New York Times columnist David Carr, revered as one of the most distinctive and insightful voices in media, has died. “He was the finest media reporter of his generation,” said executive editor Dean Baquet. “He was our biggest champion, and his unending passion for journalism and for truth will be missed by his family at The Times, by his readers around the world, and by people who love journalism.”
Baquet said Carr collapsed in the Times newsroom late Thursday evening and was rushed to a hospital, where he died. Carr was 58.
An email to Times staffers from Baquet reads, in full:
Dear Colleagues:
I am sorry to have to tell you that our wonderful, esteemed colleague David Carr died suddenly tonight after collapsing in the newsroom. A group of us were with his wife, Jill, and one of his daughters, at the hospital. His daughter Erin said he was special, and that he was.
He was the finest media reporter of his generation, a remarkable and funny man who was one of the leaders of our newsroom. He was our biggest champion, and his unending passion for journalism and for truth will be missed by his family at The Times, by his readers around the world, and by people who love journalism.
Earlier in the evening Thursday, Carr appeared at a panel discussion at the New School in New York City:
Tonite: @carr2n + @ggreenwald + Ed Snowden + Laura Poitras discussing surveillance & @citizenfour in NYC. pic.twitter.com/4Fwdd5Gzfk
— eugene hernandez (@eug) February 13, 2015
Carr appeared Wednesday on “CBS This Morning,” talking about the Brian Williams story:
Carr’s Times bio:
David Carr writes the Media Equation column for the Monday Business section of the New York Times that focuses on media issues including print, digital, film, radio and television. He also works as a general assignment reporter in the Culture section of The Times covering all aspects of popular culture.
For the past 25 years, Carr has been writing about media as it intersects with business, culture and government.
He began working at the Times in 2002 covering the magazine publishing industry for the Business section. Prior to joining the Times, Carr was a contributing writer for The Atlantic Monthly and New York Magazine. In 2000, he was the media writer for Inside.com, a web news site focusing on the business of entertainment and publishing.
Before coming to New York, Carr served as editor of the Washington City Paper, an alternative weekly in Washington D.C. for five years. From 1993 to 1995, Carr was editor of the Twin Cities Reader, a Minneapolis-based alternative weekly, and wrote a media column there as well.
On August 5, 2008, Carr’s book, “The Night of the Gun,” came out on Simon and Schuster. The book is a memoir of addiction and recovery that used reporting to fact check the past. Much of the data he collected, including videos, documents and pictures, is available here. And if you want to purchase the book, you can always go here.
Carr lives in Montclair, New Jersey with Jill Rooney Carr and has three children.
In 2012, we sat down with Carr as he told us about his “First Big Break” in journalism: