Renowned New York journalist dies at his desk aged just 58

David Carr
1956-2015

David Carr, a media columnist for who overcame numerous battles with addiction to become one of the most recognisable journalists in the United States has died at work, the newspaper announced. He was 58.

"I am sorry to have to tell you that our wonderful, esteemed colleague David Carr died suddenly tonight after collapsing in the newsroom," editor Dean Baquet wrote in a message to employees. "A group of us were with his wife, Jill, and one of his daughters, at the hospital. His daughter Erin said he was special, and that he was."

Baquet continued: "He was the finest media reporter of his generation, a remarkable and funny man who was one of the leaders of our newsroom. He was our biggest champion, and his unending passion for journalism and for the truth will be missed by his family at , by his readers around the world, and by people who love journalism."

For more than two decades, Carr focused his considerable talents on media criticism, lacing his columns with incisive commentary and wit. For , which he joined in 2002 as a business reporter writing on the magazine industry, he wrote the Media Equation column, which ran on Mondays.

Carr was editor of before joining the . He was editor of the , also an alternative weekly in Minneapolis, from 1993 to 1995.