More Rosebud in NYC - Graydon Carter
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
More Rosebud. More the merrier sometimes. Occasionally, more the sadder. But it's more, more, more. And people say, we want more. Which is rather nice. Anyway, this is More Rosebud, and welcome to it. Cue the music, and notice, it's slightly different music on a Tuesday.
MUSIC PLAYS
This is More Rosebud. I'm Charles Brandreth. And because it's More Rosebud, I have a companion with me. She's with me every week, all the time, because she's the producer of Rosebud. She's Harriet Jane. But on a Tuesday, when we put out More Rosebud, though you may be listening to it any time you like, well, she steps in front of the microphone and she says a few words. What are the few words you're going to say today, Harriet?
Good morning, America.
Because we are in New York City where we have spent some time recording Rosebuds with interesting people. And I think today's guest is one of the most interesting. He is a magazine editor. But somebody, when I said, we've got Graydon Carter on, he's a magazine editor, they said, no, he isn't a magazine editor. He is the magazine editor from the golden age of magazines. He worked when he was young on Time magazine, on Life magazine, in an era that was then coming to an end, but an era when that's how people got their... news in depth, their pictures in depth before, well, it was from a different era. And he then became famously the editor of Vanity Fair, where he made it a very special magazine over a quarter of a century.
Did you ever read Vanity Fair when he was the editor?
I was a subscriber when he was an editor because of him.
Really?
Because Vanity Fair became the magazine. It sort of took a glossy magazine and made it intelligent, interesting, unusual, but still glossy, glamorous. And you felt you wanted to read what was in it. You weren't just buying it for the pictures. You were buying it for the words and the pictures.
Very good. And before he got that job, and he's going to tell us how he got that job, how I think he was offered either that job or editing The New Yorker, which is one of the great iconic magazines of America. He had founded, co-founded another magazine called Spy.
Yes.
Which was a satirical magazine, very controversial in its day.
Yeah, kind of the private eye of New York City. I think he said he was very influenced by private. He's going to talk about that, isn't he? He did some fun stunts at Spy, which I think people are going to love hearing about.
I think people are going to love this. I want to say, I don't know if I do mention it during our conversation, that he is Canadian.
He doesn't just... Oh, yeah, he talks about Canada.
Of course he does. Of course he does. But he is not just Canadian. He is a member of the Order of Canada. So he has the highest honour that Canada can afford. So this is a very distinguished dude who is Canadian. And I think maybe he's also American. I don't know. But he's interesting and he's funny and he's got the measure of me. Yeah, he has. And you are fearful that he may have the measure of you. You said to me, I've got to do this carefully. He's no fool. He's going to see what we're doing.
I mean, I'm about to edit this episode with the best editor alive today. So watch out, Harriet. Make sure you make the correct cuts in the correct places and tell this story as effectively as you possibly can.
There you are. So let's do our bit.
Yeah.
Let's do our best with the best of the magazine world, Graydon Carter. Cue the music.
Cut.
Now look, Greg, before we begin, we've just been gossiping off-camera, before we start, Rosebud itself, about President Trump. And I seem to remember, when I first came to be aware of you, it wasn't through the Vanity Fair years, it was through a magazine called Spy.
Are we doing this now? We're doing it. This is live. We're live. I can't tell whether you're live or... Because I'm the same off-screen as on-screen. Oh, you are the same.
We have occasionally had guests who have been very dour. And Harriet, my producer, and I, we thought, oh, yeah, ours is going to go.
And they come alive.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–6:49
2
What was Graydon Carter's vision for Vanity Fair?
6:49–10:08
3
How did Graydon Carter's career at Spy magazine begin?
10:08–13:24
4
What are the four elements needed to craft a compelling story?
13:24–14:32
5
How did Graydon Carter's relationship with Donald Trump evolve?
14:32–1:01:22