Chapter 151: A Strong Start and News from the Commercial Radio Station
"Eh? Why is this newspaper in color?" A young man who was about to buy a paper looked surprised as he noticed a distinctly different one on the stand. "Boss, is this a new release?"
The newsstand owner smiled and replied, "Yes, it just came out. It's called the Hong Kong Chinese Daily. Look at the colors and the quality of the paper—top-notch, isn't it?"
The young man took the newspaper, gave it a feel, and indeed, it had a premium texture. He asked, "How much for one?"
The owner raised his right hand and spread his fingers, saying, "Fifty cents a copy."
"That expensive? Fifty cents can buy two copies of other newspapers," the young man said, clearly hesitating after hearing the price.
The owner chuckled and said, "Come on, handsome, look at the quality of this paper and the color printing. Doesn't it make you feel better just looking at it? It's like your outfit—see how you're wearing a few different colors? Isn't that nicer than just plain black and white? And I bet your clothes cost more too, right?"
The young man thought about it and said, "That's not wrong, I guess."
The owner continued, "Hey, do you like reading wuxia novels? This Hong Kong Chinese Daily includes a serialized novel too. Feels like it's almost as good as Jin Yong's work."
"No way," the young man replied, clearly skeptical. He flipped through the newspaper until he found the novel section. "Celestial Sword of the Firmament? Let me see."
The owner didn't say anything more. After about a minute, he asked, "How is it?"
"Not bad at all," the young man nodded in approval, then skimmed through the other news content in the paper. He said, "Alright, I'll buy a copy today and see. This color print is really pleasant to look at."
"Great!" The owner grinned and handed over a fresh copy, completing the sale.
After the young man walked away, the newsstand owner smiled to himself and thought, "The owner of this Hong Kong Chinese Daily is really clever, offering a special rebate policy. The more we sell, the higher the commission. It's way more lucrative than the other papers."
Across many newsstands in Hong Kong, similar scenes were playing out. Some customers felt fifty cents was a bit steep—too much to pay just to read some news. Others didn't mind the extra cost and bought it out of curiosity.
Regardless of the type of customer, the first impression of the color print was universally better than the standard black-and-white newspapers. People naturally prefer colorful things.
That night, on Hong Kong Island, inside the warehouse-factory of the Hong Kong Chinese Daily, the color printing presses were still running nonstop.
Yang Wendong had purposely stayed there. This was the first media venture under his name, and it was also their first official publication day. Of course, he wanted to be on-site to await the results.
Even before the full data came in, Yang Wendong stepped out of the office to take a look around. He walked over to the machines and asked, "Is this the printing for tomorrow's edition?"
Qin Zhiye replied, "Yes, for tomorrow. While we haven't gotten the final figures for today yet, the afternoon's report estimated around 2,300 copies sold. So by the end of the day, it'll probably hit 3,000 to 3,500. That's why tonight's run is based on that estimate—we usually print about 60% of that number in advance. Once we get the actual sales data tomorrow morning, we can adjust if needed."
"Mm," Yang Wendong nodded. "That's a good way to avoid waste."
Qin Zhiye smiled and said, "Generally speaking, most newspapers have some degree of wastage, since it's hard to predict daily sales accurately. The bigger publications manage a bit better, but small ones? Their numbers are like roller coasters. Controlling waste is key to staying profitable. But with a good serialized novel in our paper, we can stabilize sales to an extent. Even if we overprint a little, we can sell it at a discount. News gets old fast, but a novel stays fresh."
"That's definitely a bonus," Yang Wendong chuckled.
Newspapers aren't like industrial goods; they need to be printed in advance, and their value is tied heavily to timeliness. If daily sales fluctuate too much, the resulting waste can be substantial. But being too conservative means people might not be able to get a copy when they're eager, hurting long-term customer loyalty.
Having a compelling serialized novel doesn't guarantee a stable readership, but it does provide a buffering effect.
Qin Zhiye added, "I went to see Xiong Sheng this afternoon. He seems to be experiencing a bit of writer's block. He still has a good amount of drafts stored up, but I'm a little concerned."
