NY Times ramps up search to replace David Carr

The New York Times is zeroing in on a replacement for media columnist David Carr, who died earlier this year in the newsroom, reports Brian Steinberg andBrent Lang of Variety.

Steinberg and Lang report, “The final choice is a critical one for the Gray Lady, which has seen a number of experienced media reporters leave in recent months owing to buyouts offered in the wake of tough financial conditions afflicting the newspaper business. Carr rose to national prominence by writing a weekly column tracking the tectonic shifts taking place in the media landscape, doing so with a clever turn of phrase and a gimlet-eyed view.

“Jonathan Mahler, a current media desk staffer at the Times; David Folkenflik, media correspondent for National Public Radio; and Sarah Ellison, a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, are on the paper’s list of candidates, these people said.

“Mahler referred an inquiry to Eileen Murphy, a spokeswoman for the New York Times Company. Folkenflik and Ellison declined to comment on whether they had been approached. Murphy did not respond to a query seeking comment.”

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