Graydon Carter Quotes

Powerful Graydon Carter for Daily Growth

About Graydon Carter

Graydon Carter, an influential figure in the world of journalism and publishing, was born on June 3, 1957, in Ottawa, Canada. He grew up in Montreal, where his early interest in journalism was ignited. After studying at McGill University, Carter began his career as a journalist with the Canadian edition of Rolling Stone magazine. In 1985, Carter moved to New York City and joined the staff of Spy magazine, quickly rising through the ranks to become its editor. Known for its wit and satirical take on celebrity culture, Spy was a trailblazer in the world of lifestyle journalism. In 1992, Carter left Spy to become the editor of Vanity Fair, a position he held until 2018. Under Carter's leadership, Vanity Fair became one of the most influential and respected magazines in the industry. He oversaw groundbreaking investigative journalism, compelling profiles, and iconic photography. His tenure at Vanity Fair also saw the launch of the prestigious Oscar Wilde Awards and the Vanity Fair International Best-Dressed List. Carter's influence extends beyond print media. He executive produced the hit HBO series "The Spy Who Dumped Me" and co-authored several books, including "What I've Learned: Wisdom, War Stories, and Wit from the World of Entertainment." Throughout his career, Carter has been recognized for his contributions to journalism. He has won numerous awards, including six National Magazine Awards in the United States. Today, he continues to be a powerful voice in media, offering insights on culture, politics, and society through his writing and public appearances.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Journalism is the art of applying intelligence to the collection and interpretation of facts for the purpose of informing or influencing people."

This quote by Graydon Carter suggests that journalism is not just about gathering information but also interpreting it wisely, using one's intelligence to provide meaningful insights. The goal of journalism is dual: to inform the public with accurate facts, and to potentially shape or influence them based on these interpretations. It emphasizes the critical role of journalists in our society, not only as providers of factual information but also as thought leaders who help us understand and navigate complex issues.

"News is what (a newspaper) considers to be uninteresting to its readers."

This quote by Graydon Carter suggests that news, as presented by media outlets, may not always align with the actual interests or priorities of their audience. In other words, what a newspaper defines as 'news' might seem unimportant or uninteresting to its readers because it does not resonate with their personal experiences, values, or preferences. This quote can be seen as a critique of news reporting, emphasizing the need for journalism that is engaging, relevant, and meaningful to the public.

"The first duty of a newspaper is to comfort the afflicted, and to afflict the comfortable."

This quote by Graydon Carter suggests that the primary role of a newspaper is twofold. Firstly, it should provide solace and understanding to those who are suffering or oppressed (the "afflicted"). Secondly, it should challenge and critique the powerful or complacent (the "comfortable"), holding them accountable for their actions and raising awareness about issues that need attention. In essence, this quote advocates for journalism that serves both as a source of comfort for those in need and as a catalyst for change in society.

"Every newspaper should have a clear set of values about what it's for and what it's against. If you don't know what you're for, you can't stand up to power."

This quote emphasizes the importance of having a strong sense of purpose and values in journalism. A news outlet that lacks clarity about its principles and objectives may struggle to resist powerful forces, as it risks becoming manipulated or influenced by them. By defining what it stands for and against, a newspaper can maintain its integrity, credibility, and ability to effectively challenge power when necessary. This clear stance empowers journalists to hold truth to light and contribute to an informed society.

"There's always room for more humor in the world."

This quote by Graydon Carter emphasizes the importance of incorporating humor into our lives and society as a whole. By implying that there is always an opportunity to add more laughter, joy, and lightheartedness, he acknowledges the potential benefits that come from maintaining a positive and humorous outlook in the world. A humorous perspective can help alleviate stress, foster connections between people, and create a more enjoyable and inclusive environment for everyone. Essentially, Carter's quote serves as a reminder of the power humor holds to bring positivity and healing to the world.

You have to give kids something to rebel against. You can't like their music - you have to call it noise. It's incumbent on a parent.

- Graydon Carter

Parent, Give, Like, Rebel

There are similarities between being an editor and a tailor. Tailors have a vast supply of fabrics, buttons and thread at their disposal and put it together to make a whole. That's what an editor does - looks at society at a given time and pulls together the interesting aspects into a single issue each month.

