Chapter 1082 Hello there (1/2)

Li Du and his companions walked out of prison. Porter was there to receive them and

bring them back to his villa.

On the way back, Hans bought a couple of newspapers. The front pages were all

plastered with news and headlines about their case.

The case had been labeled as corrupt and shady and had become infamous news in

the American judicial system.

Bartley Jones, meanwhile, was very unlucky. He had been suspended to undergo

investigations, and Li Du and his group were banned from leaving Miami for one week.

They were to cooperate with the ongoing investigation works of the FBI.

Li Du was in no hurry to leave. Back at the villa, he enjoyed a warm shower, changed

his clothes and thanked Porter profusely, as did Sophie.

Porter waved his hand modestly and said, ”My friends and I did not do much. The

Vanderbilt family were very helpful. Do you have any relationship with them?”

Li Du replied, ”I have a good friend named Steve Tussenberg. I think he has some ties

with the Vanderbilt family.”

Porter smiled, ”Mr. Iron, right? Steve Tussenberg, he is a rare male in the new

generation of the Vanderbilt family. No wonder.”

Li Du was curious. ”Mr. Iron? That is his nickname? I didn't know that, I only know that

he sometimes refers to himself as Mr. Steel Steve.”

Li Du had his guesses about why the Vanderbilt family had helped him so much. Porter

and Li Du were friends as he had helped Porter with advice on wooing a girl.

As for Steve Tussenberg, Li Du had saved his life twice. The two of them shared a real

solid relationship.

Porter said, ”Steve has had health problems since he was young. However, there have

been many outstanding adventurers in their family. This required exceptional physique

and health, which troubled Steve. Perhaps he wanted to uplift himself emotionally, so

that is why he liked referring to himself as Mr. Iron.”

Li Du only knew the Vanderbilt family as a leader in the transportation industry. He did

not know that the family was famous for producing many adventurers.

Li Du called Steve to thank him and Steve said, ”That's what friends do for each other.

Initially, I had wanted to go to Miami myself to help you out, but I couldn't. Hence, I had

to harness the power of media. To do that, I asked Mr. Newhouse for this help. Now I'm

still at Mr. Newhouse's mansion for a visit.”

No wonder the media had reported on the issue so rapidly. It was because the head of

American media had given his order.

The rate at which industries were being monopolized in America was alarming. The

industries rapidly undergoing monopolization included not only finance and high-margin

emerging industries but also the newspapers and other media.

At that time, there were 1,548 cities that had daily newspapers. However, only 183 had

more than two different daily newspapers. Out of those, even fewer cities had papers

that were produced by different publication houses.

As there was not one national newspaper for the entire United States, each publisher

organized their own distribution channel. That was subjected to many restrictions and

hence, typically, residents of middle to small cities only had access to local papers from

small publishing houses.

Therefore, the so-called freedom of reporting actually referred to the freedom of

monopolized media organizations.

The media industry was the Newhouse family's territory. The Newhouse family was very

mysterious. As experts in the media and advertising industry, they were adept at

protecting their privacy and concealing their background.

According to rumors, the Newhouse family controlled one-third of America's news

industry and the majority of the media companies. However, they remained discreet and

did not divulge private information about their family. In addition, they typically did not

give interviews.

Unlike the Vanderbilt family, the Newhouses and Porters adopted a similar way of