Chapter 70

Chapter 70: Newspapers.

Meanwhile, various newspapers were emerging simultaneously in the empire.

This was thanks to Yellow Mountain, who had increased the production of paper and caused the price of paper to plummet.

Until now, the Imperial Newspaper had been recording astronomical losses.

But it never went out of business.

That was because its purpose of publication was not for profit.

However, as the price of paper became cheaper, the Imperial Newspaper turned from red to black.

“What? The Imperial Newspaper made a profit? Is that true?”

“Yes, it is. Didn’t you see how the price of paper dropped drastically? The printing houses are furious about it.”

“But still… Huh, amazing. Did His Majesty foresee this?”

This news quickly spread among the merchants.

There was no one more sensitive to information than them.

For them, information was money.

The merchants immediately started discussing newspapers.

“Should we try publishing our own newspaper?”

“A newspaper, you say?”

“Yes.”

Of course, there had been some merchants who had published newspapers in the past.

But back then, the price of paper was too high.

They couldn’t afford to sell at a loss like the Imperial Newspaper did.

So they tried to raise the price of their newspapers to make a profit.

The result?

They failed miserably.

“Why are these newspapers so expensive?”

There might have been a chance if there was no alternative, but people were already used to the cheap Imperial Newspaper. 

They had no reason to buy expensive newspapers.

But now, the situation was completely different.

They could sell at a similar price as the Imperial Newspaper and still make enough profit.

And the benefit of newspapers was not just money, was it?

“We must do this! Even if we don’t make much money, having many people read our newspaper will surely be a great advantage!”

The merchants had already experienced the power of the press through the Imperial Newspaper.

They realized that having people read their newspaper regularly would naturally give them more influence.

That’s why private newspapers sprouted up like mushrooms in the empire.

It was harder to find a merchant group with a large scale that didn’t publish a newspaper than one that did.

“Damn it. Why are our newspapers selling less than theirs?”

“I’m sorry…”

“Don’t apologize! Find a way, a way!”

Once something settled down, it was hard to break through and rise up.

The competition among the newspapers heated up in order to secure their positions.

They searched for ways to make more people read their newspapers.

“This is too bland. You need to write more provocatively so that people will read it!”

“But to do that, we have to write lies…”

“What does that matter? Everyone does it! Just do as I say!”

“…Yes, sir.”

Many newspapers didn’t hesitate to exaggerate and lie to attract people’s interest.

“Hahaha! Look at this! This is why our newspapers are selling so well!”

That method worked.

People started buying and reading their sensationalized newspapers.

But that also meant that other newspapers’ sales decreased.

“Damn. From now on, we’ll write just as provocatively!”

Eventually, more and more newspapers joined in this trend.

They had to survive, after all.

***

“Your Majesty! The private newspapers are crossing the line!”

“They are publishing false facts as if they were true in their newspapers, causing many imperial citizens to suffer. This cannot be overlooked.”

“Private newspapers do not contribute to the empire’s development at all! We should ban them altogether!”

The various ministers of the empire denounced the private newspapers with one voice and mind.

Even the Minister of Education argued that private newspapers should be banned completely.

The ministers were the top intellectuals of the empire.

Most of the current intellectuals hated the newspapers that shamelessly distorted and lied.

‘This is how it ends up.’

When Kim Ki-woo saw that the Imperial Newspaper turned profitable thanks to the cheap paper, he had somewhat predicted this would happen.

And his predictions rarely missed. Wasn’t this one accurate as well?

‘I’d like to get rid of all those private newspapers just like the Minister of Education said, but…’

He believed that anything was possible if he wanted it.

But this was not a very good method.

It was better to have various newspapers published, rather than just one imperial newspaper like before.

That way, more diverse information would spread and circulate.

Kim Kiwoo firmly believed that the smooth circulation of information was the shortcut to development.

‘But the current state of the private newspapers is outrageous.’

And if he left them alone, more and more trashy reporters would be produced.

The first time was important for this kind of thing.

He had to establish a healthy ecosystem from the beginning, so that there would be less problems even if something went wrong.

‘Even if not, I have to rein in the private newspapers.’

When a press company became huge, it gained the power to sway public opinion.

If he made a mistake, it could act as a huge obstacle to Kim Kiwoo’s plan.

Therefore, Kim Kiwoo made a decision.

“There is definitely a problem with the current private newspapers.”

The faces of the department heads brightened at his words.

“However, I will not accept the suggestion of the education department head to close down all the private newspapers. That is too harsh.”