- Graydon Carter

Aspects, Whole, Supply, Tailor

'Green' does not have to mean the sort of hair-shirt, wood-burning-stove sensibility of the '70s. Green can and should be sleek and modern.

- Graydon Carter

Green, Modern, Does, Sensibility

Branding experts believe that just because they have rethought a company's image or name, the rest of us will automatically fall in line.

- Graydon Carter

Rest, Will, Image, Automatically

History is nothing if not an epic tale of missed opportunities.

- Graydon Carter

Missed, Nothing, Tale, Epic

The danger of leaving overwhelming wealth and power in the grasp of a small minority is a lesson that leaders such as ousted Tunisian president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali and deposed Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak have learned a little too late, as the demonstrations across the Arab world indicate.

- Graydon Carter

Small, Too Late, Leaders, Egyptian

Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi looks in the mirror and sees a playboy of the old school. And men such as Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Charlie Sheen no doubt look at Berlusconi and think, 'Role model!' Women, of course, know otherwise. They see him as an aging, pathetic buffoon.

- Graydon Carter

Mirror, Role, Playboy, Old School

We admire elephants in part because they demonstrate what we consider the finest human traits: empathy, self-awareness, and social intelligence. But the way we treat them puts on display the very worst of human behavior.

- Graydon Carter

Empathy, Treat, Very, Elephants

It's estimated that across Africa 100 elephants are killed for their tusks every day. It takes nothing more than simple math to get to what that adds up to in a year, and it's a distressing figure.

- Graydon Carter

Simple, Every Day, Year, Elephants

Those who remember New York in the 1970s, as I do, look back on a city that had hit a very rough patch - decaying, bankrupt, and crime-ridden. But fun.

- Graydon Carter

New, Very, Rough, Decaying

The fact is that movie stars are as insecure as the rest of us - if not more so. Many live in a luxurious bubble in which their best friends are their trainer, their hairdresser, their publicist, and their Kabbalah instructor.

- Graydon Carter

Rest, Luxurious, Which, Hairdresser

Cod is more responsible for the discovery of the New World than almost anything else. Drove the Vikings across the North Atlantic, and John Cabot discovered America by looking for cod.

- Graydon Carter

New, Discovered, Almost, New World

There is a certain ancient civility about tailors that is welcome - especially in modern London, which is now very much an international city, not an English city. They're still a little vessel of Englishness in what is otherwise a pretty rambunctious place.

- Graydon Carter

Civility, London, Very, Vessel

I did a bunch of blue-collar jobs, because I knew I'd wind up with a white-collar job at some point, and I wanted to, I don't know, I just wanted to taste life. I dug graves for a while, I worked as a stock boy in a big department store, I worked in a bank.

- Graydon Carter

Big, Some, Taste, Department Store

To discuss a Martin Amis book, you must first discuss the orchestrated release of a Martin Amis book. In London, which rightly prides itself on the vibrancy of its literary cottage industry, Amis is the Steve Jobs of book promoters, and his product rollouts are as carefully managed as anything Apple dreams up.

- Graydon Carter

Book, London, Release, Promoters

The last thing businessmen want to do is sit in a room filled with other businessmen. A room full of money is a pretty boring sight - unless it's yours, of course.

- Graydon Carter

Pretty, Other, Last, Businessmen

My suggestion to newspapers everywhere is to give the public a reason to read them again. So here's an idea: get on a big story with widespread public appeal, devote your best resources to it, say a quiet prayer, and swing for the fences.

- Graydon Carter

Reason, Here, Devote, Fences

It's no surprise that the Bush administration's bullying swagger and blithe ignorance have caused much of the Muslim world to hold the U.S. in rock-bottom regard.

- Graydon Carter

Surprise, Muslim, Bush, Swagger

As you get older and fatter, good clothes can hide a lot.

- Graydon Carter

Hide, Get, Lot, Fatter

What do you call an electorate that seems prone to acting out irrationally, is full of inchoate rage, and is constantly throwing fits and tantrums? You call it teenaged.

- Graydon Carter

Constantly, Fits, Tantrums, Electorate

Water-boarding can result in damage to the lungs and the brain, as well as long-term psychological trauma.

- Graydon Carter

Result, Trauma, Damage, Lungs

Issues such as transparency often boil down to which side of - pick a number - 40 you're on. Under 40, and transparency is generally considered a good thing for society. Over 40, and one generally chooses privacy over transparency. On every side of this issue, hypocrisy abounds.

