Rose called Carr the “paper’s legendary media columnist” who “documented the shifting landscape of media through the birth of the digital era.”
Rose played several excerpts of Carr’s numerous appearances on his programs throughout the years, including one in which Carr spoke candidly about his former drug addiction.
“Addiction is a disease of the self,” Carr said during his 2008 appearance, “and it’s a kind of chronic, repetitive narcissism where only your needs and what you can stick in your pie hole are what matters.”
Carr told Rose his daughters served as inspiration for his decision to get help.
“The idea that I was — that I left my kids locked in a car while I went into a dope house — I came out and thought, you know, my god is a forgiving god, but maybe not of this, though,” Carr said. “I could be a bad husband, and was; bad employee, and was; bad friend, and was; bad boyfriend, and was. I really hated being a bad dad. Couldn’t stand it. Wasn’t raised that way.”
In a 2013 appearance, Carr spoke at greater length about his role at the New York Times as a media watchdog and journalist. He told Rose that when he was initially offered the position of media columnist at the paper, he initially rebuked it, saying he wanted to take on more of a general assignment role. After some encouragement from his colleagues, Carr eventually accepted the media columnist position.
“As soon as I took it,” Carr said, “the newspaper industry in 2006 just tipped over in plain sight.”
Carr attributed part of this change to “the consumer…pushing and dragging the world into a new era. My job is to sort of grab the back of their shirt and hang on wherever they go.”
Excerpts of Carr’s appearances on the Charlie Rose program are available on Hulu.com.
