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Veteran New York Times media columnist David Carr collapsed at his office and died after he was rushed to the hospital Thursday. He was at 58. Born in Minneapolis, Carr started his career in Minnesota and served as a contributing writer for The Atlantic Monthly as well as New York magazine before joining the Times, where he wrote the weekly Media Equation column and covered culture and media. Carr also served as a media writer for Inside.com and as editor-in-chief of the Washington City Paper. The revered journalist’s 2008 memoir, The Night of the Gun, focused on his recovery from drug addiction and cancer to his rise as reporter. Carr leaves behind his wife, Jill Rooney Carr, and three daughters, Maddie, Erin, and Meaghan.
“I’m not what you would call the classic Timesman,” Carr told The Daily Beast in 2011. “It’s sort of a contextual thing: You have this button-down ivy growing everywhere, and this oddly shaped tumbleweed comes rolling through the middle of it. I joke about looking homeless, but my neck is bent, my voice is torn up, and there’s always schmutz on my shirt.”
Carr moderated a talk with journalist Glenn Greenwald, filmmaker Laura Poitras, and National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden just hours earlier at the New School in New York City. Carr appeared in good health as he spoke with Snowden via live stream from Russia.