- Graydon Carter

Privacy, Issues, Considered, Chooses

There's probably a half-dozen movie actors I really like. But a lot of them just aren't that interesting.

- Graydon Carter

Interesting, Movie, Like, Movie Actors

I think the movie business is in trouble. It's all movies that you've seen before. Everything's a remake; they want things that are familiar rather than things that surprise you.

- Graydon Carter

Surprise, Think, I Think, Remake

In 2004, I wrote 'What We've Lost,' a book about the Bush administration. It sold only reasonably well, in part, I think, because the book was a horrific downer, an unrelenting account of the administration's actions, bungles, deceptions, half-truths, untruths, and downright corruptions.

- Graydon Carter

Book, I Think, Bush, Downright

Let's face it, who among us wouldn't take a pill or potion that would make us better at our job? Goodness knows, we abuse substances for just about everything in our personal lives; why not in our professional lives as well?

- Graydon Carter

Why, Abuse, About, Why Not

You know, I used to warm the thermometer on the light bulb... I was really good at being sick. I could forge my mother's signature on a sick note so well I was hardly ever at school.

- Graydon Carter

Signature, Could, Note, Hardly

Moping is an unattractive attribute in a man.

- Graydon Carter

Man, Attribute, Unattractive

War is a form of really bad manners, in a strange way. Invading a country I think is just the worst possible manners. 'You're not invited!' Gate crashing on a large scale!

- Graydon Carter

Think, Country, Bad Manners, Large Scale

You lose manufacturing jobs, you rarely ever get them back again.

- Graydon Carter

Lose, Jobs, Ever, Manufacturing

As someone who came to New York in the 1970s, I was, like so many of my friends, a certified member of what we now call the 99 percent - and I was a lot closer to the bottom than to the top of that 99 percent. At some point during the intervening years, I moved into the 1 percent.

- Graydon Carter

Some, 1 Percent, Moved, Intervening

People think they have to be ambitious. But at a certain age, all you want is to be around nice, decent people.

- Graydon Carter

Think, Want, Decent, Decent People

Stationery is addictive. I get mine made in Paris at Benetton, and writing on it gives me a strange thrill.

- Graydon Carter

Made, Thrill, Mine, Addictive

Former vice president Al Gore has devoted his post-administration years to a mission to tell the world about global warming. It's funny, but in his civilian life Gore has discovered the voice that voters had trouble hearing when he ran for president in 2000. The voice he has found is clear, impassioned, and moving.

- Graydon Carter

Voice, Discovered, Voters, Impassioned

Many of the architects of the Vietnam War became near pariahs as they spent the remainder of their lives in the futile quest to explain away their decisions at the time.

- Graydon Carter

Away, Explain, Became, Vietnam War

Satire works best when it hews close to the line between the outlandish and the possible - and as that line continues to grow thinner, the satirist's task becomes ever more difficult.

- Graydon Carter

Grow, Works, Thinner, Outlandish

Where past generations had film cameras, scrapbooks, notebooks, and that part of the brain which stores memories, we now have a smartphone app for every conceivable recording need.

- Graydon Carter

Need, App, Which, Notebooks

In America, the top 1 percent led the country into war and economic devastation, leaving the less fortunate to fight for one and pay for both.

- Graydon Carter

War, Country, 1 Percent, Economic

Fashion is a dangerous road to go down. Anybody who is going to have children later in life had best not be too fashionable because the photos will come back to haunt them.

- Graydon Carter

Will, Going, Haunt, Fashionable

There aren't any looks or customs I wish would come back. Today almost anything goes. Culture constantly devours the past so there's not much that's missing.

- Graydon Carter

Goes, I Wish, Almost, Almost Anything

In this age of 24-7 headlines, the term 'newsweekly' seems almost quaint.

- Graydon Carter

Headlines, Quaint, Almost, 24-7

New York has arguably become the quintessential 1 percent city, a city that has been so given over to the rich that you now have to be rich to live here. Or not live here: New York's also a preferred destination for foreign money spent on vast, lifeless apartments in the sky that are occupied a couple of weeks a year at most.

- Graydon Carter

Here, Been, Quintessential, Lifeless

Only institutions that go about the old-fashioned business of taking in deposits from customer A and lending them out to customer B should be called banks. The rest should call themselves what they are. 'Parlors' would be appropriate, or 'dens' - words more suitable to venerable betting pursuits.

