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 took 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 came 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.
John Carr, founder of the Initiative and David Carr’s older brother, moderated this dialogue. Kim Daniels, director of the Initiative and a member of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication, introduced the conversation.
Resources
View a list of resources for this dialogue.
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