One moment from the 2011 documentary “Page One: Inside the New York Times” perfectly showcased the crusty, no-nonsense interviewing style of media columnist David Carr, who died on Thursday.
“I don’t do corporate portraiture,” Carr said, in full attack mode before a row of executives of VICE magazine.
Carr was interviewing co-founder and CEO Shane Smith on his company’s much-touted swashbuckling style and what they were bringing to the media market.
Smith explained that his outlet focused on the “fucking insane” side of civil wars in countries like Liberia, such as cannibalism and lack of adequate plumbing.
“Our audience goes, that’s fucking insane, like, that’s nuts. And the New York Times, meanwhile is talking about surfing,” Smith said, pointing toward Carr. “And I’m sitting there going, you know what? I’m not gonna talk about surfing, I’m gonna talk about cannibalism ’cause that fucks me up.”
“Just a sec, time out,” Carr interrupted, head tilted low.
“Before you ever went there, we’ve had reporters there reporting on genocide after genocide,” he said.
“And just because you put on a fuckin’ safari helmet and looked at some poop, doesn’t give you the right to insult what we do,” Carr added.
Smith apologized.
Watch the clip below:
“Just b/c you put on a safari hat and look at some poop on the beach doesn’t give you the right to criticize what we do.” That was badass…I’ve enjoyed some of the reporting by Vice, but this dipshit talking about the NYT doing surfing in a mtg w/David Carr is a raging idiot.
Here’s David Carr’s own followup last fall. It shows even more than the video what a candid journalist he really was:
Its Edge Intact, Vice Is Chasing Hard News
“doesn’t give you the right to insult what we do,”
I’m guessing that subject didn’t come up during the Greenwald/Poitras/Snowden interview.
Indeed. Thanks for the follow-up with that Carr column. The “surfing” line was an immature cheap shot and I don’t blame Carr for reacting the way he did. But the fact remains - as Carr himself points out - that VICE is reporting stories that others are not. There’s real value in that. And the story from that exchange shouldn’t be Carr allegedly “owning” the dude, but the fact that an outfit like VICE can get stories the paper of record cannot.
Or the lead up to the Iraq War. Anyone remember Judith Miller?