SU alumni, professors featured in Emmy-nominated documentary

Last year the late journalist David Carr was honored with the i-3 award as part of the Mirror Awards at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. SU’s Office of Electronic Media Communications was tasked with creating a five-minute documentary in his honor. But after rounding up Carr’s friends and colleagues from The New York Times, editor Meg Lynch said the office ended up with 28 minutes of content they wanted to include.

Instead of simply throwing the extra footage away, the crew submitted the “fat version” of “Remembering David Carr” to WNET, the largest PBS market in the country. They also sent it to the New York Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, which awards the Emmys.

After airing on Public Broadcasting’s WNET, the documentary was nominated for an Emmy. The winner will be announced at the March 19 ceremony.

Stephen Colbert, journalist Jake Tapper, SU professor and author Mary Karr, actress Lena Dunham and journalist Gay Talese are all featured in the documentary. But of the 11 interviews featured in the documentary, director Stu Lisson said actor Tom Arnold’s was particularly memorable.

Arnold sat inside the Joseph I. Lubin House in New York City, but as soon as he opened his mouth to speak, construction noises from the building next door began to drown out his voice.

“Before I know it, he’s 6-foot-2, he’s standing up at his seat, microphone hanging at his side, and said, ‘What’s that noise? Let’s go find out,’” Lisson said. “So we’re all going down the stairs following him going, ‘Oh no, what’s going to happen now?’”

To Lisson’s delight, the interview was able to continue on schedule when the head of the construction crew turned out to be a fan of Arnold and agreed to stall construction. Lisson said as soon as the interview started, the world seemed to get perfectly quiet. When they finished, almost on cue, the jackhammering started up again.

“That’s the power of movie stars,” Lisson said with a laugh.

To create the film, Lisson and Lynch reached out to The New York Times’ executive editor Dean Baquet, who in turn gave them contacts for Carr’s close friends and sources. Carr had had such a strong influence on his peers, Lisson said, that when they called to request interviews, not a single person said no.

One person interviewed was Bob Thompson, an SU professor and the director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture.

“Not only did I enthusiastically say yes, but then a week later when (Stu) hadn’t made the arrangements yet, I kept calling in saying, ‘When are we going to do the David Carr?’” Thompson said. “I was begging Stu to have the interview done.”

Thompson said that even now when he speaks with foreign reporters, Carr’s name will often pop up and be addressed with an “almost reverence.”

Although EMC has been nominated for Emmys before, Lisson said the New York chapter is the most competitive in the country and it is an honor to simply be recognized. Part of this honor, he added, belongs to Carr’s legacy.

Although the intention of making the documentary was to share Carr’s story and weave the interviewees’ comments in with his life, the film also helped tell the university’s story. Lisson said that by featuring SU alumni and professors, and by receiving such positive feedback on the film, EMC was able to further the university’s image.

Thompson attested to the quality of the film.

“I have to say I really like that documentary. I thought it was really beautifully — it was so professional and had beautiful production values,” Thompson said. “I mean, all the stuff they do is really, really good.”