The Wolf of Los Angeles

[Chapter 341: Managing a PR Crisis]

"The video is set to go live on time," Hawke stated as he looked at the hastily assembled editing team in the small conference room. "The title and content should reflect on Antonio!"

Johnny, who was in charge of writing the news, replied, "I need ten minutes."

Hawke nodded, "That's fine." He turned to Edward, saying, "The target audience for this news article is the supporters of the Democratic Party."

Edward had spent over six months mastering some backend functions.

Hawke continued, addressing a few others around the table, "You all will edit the news to highlight the various issues surfaced by the Los Angeles fires and connect them directly to Antonio, reminding everyone that these are the former mayor's errors."

He paused briefly to add, "Also, incorporate the recent discussions from Sacramento and the state legislators advocating for environmental legislation alongside the Smelt Fish Protection Act. Merge it with the previous media criticisms to ramp up visibility and make sure the right people see it."

The group nodded in acknowledgment.

Hawke's aim was clear; he sought to reignite the media storm, grabbing everyone's attention again. Social media on Twitter and traditional media on Fox News were aligning for the push.

Ten minutes later, news about Antonio was published alongside the video.

"During his tenure, over $15 million in public relations funds went missing; Los Angeles' former mayor Antonio is under investigation by the LA District Attorney's office!"

The news was underpinned by photos and videos from Lareya and Elena. Below that were numerous clearly directed news links that criticized the California Democratic leadership in the aftermath of the Los Angeles fires.

Though the Democratic Party had thrown Antonio under the bus, the public uproar hadn't died down yet. The fire had raged too intensely, catching the eye of the Republican Party, and it wouldn't be easy for those involved to escape blame.

Among the key targets of criticism was California State Assembly Speaker Nunez, a major advocate for the environmental legislation and the 'Smelt Fish Protection' proposals. As soon as the news hit Twitter, it soared to the trending topics and appeared on recommendation pages of the targeted audience.

...

Meanwhile, Fox News Channel 11 also aired news about Antonio. In the director's office, Megan Taylor called her former assistant and producer of Ace News, Aisha. "Did you catch the last segment of the news?"

"Yeah, I saw it," Aisha acknowledged, knowing her position. "Antonio and those fools back in Sacramento are the main causes of the Los Angeles fires. We have to further expose their severe damage to California and Los Angeles!"

Megan nodded, asking, "How is the new special program coming along?"

Aisha responded confidently, "It can air anytime; it's been ready for a week."

"Let's air it tonight," Megan stated, tapping her fingers on the desk. "We need full force, focusing on all the mess they've created. We'll rerun it every day after the midday news."

Aisha detailed the content of each episode and then left the director's office. Each major media outlet had its stance -- they didn't exist for fairness and justice, and Fox News was no different.

...

Just as Megan finalized arrangements, the phone on her desk rang. It was from the chairman's office, where Roger Ailes said, "I just saw the news advancement plan for Channel 11. You're all doing very well, but the criticisms against the Democrats need to go deeper to build momentum."

Megan, as the director of Channel 11, had to align with the stance of the entire network, especially this year. A month earlier, George Walker had specifically traveled to NYC to visit Rupert Murdoch, the emperor of News Corporation, Fox's parent company. Both parties reached agreements on multiple fronts. The former would receive comprehensive media support from the latter, who would benefit once victorious.

Megan had seen the reports on their meeting. She said, "The latest special will begin airing tonight on Ace News, attacking the key players behind the Los Angeles fires with full force."

"Great, keep up your style," Roger Ailes concluded the call.

...

Megan logged into the network scheduling software accessible only to network executives. After a few minutes, she pulled out her phone and called Hawke, saying, "Next week, that person coming to LA will appear on a Fox interview show."

Among the major networks, only Fox leaned conservative.

Hawke asked, "Not Channel 11?"

"This level of interview isn't something I can intervene in, and not even Roger Ailes has a say here," Megan explained succinctly. "This interview was personally arranged by Rupert Murdoch."

---

In San Francisco, at Pacific Heights.

Senator Miles hurried across the yard, up the stairs, and around to the ocean-facing terrace. There, Willie Brown, a bald Black man dressed in a blue casual outfit, sat relaxed in a wicker chair, gazing out over the San Francisco Bay while enjoying some afternoon tea.

Kamala, a Black district attorney, noticed Miles arriving on the terrace and brought over another wicker chair. Knowing she was Willie Brown's mistress, Miles nodded slightly and sat down, urgently saying, "I just got word that Brian Ferguson broke tradition and teamed up with several LA DAs, pursuing Antonio for misconduct, and he's already accepted questioning from the DA's office."

