Tucker Carlson announced the launch of his new website TheDailyCaller.com, a “conservative forum for discussion” similar to the Huffington Post in format, during a visit to the Heritage Foundation as part of the Conservative Bloggers Briefing.
The purpose of the new site is to “fill in very large gaps in news coverage of the Obama Administration,” explained Carlson. The site will focus on consolidating and prioritizing news stories as quickly as possible.
The site “will not be a forum where the Right fights with itself,” he asserted. “I won’t have it. It’s opposed to what’s going on - a radical increase in federal power.”
He expressed concern that “mainstream journalism is collapsing,” that facts must supplement the increasing amount of opinion coverage of the current presidency. The site will be varied, featuring opinion, news and even sports sections.
The Daily Caller strays from the model used by blogs and typical news sources, developing a “massive talent pool that most can’t afford.” Carlson hopes to closely record the traffic on the site, giving a substantial cutback of the profits to news reporters. “The bulk of the effort will be volunteering,” he said. A large collection of contributors can critique and add to the site.
A first version of the website will be uploaded in three weeks and will prospectively open to the general public shortly afterward.
Carlson was optimistic, noting that while there are many conservative news sites, there is “room for a center of gravity to this administration in Washington, and we hope to be that.”
“We’re getting a version of socialism and nobody cares,” said Carlson. The Daily Caller will provide a “vital message, goal and crusade.”
Among his priorities is a need to “adhere to the highest standards of accuracy,” he noted, mentioning the necessary oversight of the expansive “aggregate” section.
In terms of innovation, Carlson envisions a rapid-response website, one updated “every seven minutes” with top news stories. The homepage will feature a four column headline, with immediate news stories in short blurbs. He noted the success of drudgereport.com, but aspires to a site that’s “even faster.”
“We can’t be everything,” he admitted. Specifically, he noted that the site would only be “distracted” by prognosticating the future of the Republican Party and trying to pinpoint candidates for leadership. The site will limit itself to shining a “powerful spotlight on what the government is doing.”
At its hub, the website will be a timely means of commentating on the Obama Administration’s federal expansion. “Even lobbyists can’t keep track of its legislation,” he joked.
