Chapter 8 : Are You There?
Chapter 8 - Are You There?
Everyone actually didn't have much of a problem with Chen Ran; after all, he was Director Zhang's nephew, he was a pretty nice person, and his work was outstanding. Someone like that got along quite harmoniously with them.
But no matter what, Chen Ran was still just a newcomer who hadn't been officially hired for very long.
Discussing and changing the program they were preparing together with the Director—wasn't that a bit excessive?
Either the Director had found someone else to write the proposal to pad Chen Ran’s resume, or this guy didn't know the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth.
In any case, no matter which it was, Chen Ran’s impression score with them dropped significantly in an instant.
In front of the Director, no one dared to say anything; they just weren't in a very good mood as they picked up the proposal to take a look.
As soon as they saw the title, they were certain that this program was completely different from the proposal currently under preparation.
Increasing livelihood content, conducting hot-topic news interpretation, and having topic interaction...
Looking through each point, it was different from news programs of the past.
“The News Express currently under preparation hasn't achieved differentiation from the Zhaonan News Simulcast. If we're going to redo it, we can't have ‘great thunder but little rain’; what needs to be changed should be changed. The suggestions were put forward by Chen Ran, and he also wrote the proposal. Regarding the proposal for Beautiful Zhaonan back then, I put forward many changes, but in reality, they were all first proposed by Chen Ran and voiced through me.”
Director Zhang knew what everyone was thinking, so he first distanced himself and attributed the entire proposal to Chen Ran.
Seeing that everyone was looking at the proposal, he added:
“Every creative idea and plan for this program, Zhaonan Focus, was put forward by Chen Ran. If you have any opinions or thoughts, you can raise them directly with him. First of all, I personally think quite highly of this program. Compared to it, News Express is still too outdated. If I had to choose one of the two to produce, I would choose Zhaonan Focus!”
This place wasn't Director Zhang's personal fiefdom, but he was the one to make the decisions before sending them up for review.
Right now, he was directly expressing his stance, supporting Chen Ran's proposal.
The people in the production crew frowned. After finishing the proposal, they saw that from every aspect, it was indeed fresher than the News Express they were preparing.
Was it really all written by Chen Ran?
They were a bit skeptical.
Director Liu Bing didn't hesitate either and picked out several points from the proposal to ask about.
For example, the significance of the hot-topic news segment, the necessity of amplifying livelihood news, and so on. These were considered the core of the entire proposal; if Chen Ran couldn't explain them, he would be exposed.
As for Director Zhang saying Chen Ran had also offered many suggestions for Beautiful Zhaonan, everyone subconsciously ignored it. After all, Chen Ran's name wasn't on it; wanting to gild his lily was just a matter of a word from the Director.
Facing the questions raised by Liu Bing, Chen Ran answered fluently. When writing the proposal, he had thought even more deeply than this. Producing a program carried no small amount of risk, so every facet had to be considered.
Liu Bing saw that Chen Ran didn't show any cowardice and that he couldn't find any faults in his answers. His heart had already wavered; the proposal likely really was written by Chen Ran.
Others also asked questions, not targeting Chen Ran, but because they had doubts about the program itself.
Chen Ran answered them one by one, very meticulously.
Everyone present was a senior; he acted relatively humble, yet this kind of eloquent talk revealed a type of self-confidence.
Director Zhang knew Chen Ran had the real talent, and seeing his performance now, he couldn't help but nod.
When this kid got serious, he truly had some skills.
After a long time, the meeting room fell silent.
Director Zhang left some time for everyone to think and discuss, then tapped the table a few times. “Everyone understands the specific situation of the program. We don't have much time, so everyone speak up about your views.”
There was another moment of silence.
Just as Director Zhang said, Zhaonan Focus looked better in the proposal than News Express. Looking at the current situation of the Public Channel, it wasn't just a matter of being a notch above.
Judging from the discussion just now, there was a high probability that the proposal was thought up by Chen Ran himself. There was also the possibility that Director Zhang had personally handled it, but that was slim.
They had to admit that for a newcomer like Chen Ran to write such a proposal, they were somewhat envious.
But correspondingly, this envy was based on the fact that Chen Ran was outstanding; the poor impression they had of Chen Ran just now was completely reversed.
“I agree to switch programs. If we want to differentiate ourselves from the Zhaonan News Simulcast, News Express is clearly not enough, whereas Zhaonan Focus doesn't have this problem.”
Liu Bing was the first to state his position.
This could be considered the result of careful consideration.
If Zhaonan Focus were merely average, he definitely wouldn't have agreed; after all, he had also put effort into the proposal for News Express.
But this program was clearly extraordinary; comparing the two, the advantage was massive.
Not just him, but the others also stated their positions; except for one editor-director who reserved judgment due to the risk, no one else had any objections.
Director Zhang was slightly surprised; having worked together for many years, he knew their personalities, and it was absolutely impossible for them to be this harmonious.
One could only say that Chen Ran’s proposal actually had some substance.
After the discussion, Chen Ran's status in the production crew changed slightly, going from being specifically responsible for drafting copy to becoming one of the program's pillars.
Now that preparation continued, the Director had to consult with him on many points.
His right to speak was on a completely different level than before; although his seniority was still shallow, he was now among those whose words carried weight.
Chen Ran could imagine that if the program performed well, then in the future, whatever he said would be taken seriously by others without him needing to hide behind Director Zhang’s banner.
……
In the Director's office, Director Zhang patted Chen Ran on the shoulder and said:
"You kid performed better than I thought! I figured you wouldn't be able to speak up in such a situation, but I didn't expect you to be so methodical. They’re going to look at you in a whole new light."
Chen Ran said: "I'm just a fox borrowing the tiger's majesty. If not for Uncle Zhang, who would even look at my proposal..."
Director Zhang shook his head and said: "You can't think like that. I just went with the flow. Even without me, with your talent, it would have only been a matter of time before you stood out."
Chen Ran didn't speak; some things were better left kept in the heart.
Without Director Zhang’s promotion, even with his ability, it would have taken him one or two years to reach the point of independently planning a program.
And that would have been considered fast.
"Tonight I'll have your Auntie Yun cook some dishes; you come over to my place." Director Zhang tried to pull Chen Ran to his home again.
"Let's make it another day, Uncle. Since we've changed the proposal last minute, there are still many things to do," Chen Ran said, sounding troubled.
This wasn't an excuse. When making a program proposal, what was written wasn't the entirety of the content; the specifics still required slow discussion in meetings, pondering, and brainstorming together to allow a program to take shape.
Relying solely on one person, the resulting product would be very one-sided.
Director Zhang shook his head, almost forgetting that this kid had now become the lead planner.
"Fine, we'll talk once you're done being busy." Director Zhang didn't force the issue.
Chen Ran had to be busy, and he had to be busy too; since that returnee from his friend's family was coming over, he definitely had to be there.
He just didn't know what Zhizhi would have to say this time.
……
Chen Ran worked quite late before getting off. Just as he came out after showering, he saw the notification light on his phone flashing.
He opened the phone to take a look; there was a WeChat message sent half an hour ago.
A Lone Branch Standing Out: "Are you there?”