The Shadow of Great Britain

”Actually, those articles...”

Arthur paused in his speech, appearing as if he was pondering, considering whether to reveal an unpleasant truth.

But in fact, before coming to Buckingham Palace, he had already figured out how to explain those articles.

It would be best if Victoria brought up the issue first, but even if she didn’t, Arthur would find a way to subtly take credit.

Of course, taking credit didn’t mean Arthur intended to sell out Mr. Lewis.

After all, this incident also made the chairman of Imperial Publishing’s board realize his shortcomings in the realm of public opinion.

Though classical literary magazines like Blackwood’s have always looked down on fashion literary magazines represented by the British, the truth is, the trendsetters of Fleet Street represented by the British are still not the most relatable publications.

Whether it’s the British, the Economist, or Nature, these publications under Imperial Publishing are mainly targeted at Britain’s new upper class, those genuine industrial era middle-class families.

If calculated not by Earl of Dalmo’s middle-class standards, but by the generally accepted social standards, in this era, the middle class actually only accounts for ten to fifteen percent of British society.

And the lower middle class, which makes up eighty percent of society, relies mainly on renting, piracy, and the secondhand book market for their cultural and entertainment needs, even if they occasionally indulge, it would at most be buying a 4-penny weekly paper.

Though The Spark can reach these demographics, it does not do political news.

And the political newspapers Imperial Publishing can influence, like The Times, have never been the first choice for the lower middle class.

This has resulted in Arthur being able to influence the perceptions of the politically powerful upper-middle class through Imperial Publishing, but this positive perception is hard to permeate throughout the whole society.

And Imperial Publishing’s shortcomings in the political news field have led to their ability to stir trouble being inferior to those underground tabloids with a weekly operating cost of less than 5 pounds. Because of this, each of their moves seems too formal, too straightforward, which heavily restricts the effectiveness of Arthur’s strategy.

However, if Imperial Publishing wants to start anew in the increasingly competitive news industry, it might take three to five years to see initial results.

Moreover, for Arthur, running a newspaper and running a literary magazine are entirely different things.

When running a literary magazine, he can easily find a bunch of yet-to-shine treasure authors and rapidly accumulate popularity through publishing a series of popular novels.

Successfully running a newspaper isn’t as simple as hiring a couple of editors and reporters.

Moreover, even running a literary magazine, he almost stumbled with The Spark. Therefore, with a mindset of learning from mistakes, Arthur remains cautious in expanding into the news business.

And, after meeting Mr. Lewis, a one penny journalist, his understanding of the news industry has risen to a new level.

Since various big newspapers often use articles from one penny journalists, it’s better to directly address the root instead of personally getting into running a newspaper.

In the eyes of 19th-century politicians, public opinion is a strange thing.

If you want to guide it, you must not embrace it directly, for it will slip away if you get too close.

If you want to control it, you must also not be too obvious with your hand, because those in this line of work usually think highly of themselves.

But if you offer a bit of sweetness, give a tip, and provide some ”unofficial official news” that can boost sales, although they won’t necessarily bow and scrape for you, they will at least show you considerable respect.

These unwritten rules are known to politicians in London.

Only, most haven’t realized that directly dealing with newspapers still carries risks, though some journalists are quite professional, the majority have loose lips like an elastic waistband. And to get them to speak in your favor, you have to satiate the editors and regular reporters, and the cost has never been small.

But...

What if you use the money and information normally used to buy off newspapers to make connections with one penny journalists?

The livelihood of one penny journalists generally has only two paths.

One is writing the truth on an empty stomach.

The other is writing rumors with a full stomach.

Unfortunately, those who survive in this industry are mostly the latter.

If Arthur wants to influence readers who rely on penny tabloids for survival, he must get deeply involved with this group of people.

After all, he cannot expect The Times to help him win the public opinion battles in the streets and alleys, because The Times is too strict with its reviews, and its ethics are among the highest in the industry.

He also cannot expect the British to write a couple of satirical articles to suppress opposition voices, since this magazine is still too petty bourgeois, and publishing articles in the British reeks a bit of self-praise, easy to expose oneself.

And at times like this, it is crucial for Arthur to rely on one penny journalists.

If Arthur can provide them with stories, materials, clues, and anything controversial...

They can spontaneously help Arthur weave an impenetrable net among the lower middle class, subtly embedding the views he wants to convey.

Moreover, under the influence of Lewis, Arthur has already grasped the temperament of these people.