Hastings, sitting in his new office, watched the news on television with a triumphant smile and a cheerful mood. "Huang He has completely offended all the Americans this time, hahahaha!"
In his opinion, Huang He had alienated himself from the entire United States, and Los Gatos Media was essentially finished!
It was well known that traditional news media had no goodwill towards Los Gatos Media. After all, if online media developed, it would inevitably threaten the livelihoods of traditional media.
Therefore, these traditional media outlets began to report frantically on the matter, quickly revealing the reasons behind it. Only then did American audiences learn that Los Gatos Media had booked all of Times Square to celebrate its successful merger and reorganization with an opening ceremony. It was clearly an ostentatious display of wealth.
"You're showing off, huh? Then you're doomed."
Soon, on the day of the opening ceremony, whether organized or unorganized, a group of people holding signs began to protest and demonstrate outside the construction site.
Initially, the number of participants was small, only around 100 people. However, by the time people left work in the afternoon, the number of protesters had already exceeded ten thousand and was still growing towards the hundred-thousand mark.
Normally, even though the American people have a tradition of participating in protests and joining in on the fun, and even with some capital forces operating behind the scenes, it would be very difficult to organize a protest of tens of thousands within two or three days. Even distributing food would take time, requiring various means to organize transportation, food, and logistics. The entire operation would be very cumbersome, and two days would be absolutely impossible to complete; it would take at least a week of preparation. Two days at most could only organize a few hundred people.
However, one must not overlook the location of this protest: Times Square in New York, a place with extremely high foot traffic, where tens of thousands of people pass by every hour. While people had to work during the day, after work, those who were idle, and who genuinely disliked the wealthy monopolizing Times Square, naturally joined the crowd.
Simply put, 90% of the people at the scene were passersby who were there to witness the spectacle and happened to participate in the protest. Since there was nothing else to do in the evening, participating in this protest was quite interesting and a good way to pass the time. Most importantly, based on past experience, as it got darker, the looting would begin!
Therefore, many of the "brothers in black" were already wearing thick, baggy clothes, with their hands stuffed into their pockets, their eyes scanning the various luxury stores around them, contemplating which shop to patronize later.
Not only were there tens of thousands of curious onlookers, but also a large number of reporters had arrived at Times Square, setting up their cameras and equipment. For the past three days, Los Gatos Media had become infamous throughout the United States, and all the onlookers were curious about what kind of celebration this Los Gatos Media event would be. Moreover, this was the center of the media industry, and every building housed hundreds or thousands of media professionals.
As a result, a large number of staff from various media outlets naturally gathered here. In fact, all five major television networks in the United States were broadcasting live, allowing viewers across the country to see the "ugly face" of Los Gatos Media in real-time. For ABC and NBC television stations, broadcasting here was particularly cost-effective. They didn't even need to leave their company offices; they could set up cameras at suitable windows on the fifth floor of their company buildings to broadcast from an excellent, panoramic vantage point, making it incredibly convenient.
Speaking of which, even if this incident hadn't escalated, many reporters would have gathered here anyway. After all, this was the opening ceremony of Los Gatos Media, and many executives from the industry had been invited to attend, so a large number of reporters would have been present. However, it was likely that the executives behind these media outlets would not appear here, or at least not openly. Since this place had become the focal point of condemnation across the United States, any media executive who dared to show up would attract all the attention to their own company.
Furthermore, these media outlets already had a grudge against Los Gatos. Previously, out of courtesy, they might have felt obligated to attend this opening ceremony. But now that it had become the center of controversy, they had a legitimate reason to decline.
However, the executives of NBC and ABC were definitely present. Since their headquarters were located in Times Square, they stood on the top floors of their buildings, looking at the densely packed, ant-like crowds below, and a smile appeared on their faces.
"This Chinese person is finished this time!" one executive exclaimed, raising his glass.
"Yes, we thought we would have a strong competitor, but we didn't expect this opponent to commit suicide before the battle even began. It's too amusing!" another executive chimed in.
"They Chinese people love excitement, and now they've caused trouble with their excitement!" someone else mocked. "This is the land of God, and God also allowed these people to encroach upon God's voice here. So, God has directly led them to their own destruction!"
"However, the memories of these ignorant masses are limited. I'm afraid that in a few months, they will forget about this incident. Moreover, if Los Gatos Media can continue to release some hit products, they might still have a chance to revive," one executive said with some concern.
"Don't worry, we're here!" someone else laughed heartily. "It's true that the memories of these ignorant masses have an expiration date, but we can constantly help them deepen this impression. Everyone should instruct their subordinates that when recording or producing various programs in the future, they must find ways to mention today's events at least once."
"Let's turn this incident into a meme, a joke, and common story material. Just like our great founding president chopping down a cherry tree that didn't exist in the South, or Edison inventing the light bulb that had already been invented, let's completely form a solid collective memory!" These executives were indeed masters of manipulating public opinion. In just a few words, through some small tactics, they aimed to place Los Gatos Media on the pillory of history.
It could be seen that the attitudes of the executives of the major television stations were very consistent: to crush Los Gatos Media from its birth.
As a result, media outlets across the United States began to focus their reports on this small protest demonstration in New York's Times Square. Meanwhile, many of the onlookers in New York, who were staying at home, found it boring and decided to head to Times Square for some excitement.
Thus, starting from 4 PM, the foot traffic and density in Times Square began to rapidly increase. By around 7 PM, as the sky darkened, the number of protesters outside Times Square had swelled to 200,000 people, completely blocking the entire street.
The media executives in the office buildings were naturally overjoyed. The larger the crowd, the more doomed Los Gatos would be. If there were any stampedes or accidents causing casualties during this period, Los Gatos would be completely finished.
Unfortunately, such a situation seemed unlikely. It was said that the senior management of Los Gatos Media, fearing they might be attacked, had called the police that morning to help maintain order. Of course, this was only possible if Los Gatos Media had donated a sum of money to the police for purchasing police cars, etc. Otherwise, the New York police never arrived at the scene beforehand; they were always one step behind.
However, as the number of protesters continued to surge, these New York police officers were extremely grateful for Los Gatos' early call for help. Otherwise, with the current crowd density, it would be strange if nothing went wrong.
Finally, the time reached 8 PM, the time for the opening ceremony of Los Gatos Media, as publicly announced by the major television stations and media outlets. As expected, at this moment, the previously somewhat dark interior of Times Square was instantly illuminated by countless dazzling lights and beautiful neon lights, making the entire Times Square shine like a rainbow world.
Upon seeing the lights turn on, someone in the crowd of protesters immediately shouted, "Gentlemen, those shameless rich bastards at Los Gatos are enjoying their celebration in our Times Square, while blocking us, the true owners of Times Square, outside with these barriers, making us clowns outside the stage!"
"Gentlemen, ladies, how can we accept such an insult!!"
"Never! Absolutely not!!" the crowd roared with thunderous anger.
Then, a leader holding a loudspeaker shouted, "Everyone, follow me and charge in, break through these damn barriers, and give those shameless bastards an unforgettable celebration!"
With that, the person moved to the forefront of the crowd and began to charge towards the defensive line formed by police and barricades! Well, this was a traditional skill of the American people. Next, there should be tear gas, gas bombs, rubber bullets flying everywhere, and intense clashes between the police and protesters.
However, the police officers guarding the barricades actually retreated! They all ran away, leaving the sheet metal barricades directly to the enraged protesters!