"What kind of crazy are you? My Pok-E-Mon has never had its manuscript rejected before!" Pok-E-Mon was already very dissatisfied with Xia Er, and there were many past grievances between them. Hearing the other party directly reject his manuscript, Pok-E-Mon naturally felt extremely angry and retorted without hesitation.
"Since you want to reject my manuscript, then tell me now, what exactly is wrong with my manuscript and what rules has it violated? If you can't give me a clear explanation, I'll make sure you can't leave Jack Weekly!" Pok-E-Mon believed that he still had quite a bit of status within the magazine, as he had been an editor at this magazine for over ten years and had built up considerable connections over the years.
The previous editor-in-chief could still suppress him a little, but now with a completely new editor-in-chief parachuted in, Pok-E-Mon felt he could definitely contend with the newcomer.
"Reasons? Then let me ask you, you stated in this article that thousands of people die annually in India due to controlled upstream water sources. Where is your evidence? Where is the corresponding interview material? Bring it all out for me!" Xia Er retorted immediately. Pok-E-Mon's face instantly turned red.
He didn't have any detailed information. He had just casually seen someone mention it on a forum online and directly used it without any basis whatsoever.
Of course, Pok-E-Mon still argued righteously, "We've always done it this way, and there's never been any problem. Besides, do you expect me to go to India for on-site interviews? Will the company reimburse my travel expenses?"
"Then you have no evidence. As a media person, the basic professional ethics is to speak with facts. If you don't even have the basis for your reporting, how can I possibly approve such an article? This is complete garbage!" Xia Er said unceremoniously, and then threw the article in his hand into the shredder. This instantly made Pok-E-Mon furious.
"You don't know anything! Our magazine isn't a serious media outlet; we're an entertainment magazine. Entertainment magazines don't need to be so serious, you understand? Creating some news that users enjoy and bringing them happiness is our most important task."
"By the way, since you're new, you probably don't know, but these reports weren't written by me. They were requested by our client, who paid 1.4 million Euros. If we don't write them, we'll have to return the money, and will you be responsible for the company's losses?"
With the backing of their client, Pok-E-Mon's voice became even louder. He argued righteously, "Xia Er, you must arrange for my article to be published in the next issue of the magazine immediately, otherwise, I will immediately report you to the head office for disrupting the company's normal operations and causing the company to lose over 1.4 million Euros in revenue. I will complain and report you to the company!"
Pok-E-Mon believed that his words could instantly grip Xia Er by the throat and seize his leverage, thereby forcing him to cooperate. However, to his surprise, Xia Er revealed a smile as if looking at an idiot, which made Pok-E-Mon's skin crawl.
"Do you believe I'll make a call right now?" Pok-E-Mon said quickly.
"Go ahead and call!" Xia Er smiled slightly. "But I'm curious, who exactly are you going to call?"
"Of course, it's our magazine's head office, Vivendi! You know, I'm very good friends with Mr. Albert, the media director at Vivendi. One phone call and you'll be out!" Pok-E-Mon said.
"Please!" Xia Er's smile widened. "Jack Weekly originally belonged to Vivendi, that's true, but our French Belle originally belonged to Carpen Media. We don't even have the same boss. Don't you use your brain to think about why I would be here and become your superior?"
"Uh... didn't you jump ship and join Vivendi?" Pok-E-Mon paused, then asked instinctively.
"Vivendi announced about a 20% layoff this year. Do you think they would still be recruiting externally at this time?" Xia Er chuckled.
"Then Carpen acquired our Jack Weekly? That's impossible! We even wrote an article last month that thoroughly investigated your Carpen Group's financial situation, and your entire group was on the verge of collapse, so how could you possibly have money to acquire Jack Weekly?" Pok-E-Mon was even more bewildered.
"So you've been kept in the dark all along!" Xia Er couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. "Fine, I won't tease you anymore. I didn't go to Vivendi, and Carmen Media didn't have the funds to buy your shabby weekly. In fact, both my French Belle and your Jack Weekly have been acquired by a new owner."
"The new owner, in order to control the acquired companies, has swapped the heads of various media magazines. I was transferred from French Belle to your Jack Weekly, and I don't know where your editor-in-chief was transferred, or he might have been fired and dismissed altogether."