- Graydon Carter

Old-Fashioned, Appropriate, Suitable

Most of us have learned the hard way that there are very few things you can absolutely count on in life.

- Graydon Carter

Count, Very, Learned, Hard Way

Memory is often - perhaps usually - a distorting lens: what we think we remember isn't the way it was at all. It's what we'd like to remember.

- Graydon Carter

Memory, Think, Like, Distorting

I think being Canadian helps you as a journalist in America, because you're sort of on the outside watching this big party going on, and you're sort of taking mental notes as it goes on. I think if you're in the party the whole time, you don't notice it as much. And I think Canadians are very good observers of American culture.

- Graydon Carter

Big, I Think, Very, Canadians

Americans who grew up in the 1930s or 1940s still have some fleeting memory of what the country was like before it became the steroidal superpower it is today.

- Graydon Carter

Country, Some, Became, Superpower

'The Guardian,' with its deep journalistic traditions, is careful about context and explanation. It sees itself as a gatekeeper, and it worries about consequences.

- Graydon Carter

Deep, Careful, Journalistic, Traditions

The greatest thing that prepared me for editing 'Vanity Fair' was having four kids because you just learn to subjugate your ego with the greater interest in mind.

- Graydon Carter

Mind, Vanity Fair, Having, Greatest Thing

In the Digital Age, recorders also tend to be oversharers, and with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest, they can do so on a grand scale.

- Graydon Carter

Digital, Facebook, Scale, Digital Age

I actually don't know how magazines are produced, I'll be honest with you. I have no idea.

- Graydon Carter

How, Idea, Actually, Produced

It could fairly be said that the U.S. is increasingly out of step with the rest of the world. As our neighbors to the south elect left-wing or even socialist governments, we are lurching further to the right. As Europe becomes less engaged to the Church, we are becoming more fundamentalist.

- Graydon Carter

Engaged, Increasingly, Elect

Television has the obvious benefits of regularity and intimacy.

- Graydon Carter

Intimacy, Benefits, Obvious, Regularity

I might wear a dinner jacket once a year to our Oscar party - that's a big thing - but I don't go to parties. I'm social but I'm not a socialite person.

- Graydon Carter

Big, Year, Oscar, Once A Year

The shelf life of a movie actor or actress is so short, it's like milk.

- Graydon Carter

Actor, Actress, Movie Actor, Shelf

As a father of five, I sometimes feel I've spent a lifetime watching Disney musicals.

- Graydon Carter

Father, Sometimes, Spent, Disney

I have always thought you could take the measure of a man by his sports manners - that is to say, the way in which he conducts himself on the playing field, or even over a game of chess or cards.

- Graydon Carter

Game, Thought, Cards, Playing Field

Financial institutions like to call what they do trading. Let's be honest. It's not trading; it's betting.

- Graydon Carter

Call, Institutions, Trading, Betting

Many men think they're playboys, but they invariably land wide of the mark. Surrounding yourself with champagne, fast friends, and paid escorts is the very definition of the word 'loser.'

- Graydon Carter

Think, Very, Surrounding, Champagne

After the collapse of Wall Street in the 1920s, the culture stopped being all about money, and the country survived and ultimately flourished.

- Graydon Carter

Country, 1920s, Stopped, Survived

Television offers a range and scope, and a degree of creativity and daring, that the bottom-line, global-audience-obsessed, brand-driven movie industry just can't compete with.

- Graydon Carter

Compete, Movie, Offers, Scope

The fact is, unlike a lot of writers, I credit the people who help me. A lot of writers out there have a ton of researchers and they don't get credited in the book.

- Graydon Carter

Book, Fact, Researchers, Credit

Christopher Hitchens was a wit, a charmer, and a troublemaker, and to those who knew him well, he was a gift from - dare I say it - God.

- Graydon Carter

Gift, Wit, Knew, Dare

Arrogance, ignorance, and incompetence. Not a pretty cocktail of personality traits in the best of situations. No sirree. Not a pretty cocktail in an office-mate and not a pretty cocktail in a head of state. In fact, in a leader, it's a lethal cocktail.