“Then what do you plan to do?”

Kim Kiwoo answered immediately to the question of the education department head.

“From now on, all private newspapers operating in the empire must obtain the permission of the empire. And if they continue to publish distorted facts, they will be punished.”

Kim Kiwoo continued his words.

At first, it would end with a warning, but after that, he would suspend them for a certain period of time. 

And if they continued this behavior even after that, he could even permanently revoke their newspaper publishing rights.

“That’s fair!”

“From now on, the misdeeds of the private newspapers will surely decrease!”

Not a single department head voiced an opposing opinion.

‘They won’t cross the line if they know their livelihood might be cut off.’

Kim Kiwoo judged so.

**

After the imperial meeting ended.

The regulation of private newspapers was carried out immediately.

Then, the private newspapers that had already increased their subscribers in this way were in trouble.

It was because they had received a warning.

The top banner of Flying Top and Hot Wind were in the same situation.

“What do we do now? If we keep publishing newspapers like this, we might really go out of business.”

“What can we do? We have to follow His Majesty’s will.”

Flying Top also received a warning, so Hot Wind had no choice but to comply with Kim Kiwoo’s will.

But as he did so, many subscribers dropped out.

He expected it, but when the loss became real, Hot Wind felt his stomach burn.

He had invested a large portion of the money he had collected from publishing private newspapers until now.

He might lose this blood money…

It was terrible just to imagine it.

“Damn… What do I do?”

It was not easy to improve the quality of his articles anymore.

He couldn’t see any way to beat the other formidable banners’ newspapers in this situation.

As he was worrying about that,

Bang!

“Boss!”

A subordinate employee kicked open the door and came in.

“What is it?”

“I thought of an amazing way!”

“Oh, really?”

Hot Wind’s eyes lit up at his confident words and expression.

“Then tell me. If the result is good, there will be a reward for you.”

“It’s this!”

Flutter!

He had a newspaper in his hand.

Hot Wind recognized it at a glance.

“The imperial newspaper? What about it?”

“Here, look at this. Don’t you feel anything?”

“Hmm…”

Hot Wind slowly read where his subordinate employee’s finger pointed.

There was nothing special about the content.

It was just a recommendation that since sugar was being consumed a lot lately and teeth were rotting more often, people should brush their teeth frequently.

“Don’t tell me you want to sell toothbrushes.”

“Of course not.”

“Then don’t beat around the bush.”

“Yes, sir!”

He answered loudly and started to explain right away.

“Don’t you often see these notices in the Imperial Newspaper? About new inventions or things related to health.”

“That’s true.”

“We also put these promotional contents in our newspaper.”

“Huh? We already have a shortage of space, why would we waste it on that?”

“Of course, we don’t just put them for nothing. We promote the products that are not selling well because they are not well-known. And if they are from other merchants, we charge them a certain amount of money.”

“You charge them money for promoting their products?”

Hot Wind thought about his words carefully.

That concept was unprecedented, and he couldn’t tell if it would work, and if it did, how good it would be.

“Think about it. If the Imperial Newspaper publishes information about new inventions, wouldn’t it spread quickly? Of course, our newspaper can’t compare to the Imperial Newspaper, but it will surely have an effect. And with the money we get from that, we lower the price of our newspaper.”

“Wow.”

Hot Wind finally understood his whole idea.

If they lower the price of their newspaper, it will surely sell to more people.

If there are newspapers of similar quality, people will buy and read the cheaper one.

Then more newspapers will be sold…

‘And we can charge more money for the promotion.’

Since they are promoting to more people, it was a natural right.

With the money they earn from that, they can maintain their low-price policy.

In the end, as their scale grows bigger and bigger, they can keep making more money.

And also, this would increase the influence of the flying merchants.

“Haha! That’s a brilliant idea. This will surely succeed!”

Hot Wind laughed heartily as he imagined the bright future.

Thus, the concept of advertising was introduced in the empire.

“Hahaha…”

Kim Kiwoo came across the story of the flying merchants who started to compete on price through advertising.

‘They just started to publish private newspapers and they already began advertising.’

There were indeed many smart people among the merchants.

‘But I hope they don’t go too far with their price competition.’

As private capital developed, there were more and more attempts to eliminate competitors effectively.

This was not only seen in private newspapers, but also in various fields.

If these things piled up, a full-scale chicken game would ensue.

He didn’t mind it as a natural course of events, but Kim Kiwoo didn’t really like such bloody competition.

But that was something to worry about later.

He could think about the future when it came.