David Carr obituary page in the New York Times titled "At the Times, a Critic and Champion of Media" with black-and-white photo of David.
Lecture

The Vocation of Journalists in a Time of Testing: Lessons from David Carr

At a time when truth seems elusive, distrust in media is widespread, and journalism is being transformed by market forces and technology, what are the enduring moral, professional, and personal responsibilities of journalists? How is journalism not just a career but a calling? 

This Public Dialogue takes as a starting point the life and work of David Carr, who was a reporter and media columnist for the New York Times from 2002 to 2015 after editing the Twin City Reader and Washington City Paper and writing for the Atlantic Monthly and New York Magazine. At the time of David’s death in 2015, New York Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet said, “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.” David Carr saw journalism as a vocation and covered the changing media landscape with his persistent reporting, powerful writing, and idiosyncratic ways. One of Carr’s Times colleagues said of David, “He understood better than anyone how hard the job can be, how lonely, how confusing, how riddled with the temptations of cynicism and compromise. And yet he could make it look so easy, and like the most fun you could ever hope to have.”

In this unique conversation, five respected reporters and writers mentored by David Carr will come together to explore the lessons they learned and examine what time-honored values and new responsibilities should shape journalism at this time of testing for American media, the United States, and our democracy:

  • Ta-Nehisi Coates is an award-winning journalist and author of five books, including Between The World And Me (2015), which won the National Book Award. He was a senior editor and writer at The Atlantic and began his journalistic career at the Washington City Paper under the editorship of David Carr.
  • Claire Giangravè is the Vatican correspondent for Religion News Service and previously reported for Crux. She was a part of David Carr’s first and only journalism seminar, “Press Play: Making and Distributing Content in the Present Future” at Boston University.
  • Amanda Ripley is a Washington Post contributing columnist and the co-founder of Good Conflict, a media and training company. She is a New York Times bestselling author of three books on human behavior and a former senior writer at Time Magazine. She began her journalism career covering the courthouse for David Carr at Washington City Paper.
  • Jake Tapper is the lead Washington anchor for CNN and hosts The Lead with Jake Tapper and co-hosts State of the Union on Sunday mornings. His first job in journalism was with David Carr at the Washington City Paper. 
  • Erik Wemple is the Washington Post media critic. He was hired by David Carr at Washington City Paper, becoming senior editor, columnist, and then editor. 

John Carr, founder of the Initiative and David Carr’s older brother, will moderate this dialogue. Kim Daniels, director of the Initiative and a member of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication, will introduce the conversation.

For those who cannot join us in person, the dialogue starting at 7:00 pm EDT will be livestreamed and posted online for later viewing.

All in-person accommodation requests should be sent to cathsocialthought@georgetown.edu by June 14. A good-faith effort will be made to fulfill requests.