- Graydon Carter

Leader, Pretty, Traits, Situations

As any journalist will tell you, there are few professional situations as vexing as when a friend becomes involved in a major story that you feel you must cover.

- Graydon Carter

Will, Feel, Tell, Situations

In Britain, libel damages are small and people build them into the cost of doing business. In America, libel is very rare and much harder to prove, but the damages are enormous.

- Graydon Carter

Small, Doing, Very, Harder

A workday lunch that lasts as long as a transcontinental flight is an impossibility for all but the most pliant and footloose of food tourists. To get in the game, you need a thick wallet, an adventurous palate, and a whole lot of time.

- Graydon Carter

Lunch, Flight, Impossibility, Thick

Magazines at some point become hostage to their own success.

- Graydon Carter

Success, Own, Some, Hostage

I'm losing my hair. I'm overweight. It's not like that's at the top of the list when women go looking for a man. It's like - complete collapse, every year.

- Graydon Carter

Go, Year, Like, Overweight

Magazine stories, the best ones anyway, are generally a combination of three elements: access, narrative, and disclosure.

- Graydon Carter

Access, Stories, Disclosure, Magazine

It could safely be said that Iraqis are dying at a faster clip since the American-led invasion and occupation than they did during the last decade of Saddam Hussein's rule.

- Graydon Carter

Decade, Iraqis, Occupation, Saddam

It's a rare moment when we take a break from the tribulations of the daily rat race to reflect on assumptions and values that we casually accept as gospel.

- Graydon Carter

Race, Rat, Tribulations, Casually

My hunch is that pop culture began to stagnate the moment Americans started to love the past more than they did the future.

- Graydon Carter

Love, Past, Began, To Love

It could fairly be said that America, during the Bush years, has entered an Age of Denial - arguably the first stage of a nation's decline.

- Graydon Carter

Nation, Denial, Could, Arguably

Every man in the back of their minds would like to own a bar or a racehorse.

- Graydon Carter

Minds, Like, Would, Bar

Life is all about seating and lighting.

- Graydon Carter

Life, About, Lighting

I don't think you can be a credible, modern candidate for president without making the environment a major part of your platform.

- Graydon Carter

Think, Making, Major Part, Candidate

Take a random selection of photographs of America in 2012 and 2002 and 1992 and, except for the skinny jeans and the porkpie hats, you'll be hard-pressed to tell the years in which the pictures were taken.

- Graydon Carter

Hats, Tell, Which, Photographs

As any editor will tell you, startling newsroom revelations are generally met with queries about where the information came from and how the reporter got it. Seriously startling revelations are followed by the vetting of libel lawyers.

- Graydon Carter

Lawyers, Tell, Revelations, Followed

I always thought eating what you wanted was one of those aspects of adulthood to be looked forward to when you were a child.

- Graydon Carter

Thought, Always, Looked, Adulthood

Every minute you invest in kids you get back four times over.

- Graydon Carter

Over, Four, Times, Minute

Somewhere along the way, New York became all about money. Or rather, it was always about money, but it wasn't all about money, if you know what I mean. New York's not Geneva or Zurich yet, but we're certainly heading in that direction. London is, too.

- Graydon Carter

London, Rather, Became, Geneva

Everything I love about America is fragile.

- Graydon Carter

Love, About, I Love, Fragile

I really don't despise anyone. But there is a list of a half dozen people I would prefer never to hear from or see again.

- Graydon Carter

Again, Half, Prefer, Dozen

We really care about photography at 'Vanity Fair.'

- Graydon Carter

Fair, Vanity, About, Vanity Fair

I don't do any research. It's all about gut. Editing - it's always about gut.

- Graydon Carter

Always, Gut, About, Research

I think Americans, more so than any other culture, love second and third acts.

- Graydon Carter

Love, Think, Other, Third

I walk down the street and people don't go, 'My God, there he is.' I lead as normal a life as you can lead in New York City.

- Graydon Carter

City, New, Normal, New York City

Conservatives define themselves more by their hatred of liberals than anything else, and, conversely, liberals by their distaste for conservatives.

- Graydon Carter

More, Anything Else, Hatred

Hatred for Obama... has more to do with race than anything else.

- Graydon Carter

Race, More, Else, Hatred

To a young kid growing up in Canada, America seemed to be crazy about the future; dazzled by it.

- Graydon Carter

Kid, Young, Seemed, Canada

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