"Let me tell you, our new owner has an extremely strong desire for control over the company. This time, they've even set a 10% layoff target just to get rid of those disobedient individuals and keep only the obedient, good employees!" Xia Er's words made Pok-E-Mon's scalp tingle. He had no idea about such important matters.
"The company you mentioned, is it that mysterious company that's been aggressively acquiring media lately?" As a media person, Pok-E-Mon's information wouldn't be completely out of touch. He recalled that there had been rumors in the media circle about a large enterprise aggressively acquiring various media outlets across Europe.
Pok-E-Mon originally thought that his company, backed by a large company like Vivendi, wouldn't be likely to be acquired, but the change came so quickly. In the blink of an eye, his company had a new owner.
"That's right. Let me also tell you that your article wasn't rejected by me. After all, today is my first day at work here, so how could I have the time to review such garbage articles written by you? Your article was directly rejected by the head office. The head office even specifically instructed me to thoroughly vet the editor who wrote this article and see if this person is obedient. If not, fire him immediately. What do you think I should do with you?" After saying this, Xia Er completely gained the upper hand, and Pok-E-Mon was already trembling on the spot. xxs壹贰
Of course, Pok-E-Mon wouldn't admit defeat just like that. He bluffed and said, "Don't try to trick me here. Even if the company has a new owner, the new owner wouldn't go against money. This is a 1.4 million Euro revenue, and I don't believe the company would pass up this money!"
"Well, most companies might indeed be as you say, but do you know who our new owner is?"
"Who? It couldn't be Jiangnan Group, could it!" Pok-E-Mon said instinctively, then froze for a moment, his mouth gaping wide.
"It seems you've guessed it! There's no need for me to waste any more words with you." Xia Er shrugged his shoulders. "Do you still want to appeal to the head office?"
"Appeal what! Who the hell wrote this garbage article that completely lacks substance and is all fabricated out of thin air!" Pok-E-Mon immediately slammed the table and said angrily, as if the article wasn't written by him personally.
There was no helping it. Jiangnan Group had been operating in Europe for many years and had had some contact with media outlets worldwide. Pok-E-Mon naturally knew a little about this company. It was one of the few private enterprises in the world that prioritized patriotism over money. If you dared to show any disrespect towards China in front of them, you would be blacklisted from all cooperation.
Jack Weekly had previously collaborated with Jiangnan Group, and Jiangnan Group also placed some advertisements there. However, due to the articles that were previously agreed to be published, they were directly blacklisted by Jiangnan Group.
Unexpectedly, the tables had turned, and now his company had been acquired by Jiangnan Group. It was only natural that Jiangnan Group would directly reject this manuscript.
In fact, Pok-E-Mon felt that based on his actions, it would be perfectly normal for Jiangnan Group to fire him outright. Therefore, Pok-E-Mon had to immediately cut ties with everything from his past. After all, the entire market was in a crisis, and if he lost his job, he truly didn't know where he would find his footing.
"Alright, stop acting in front of me. But you're a smart person. Since we have a new boss, you naturally know what you should and shouldn't do. I can cover for you this time, but if you dare to make the same mistake again next time, I'll fire you on the spot!" Xia Er said coldly. In reality, he had never intended to fire Pok-E-Mon.
Although this guy was extremely annoying, just as Pok-E-Mon himself had said, he had extensive connections within Jack Weekly. Moving against Pok-E-Mon could potentially disrupt the entire magazine.
Besides, the most crucial point was that Xia Er was a direct hire. He had no idea about the daily operational work of Jack Weekly. Without the old hand like Pok-E-Mon to help him, Jack Weekly would surely descend into chaos, and his performance for the new boss would naturally be greatly diminished, causing him to lose opportunities for promotion.
After all, even a fool could see that Jiangnan Group was in the process of building a massive media empire. This new group would certainly lack many high-level positions. Some of these positions would be transferred directly from the head office, while others would definitely be promoted from the lower ranks to properly operate the entire group.
This was Xia Er's opportunity. He was determined to become a senior executive in the entire group, and operating Jack Weekly well was the most important task.
And someone like Pok-E-Mon, an old hand with dirt on him that Xia Er could hold over his head at any time, was there a better pawn in the world?