Columns

"Let's take a fresh perspective of what we're blessed to do."

"Viewers know exactly what they're getting from First Take, just as they know what to expect from Pardon the Interruption. When a formula continues to deliver results and remains central to a show's identity, changing it during growing success rarely makes sense."

"The point of creating and distributing content is to serve it to an audience that values it, and connect partners to it who can grow their businesses by being associated with it."

What's so unusual is the opposition coming from the right, not just the expected criticism from the left.

A cashier at Target can vent about corporate policy without consequence because nobody's confusing his opinion for store policy. Carr doesn't get that luxury.

"Nobody wants to think about Christmas in August. That's exactly why the stations who do it anyway end up ahead."

"You can't count on that happening, which is why stations like ours need to create moments like this."

"Teams are absolutely entitled to control expenses. No one should fault them for searching for operational efficiencies. But partnerships work both ways. If one side continues reducing its investment, the other side eventually reevaluates its own. That's just smart business."

"Fans judge reporters by the stories they publish. They never see the ones that stay in a notebook because they don't affect the game, the team or the public."

The Daily didn't become a juggernaut overnight, and The Wall Street Journal's next big audio bet likely won't either. Still, the ingredients are there, and the ambition is obvious.