Every semester, some of the more seasoned executives and writers at The Daily Caller meet with our top-notch interns to share career advice and tips.
This past Wednesday, it was my turn — along with TheDC’s co-founder Neil Patel — to attempt to impart some wisdom.
The fun thing about teaming up with a coworker for this is that I always learn something about them or TheDC that I didn’t know.
Such was the case Wednesday when an intern asked Patel how The Daily Caller got its name.
Names, of course, are important — and it turns out Patel and co-founder Tucker Carlson put a lot of thought into it.
Carlson insisted it was vital this new media outlet be given a name that resembled a traditional news outlet. This was consistent with his vision for the project. After all, Carlson had been booed at CPAC for saying that “conservatives need to build institutions that mirror” the New York Times (in the sense that they do real reporting, “put accuracy first,” and care about things such as spelling names correctly, etc.).
But as Patel recounted, “it’s virtually impossible to find a domain name that includes words like the Times or the Tribune these days — unless you want to pay a lot of money for them.”
So Patel started racking his brain for other name ideas.
And then he remembered the time Dick Cheney shot that guy in the face.
Patel, if you’re not aware, formerly served as chief policy advisor to the vice president. And when Cheney accidentally sprayed pellets in the face of a hunting companion, the controversial press strategy involved first reporting the incident to the local newspaper.
… The local paper just happened to be called the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
Remembering that incident was his “aha!” moment, and it ultimately led to the naming of The Daily Caller.
And so kids, that’s the story of how TheDC got its name. And the lesson to learn here is this: If Dick Cheney hadn’t shot a guy in the face, I wouldn’t have a job today. It’s a crazy world…