"Writer's block is normal. Even Jin Yong used to get stuck sometimes," Yang Wendong said. "There's nothing we can do to help him creatively, so let's focus on the other stuff. Whatever he needs—so long as it's reasonable—we should provide it."
"Got it," Qin Zhiye replied. "He's been wandering around Hong Kong for a few days. Now he says he wants to go back to Taiwan to pay respects to his mother and maybe get some inspiration. He plans to stay there for a while. I've already booked his ferry ticket."
"That's fine. A ferry ticket only costs the equivalent of a few newspapers," Yang Wendong said casually. "Just work things out with him. As long as he can keep the novel updates coming, it's all good. And not just this one—we want him to keep writing, one book after another. If he runs out of inspiration and needs to buy books, visit libraries, or even go traveling, as long as the requests aren't outrageous, just say yes."
In his previous life, Gu Long never reached the same level of fame as Jin Yong, but he was incredibly prolific. Yang Wendong intended to take full advantage of that trait. And of course, it was beneficial for Gu Long as well.
In fact, when it came to supporting artists—whether they were novelists or musicians—entertainment companies often bent over backward to meet their requests, no matter how odd. Because if they struck gold, the returns were more than worth it.
Qin Zhiye nodded and said, "Understood."
Just then, a young employee came running up. "Mr. Yang, Mr. Qin, the sales figures for the first day are out. Across all of Hong Kong, we sold a total of 3,753 copies."
"Over 3,700?" Qin Zhiye had mentally prepared for a decent result, but the actual number still pleased him. "Mr. Yang, this is a great start. In Hong Kong, there are only about six or seven newspapers that can consistently sell over 10,000 copies daily. For a brand-new paper to debut with this number—this is absolutely a strong start."
"Yes, I know," Yang Wendong nodded. Hong Kong's population was only around 3 million at the time. Of those, maybe 30 to 40% could actually read a newspaper. With well over a hundred newspapers in circulation, the competition was fierce.
Qin Zhiye grinned. "Mr. Yang, your strategy of offering extra commissions to newsstand owners really worked. Now they're all more eager to promote our paper."
"Just a small tactic," Yang Wendong replied with a smile. This was a strategy that OV mobile phones had used in his previous life—it definitely had its merits.
Still, he said, "This method only works if the content is at least decent. If we want to keep selling well in the future, it's going to depend on the quality of the content."
Qin Zhiye nodded. "Yes, it still comes down to content quality. That's the heart of a newspaper—especially for us, since we're positioning ourselves as a high-end publication."
"Have things been arranged for our overseas contacts?" Yang Wendong asked.
"Yes," Qin Zhiye replied. "We've got people in the U.S., the U.K., and Australia. They'll organize and send over major news stories as soon as they break. If it's urgent, they'll contact us by phone.
Here in Hong Kong, I've also set up a team of six reporters to investigate a wide range of social issues."
Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, "Social issues are your area of expertise, so I won't get involved there. But I do suggest that your coverage leans more toward real estate and the stock market—especially housing prices. Lately, property prices in Hong Kong have been climbing steadily, and the public is extremely sensitive to any news in that area."
For the average citizen in Hong Kong, making money is a major concern. Regardless of whether someone is wealthy or not, everyone dreams of buying land or property. It's a deeply ingrained part of Chinese culture.
The stock market is the same. Fewer people play it, but it's even easier to stir up frenzy due to the volatility. Many are drawn to the gamble.
"Understood. I'll assign a few reporters specifically to monitor those sectors," Qin Zhiye said. "And from another perspective, if we do a good job covering these topics, real estate companies will be more inclined to advertise with us."
"Exactly. Property developers are big clients for newspapers," Yang Wendong agreed. "Today counts as a success. Aside from those working the night shift, let everyone else head home and get some rest. Also, prepare a nice dinner for the night shift staff. Tomorrow, let's have a proper celebration lunch with the day shift team."
"Got it. Thanks, Mr. Yang," Qin Zhiye replied with a smile.
The next day, the Hong Kong Chinese Daily continued distribution, and newsstand owners quickly noticed that plenty of people came back to buy it again.
Elsewhere in Hong Kong, inside the headquarters of the Galaxy Daily, Hu Xian was reading several English-language newspapers when she heard a few knocks on her door. Knock knock knock~
She looked up and said, "Editor-in-Chief Li, come in."
