He tweets, Snapfishes and video chats. Facebook is his friend, and Gmail is the “best database.” David Carr is not your “traditional” journalist.
Last night the Undergraduate Assembly hosted New York Times reporter Carr for a talk in Claudia Cohen Hall that tackled new media’s role in contemporary journalism.
For Carr, who pulls double-duty for the paper in print and online, new media isn’t a death sentence for traditional journalism. In fact, Carr said it may be just what will see large institutions like The Times through the rough spots that journalists find themselves in today.
“For journalists, there’s a real opportunity,” he said of the Internet’s potential ability to gather, produce and distribute news. The New York Times has “a great web audience” of 17 million viewers, he added.
Carr was in the dentist’s chair when he got wind that Gourmet magazine — a Conde Nast publication — was going under earlier this week. It was through his cell phone that he got the ball rolling on the story, a story Carr said The Times broke.
And even though his own piece on the subject got “knocked out of the paper,” it found a home online. More importantly, it generated a big response from the community: 680 comments.
Besides writing a media-focused column for the paper’s Monday Business section, Carr contributes to two blogs, the Media Decoder, which tackles business issues in the digital age, and The Carpetbagger, a Hollywood-oriented blog that pops up during awards season.
And new media is not just an important tool for seasoned vets. Carr said up-and-coming journalists need to get online.
“It’s great to see that a New York Times journalist is embracing the opportunity to be versatile in connecting with people,” said College junior Michelle Perlin.
Evan Boggs, a College freshman, agreed. “His outlook on new media is incredibly bright,” he said. “I think it’s the mentality to have in this age.”
Though Carr embraces new media, he hasn’t abandoned traditional print — he gets four papers delivered on a daily basis, and calls The Times his favorite.
“I [feel] it was one of humankind’s most glorious creations,” he said of the paper, which is widely available to Penn students.
College junior and Undergraduate Assembly chairman Alec Webley pointed out that 600 copies of the paper are delivered to campus every day as part of The New York Times Readership Program.
“You wanted it, and also, it’s one of the best ways to complement the extraordinary education you get at Penn, with extraordinary journalism,” said Webley on the decision to bring The New York Times to Penn’s campus.
