Why David Carr Will Be Missed

A sample of some of the tributes for David Carr, the New York Times media writer who died yesterday at age 58:

• AO Scott, New York Times: "He managed to see the complexities of digital-age journalism from every angle, and to write about it with unparalleled clarity and wit."
• Dave Weigel, at his website: After recounting the "perfect" story Carr wrote about him when Weigel was the subject of a mini media scandal, he adds, "You know that Janet Malcolm line that people like to quote—'every journalist who is not too stupid or full of himself to notice what is going on knows that what he does is morally indefensible'? David Carr proved that wrong, on deadline, all the time."

• Alex Balk, the Awl: He had an "ability to face the future with complete curiosity and a fearlessness that allowed him to be skeptical (but not dismissive) when necessary but enthusiastic and optimistic about things that few other people of his position or experience were able to contend with. Part of his brilliance was that, in having already lived two lives, he was fully able to embrace the second one no matter what challenges or struggles he faced."
• Andrea Peterson, Washington Post: Rounding up tweets of tribute, Peterson recalls Carr's insight that Twitter matters because it allows us to listen "to a wired collective voice." Well, countless individual tweets pushed Carr to the top of Twitter's trending topics "and amplified just how acutely his voice will be missed," writes Peterson." Last night, "the wired collective voice of Twitter howled 'David Carr.'"
• Carr's self-description, via Politico: "Your professor is a terrible singer and a decent dancer," he wrote of himself for a Boston University course. "He is a movie crier but stone-faced in real life. He never laughs even when he is actually amused. He hates suck-ups, people who treat waitresses and cab drivers poorly, and anybody who thinks diversity is just an academic conceit. He is a big sucker for the hard worker and is rarely dazzled by brilliance. He has little patience for people who pretend to ask questions when all they really want to do is make a speech."

(More David Carr stories.)