads. A lower cover price, while maintaining quality, could also boost circulation. Under Lucien's leadership and with the support of the military-industrial conglomerate, French publications came to Britain with not just journalists and editors but an entire squad of advertisers. Consequently, even without the immediate goal of turning a profit, the French could slash their newspaper prices significantly.

But in the British market, they didn't have a monolithic entity like the "military-industrial conglomerate," and they lacked the backing of an "advertising brigade." This led to a frustrating cycle for these British publications.

The first issue these British publications faced when printed in France was pricing. In France, affordable newspapers had become the norm, with cover prices often barely covering the cost of materials, such as paper and printing. Their revenue primarily came from advertising. But the new British publications couldn't afford to operate that way, which resulted in a rather unfortunate consequence: their newspapers were more expensive than the French ones.

This had disastrous effects as the high cover prices deterred potential buyers. Fewer buyers meant less advertising interest, which in turn meant higher prices for their papers. This created a self-sustaining loop. Even though these British publications made an effort to pull in advertisements, it was challenging. Even British businesses preferred to advertise in the French publications – after all, why advertise in your papers when you can't sell them?

In France, their counterparts were just as discerning. So, the advertisements these British publications managed to secure were mostly things like lost-and-found ads or missing pet notices – low-value ads. Even establishments like the Moulin Rouge in Paris shunned these British publications, which were considered "insignificant and overpriced," as the average per-ad cost was absurdly high due to their low circulation. The joke in the Paris entertainment scene for such establishments and washed-up dancers was, "You might as well advertise in British papers."

Hence, while it seemed like Lucien had raised a rather unreasonable flag, currently, the likelihood of him being shot into the sun inside a cannon was quite slim. Unlike someone else, who had enough room to enjoy a week-long vacation on the sun.

In fact, even in London, British native publications felt the pressure from the cheap French publications. Selling two copies for seven pence was unsustainable, especially without considering advertising revenue. The two papers barely turned a profit.

However, these two papers had the backing of the French "Scientific Truth" and "French Businessman" publications. It was said that Mr. Newington, a director of "French Businessman," stated during a board meeting:

"Britain is a new market, and at this point, the most critical thing for our newspapers is not profitability, but gaining market share as much as possible. Gentlemen, if we can temporarily make less money, even temporarily not make any money, or even incur small losses, to force our competitors to make significant losses or even go bankrupt, then these losses will be worthwhile and should be seen as successful investments.

Gentlemen, once traditional British publications, under our attack, go bankrupt one after another and finally exit the market, do you still worry that we can't make money? At that time, all advertisements will only be published here, to be widely known. All parliament members, whether from the Whigs or the Tories, will have to go through us to make their voices widely heard. Do you still worry about not making money?"

Of course, the British were well aware of the danger this situation posed. However, at this time, the UK had not yet formed a massive media trust. To be more precise, the UK was still in the classic era of laissez-faire capitalism, with the stars not yet aligned in the right positions. Monopolistic organizations with their countless tentacles hadn't had a chance to fully form. And then suddenly, they found themselves facing an unexpected supernatural invasion.

Only nuclear weapons could counter nuclear weapons, only breeder reactors could counter breeder reactors, only the former dominators could counter the former dominators, and only a trust could counter a trust.

Relying solely on those British newspapers to fight individually, none of them would be a match for the French media trusts. So, on the day Fei Jin left Paris, a group of British newspapers gathered in London and held a successful and victorious meeting, announcing the establishment of an organization called the "England News Alliance." On the same day, the "England News Alliance" declared that the assets under the alliance would undergo optimization, with many poorly performing newspapers being gradually closed down. Some inadequate staff would be removed, and the resources would be concentrated to create new newspapers - "The Times Review" and "England Economic Observer."

Clearly, these two newspapers were direct competitors to the two newspapers of the "Seven Pence Alliance."

In addition to the owners of several existing newspapers, some gentlemen from other industries also joined the alliance and invested in it. The highest-ranking investor in the alliance was the former British Prime Minister, Little Pitt.

One well-known fact was that Little Pitt was broke. Due to previous investment failures, Little Pitt was a notorious debtor. So many people speculated that the money Little Pitt had invested was probably lent to him by the King.

With Little Pitt's involvement, this alliance naturally leaned towards the Tory party.

As soon as such a Tory-leaning media alliance emerged, it raised alarm bells for the Whigs. Although this "England News Alliance" seemed to be targeting the French "Seven Pence Alliance," they were still not as deadly a threat to the French as they were to the Whigs.

Just as scattered British media couldn't compete with the "Seven Pence Alliance" in the past, now that media leaning towards the Tory party had formed a large alliance, they might not be able to immediately repel the French, but they could easily crush the remaining small newspapers that leaned towards the Whigs.

So, a few days later, another media alliance, the "England Free News Alliance," was also established in London. Perhaps due to the rushed formation, most of its organizational regulations were copied from the "England News Alliance."

The main instigator was Charles James Fox, the leader of the Whigs, and he had the support of several wealthy individuals behind him.

As a result, England's news battlefield suddenly had three major players.

"Mr. Fox is a very interesting person. In terms of ideology, he is closer to the French, and even more so to the Jacobins. During the American Revolution, he openly praised the people of North America for resisting tyranny. When we beheaded Louis XVI, he openly said in parliament that it was Louis XVI's own fault. Such an extreme stance caused him to lose many friends and gave the Tories the upper hand in parliament. In fact, many Tory members of parliament who had originally been Whigs became Tories because of ideological differences with him.

Well, this guy is an excellent orator and debater. In parliamentary debates, he has never been at a disadvantage, and anyone who confronts him will be left speechless. However, when it comes to voting, he has almost never succeeded.

Due to his pro-French stance, this time, there are some textile merchants and steam engine businessmen behind his alliance. However, overall, his alliance is still far from matching the 'England News Alliance.' Joseph, Napoleon, I think we can offer them some support. Let's come up with a conspiracy against the 'England News Alliance,' using the discovery you made, Joseph, which hasn't been made public yet."

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