Willie put down his coffee cup, the relaxed look on his face replaced by seriousness. "Are you sure?"

Miles replied, "Twitter and Fox reported the news an hour ago and are stirring up the public again to focus back on us."

Hearing this, Kamala brought her laptop over, connected to Wi-Fi, and logged into her Twitter account to find the relevant news, placing the notebook on the table in front of Willie Brown.

Willie squeezed her leg, clearly satisfied with his well-supporting mistress.

Miles shot a curious glance at Kamala, realizing why she was moving up the ladder so quickly. Just last month, someone had nominated her for San Francisco's chief prosecutor position, and if it weren't for the public PR crisis triggered by the Los Angeles fires, she might have already taken office.

Miles sighed lightly, knowing someone had to be backing her up.

Willie quickly scanned through the news, some mentioning him and Assembly Speaker Nunez as well. He wasn't surprised. "The LA fires scorched over 300 square kilometers of land, leaving tens of thousands homeless, nearly 300,000 evacuated, and over half a million households without water or power, affecting nearly 20 million people with smoke. The Democratic response was entirely predictable."

Miles added, "George Walker is coming to California next week to campaign."

Willie shook his head in dismay. "This war in California is about to reach a fever pitch. That old fart from the Ferguson family is stirring the pot further just to benefit that pig in Texas."

Miles agreed, "Without Paul Ferguson's backing, Brian would be insignificant."

"We can't underestimate Brian though," Kamala interjected. "He has a close friend who's also his cousin's boyfriend -- Hawke Osment, the founder of Twitter. This guy is a strategic mastermind and played a crucial role in Brian's campaigns for Covina Mayor and LA Mayor."

Willie recalled Hawke. "The BlackRock San Francisco division wanted to control Twitter and launched a series of maneuvers that ultimately failed, resulting in the death of the head Douglas."

Miles asked, "Has BlackRock tried anything since?"

"They wouldn't dare take any direct action against Hawke Osment's safety again," Willie looked off into the distance. "That guy values his life more than anyone; he travels in a bulletproof car, accompanied by multiple bodyguards, and he's quite handy with a gun. If you can't kill him, you will have to live in fear of being assassinated at any time for the rest of your life."

Getting back to the point, he stated, "This battle has to last until after the votes are done. We can't let our guard down. You and Nunez need to communicate effectively and be fully prepared. We've always had the upper hand in media narrative; aside from Fox, mainstream media in California is on our side or at least not siding with the Republicans."

"Before I came here, I talked to the Speaker. He has dispatched a PR team to contact major media outlets and TV stations," Miles responded.

Willie nodded slightly. "That's not enough; we need a two-pronged approach, playing defense while delivering a heavy blow to the Republicans!"

Miles asked about the defense, "So we'll continue to let the attention stay on Antonio?"

Willie looked at Kamala. "You need to go back to LA and boost Antonio's confidence. Tell him that even if this goes to court, he will be fine."

His defensive strategy involved more than that: "Given the ongoing LA fires crisis, we're at a disadvantage, and it'll take time to retaliate. We need distraction factors to shift public focus."

Miles thought of the most effective way, "Get a Hollywood star involved?"

Willie recalled a previous wild party in LA and turned to Kamala. "When you're in LA, see Leonardo. He's tired of Gisele Bundchen, so have him dissolve that engagement as quickly as possible. I'll have someone pressure him."

Kamala nodded, realizing that sacrificing a high-profile Hollywood star was the best way to shift public attention.

With Leonardo's status and influence, even George Walker himself couldn't steal headlines from that.

Willie gestured for Kamala to hand him some documents, passing them to Miles while saying, "This is a record of violations by Andy Smith, the mayor of Fresno Elephant Party. Fresno is California's fourth-largest city, so expose him and let him take some heat. We're as incompetent as the Elephants; it doesn't matter if it gets out sooner or later."

Miles took the documents.

"As George Walker comes to California to visit disaster victims in LA, wanting to play the good guy, I've got a surprise for him," Willie had been planning this with his successor Nunez for a while. "The BlackRock Film Foundation sponsored Director Michael Moore's documentary Fahrenheit 9/11; technically, it premiered in North America, but it's only been screened in a handful of theaters. We'll contact major independent cinemas in Los Angeles and New York to have it go wide this weekend!"

*****

/Sayonara816.