There were three interviewees left in the room.
One man and two women, Jiang Ye remembered their names and brief profiles.
Song Tierong, 37, an alien immigrant, formerly a war correspondent and film producer. He was burly, with a resolute look in his eyes.
Kang Hanliu, 26, an alien immigrant, formerly a news anchor and yoga instructor. She was hot, fair, and pretty, with a playful fringe.
Yu Yongchang, 55, an alien immigrant, formerly a dishwasher, dog walker, bestselling ghostwriter, estate manager, and military advisor. He looked ordinary but had many wrinkles, and his small eyes revealed a shrewdness.
Jiang Ye cleared his throat and said, "Here is the question: If Jiang Ye Star were to hold a planetary leader election in the future, and a popular candidate was me, and another popular candidate was Xiao Hong, how would you arrange the television programs?"
Tang Hanliu was the first to raise her hand. "First, we would investigate your and Xiao Hong's approval ratings. Assuming Xiao Hong's approval rating is 20% and yours is 80%, we would extensively report on news about you, arrange for variety shows to discuss you, and give Xiao Hong only passing mentions, only mentioning her at the end of news programs, and try to avoid showing her dynamic footage, using only ID photos. We would render Xiao Hong as a non-entity."
"If your approval ratings and Xiao Hong's were equal, we would adjust the program to show you 60% of the time and Xiao Hong 40%. We would present your most charismatic shots and Xiao Hong's tired and weathered shots. We would compile negative news for both of you, but your negative news would lean more towards habit-related issues, such as drinking or smoking, while Xiao Hong's negative news would lean towards moral and capability issues, such as her disdain for the poor or her mishandling of certain matters."
"If your approval rating is 20% and Xiao Hong's is 80%, we would proceed in three steps. In the early stages, we would extensively report on Xiao Hong's news, portraying her as a flawless goddess, and focus on her promised policies to build anticipation. In the mid-stage, we would use interviews with scientists or ordinary citizens to question the correctness of Xiao Hong's policies and mention the disasters caused by similar policies in history or on other planets. Concurrently, we would begin promoting your ideas positively and increase your reporting time. In the later stage, we would focus on reporting Xiao Hong's negative news and reduce her airtime to below 40%, while increasing your positive reporting to above 60%."
Jiang Ye nodded without saying anything, giving Tang Hanliu a meaningful glance.
Song Tierong raised his hand second. "There are too many specific details, so I'll just state my approach. We would investigate your and Xiao Hong's approval ratings, but not overall numbers, rather group approval ratings by age, income, and region. Then we would report using different methods on different television channels and at different times."
Jiang Ye nodded, also remaining silent.
Yu Yongchang answered last. "Regardless of approval ratings, regardless of audience reaction, we would insist on only reporting your positive image, with extensive and prolonged coverage on both news and entertainment programs. If you allow, we could report a tiny bit of negative news about yourself, but we would not report on Xiao Hong for even a second, completely ignoring her."
"All three of you have passed this round," Jiang Ye said. "You can proceed to the final interview stage. Please wait here; I still have other candidates to see."
Whether by coincidence or not, the other interviewees who came in one after another did not make it to the final question. In the end, only Tang Hanliu, Song Tierong, and Yu Yongchang remained. The process dragged on until noon, when Jiang Ye had lunch with the three finalists.
After the meal, the positions were decided.
Tang Hanliu became the Director-General of the television station, and Yu Yongchang became the Deputy Director-General. Song Tierong was appointed as the head of the radio station.
In the afternoon, Jiang Ye interviewed candidates for the president of the Jiang Ye Star Daily Publishing House. There were over a hundred people, and it took until evening to select the president.
Kong Meng, whose surname was Kong and given name Meng, was an alien immigrant and an associate professor in the history department of a university. He had also worked as a professional writer and editor, making him very suitable to lead the daily newspaper. Kong Meng was already 60 years old, but he took supplements, enjoyed swimming, and had many girlfriends, which made him appear and move like he was only forty.
Jiang Ye drove home, washed up, and was about to go to bed when his earphone crackled.
"I've introduced three television companies," Feng Zhi Shuang's voice said. "Let them fight it out!"
"What are the prices of the televisions?" Jiang Ye asked. He was not familiar with the television prices of this era.
"Small televisions are about forty inches, costing over two thousand. Medium-sized ones are sixty inches, with prices ranging from twenty thousand to a hundred thousand. Large ones are 120 inches, costing over four hundred thousand yuan," Feng Zhi Shuang said. "Do you want me to send you a 120-inch one?"
"No problem, deduct the money from my account," Jiang Ye said.
"No need for money. These are sample machines sent by manufacturers for review to check for any non-compliant components, such as ad insertion modules, automatic monitoring, and data theft devices. The review is complete, the machines are brand new, and I'll have someone install one for you later. It should take about half an hour," Feng Zhi Shuang said before hanging up.
Half an hour later, a hovercar with the "Di Ting TV" logo landed punctually and stopped at the entrance of the courtyard.
Jiang Ye went down to greet them. The delivery personnel turned out to be two ceramic-shelled robots, carrying large yellow cardboard boxes from the car.
"Hello, Mr. Jiang. Where would you like the television installed?" one of the robots asked.
"The large white wall in the living room, centered," Jiang Ye said, leading the way.
After so many years, the packaging for appliances had not changed, still cheap yellow cardboard boxes filled with foam. The two robots worked for a while before finally hanging the huge television on the wall. The television's height was almost as tall as an adult.
"Where's the remote?" Jiang Ye asked quickly as the two robots turned to leave.
"Remote?" The two robots looked at each other, as if the word was not in their language database.
"Does the TV not have a remote?" Jiang Ye gestured with his hand. "It's a plastic thing with buttons on it, for changing channels and stuff."
The two robots ignored him, turned back to their car, and took off directly.
Jiang Ye was speechless. The service industry in this era truly lacked human touch. Two clueless robots came, installed it, and left without explaining how to use it.
Jiang Ye fumbled under the television for a long time, finally finding a small protrusion. He pressed it lightly, and the screen lit up.
"Please scan the QR code to download the Di Ting TV App and complete identity binding."
A QR code the size of a manhole cover flashed.
Jiang Ye suddenly understood. He took out his phone, scanned the code, downloaded the App, and indeed, he could control the television from his phone.