"Miss Hu," Editor Li greeted as he entered. "Something interesting happened in Hong Kong's newspaper scene yesterday. A new paper launched called the Hong Kong Chinese Daily, and they're publishing in full color. Take a look."
"Color print?" Hu Xian was briefly stunned, then took the paper while remarking, "We actually discussed doing color prints internally before, but dropped the idea because of the cost."
Editor Li nodded. "Yes. It's not that color printing can't be profitable—it just impacts our current operations. As far as I know, a few other papers also considered it but ultimately backed off for the same reason.
Since this Hong Kong Chinese Daily is new, they have no such baggage to worry about."
"The paper quality is great—feels impressive at first glance," Hu Xian said after taking one look. "This can't be cheap. How much are they charging? And what's their circulation?"
"Price is fifty cents per copy. Not sure about circulation yet, but it doesn't look too bad."
"Fifty cents?" Hu Xian flipped through a few more pages. "They're definitely losing money on just this price alone. And I don't see any advertisements in here either. I guess they're waiting to attract advertisers once their circulation increases. Until then, they'll have to bankroll it themselves. Have you found out who's backing this? Who's the owner?"
Editor Li replied, "It's someone we know—the Post-it King, Yang Wendong."
"It's him?" Hu Xian was surprised. "With his financial resources, running a newspaper shouldn't be a problem."
Though the buzz around the "Post-it King" had faded, as one of Hong Kong's top media professionals, Hu Xian paid close attention to the city's wealthy. After Changxing Industrial moved its factories, their production capacity had multiplied several times.
While she didn't know the exact financials, it was clear the company had grown significantly.
Editor Li added, "He's definitely got deep pockets. As soon as this paper hit the streets yesterday, I had people look into it. Their headquarters is still under construction—a twelve-story building. Yang Wendong bought an old structure specifically for the newspaper, tore it down, and is now building a new one."
"So he really cares about this venture," Hu Xian murmured. "His financial strength far surpasses ours. If he's serious about entering the industry and isn't just dabbling, then we're going to feel the pressure sooner or later."
"Seems like he means business," Editor Li agreed. "And Miss Hu, there's also a serialized novel in the paper. It's surprisingly good. Not sure where he found the author."
Hu Xian flipped to the page with the novel and read for a bit, frowning slightly. "This could be trouble. If a paper can boost its sales using full color and a strong novel, we might be forced to follow suit. Do me a favor—start inquiring about the cost of similar printing equipment. Let's prepare ourselves."
Editor Li nodded. "Will do."
A few days later, the Hong Kong Chinese Daily had become a part of daily life for many Hong Kong citizens. People started to hear about a new colorful newspaper. Though a bit pricey, it included a novel that people found worth reading.
At the paper's temporary headquarters, Qin Zhiye stepped into Yang Wendong's office to give a report.
"Mr. Yang," he said, "over the past few days, our lowest sales figure was 3,500 and the highest was 4,100. Based on current trends, we'll likely stabilize within this range.
If we want to grow further, it'll take consistent quality over time to gradually attract more readers. Most of the successful newspapers in Hong Kong took this route—they built their base slowly."
"Mm, that's fine. Let's follow the standard model," Yang Wendong nodded. A newspaper wasn't something that could shoot to the top overnight. Even Ming Pao, with Jin Yong's support, took a long time to break into Hong Kong's top ten.
Right now, thanks to the color printing, Gu Long's novel, and solid content, they had managed to gain a firm foothold in the market.
"Understood," Qin Zhiye said. He paused for a moment, then added, "Mr. Yang, you once mentioned that publishing a newspaper was only your first step into the media industry. Does that mean you plan to invest in other media projects down the line?"
"Yeah, why?" Yang Wendong asked. A newspaper was just a small part of the media world. The real goldmine was television. But TVB wouldn't be around for a few more years.
"I just heard some news," Qin Zhiye said. "The Hong Kong government is planning to launch a new commercial radio station. Are you interested?"
"Commercial radio?" Yang Wendong suddenly perked up. He had nearly forgotten about radio broadcasting entirely.
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