Graydon Carter’s When the Going Was Good: An Editor’s Adventures During the Last Golden Age of Magazines offers a meticulously detailed look at an era when print outlets such as Vanity Fair, Vogue, and Elle could shape public discourse through a combination of journalistic rigor, celebrity access, and lavish budgets. Carter, best known as the longtime editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair, guides readers through this bygone period, reflecting on the editorial freedom, economic prosperity, and cultural influence that magazines once enjoyed. His memoir serves both as a tribute to this golden age and as a cautionary tale about its inevitable decline.
The central aim of When the Going Was Good is to showcase the “glamorous heyday” of print magazines and to explore how publications like Vanity Fair helped define cultural norms. Carter deftly weaves personal anecdotes—such as his formative years at Spy and his eventual stewardship of Vanity Fair—into broader observations about the power magazines once wielded. Throughout, he examines three core themes:
Editorial Vision and Leadership: Carter emphasizes how a strong editorial voice can transform a magazine into both a cultural touchstone and a commercial success.
Cultural Significance of Magazines: He highlights the critical role print media played in shaping celebrity narratives, public opinion, and national conversations.
Transition to Digital: By chronicling the industry’s decline in the face of online competition, Carter underscores the loss of communal ritual and editorial rigor that digital platforms have struggled to replicate.
A central focus of the memoir is Carter’s evolution from co-founder of the satirical Spy to a more formal yet still incisive presence at Vanity Fair. He credits the magazine’s influence to its balance of investigative journalism and eye-catching celebrity coverage. For instance, Vanity Fair famously combined serious exposés—like its scoop on Mark Felt as Watergate’s “Deep Throat”—with iconic covers featuring major Hollywood stars. Carter consistently notes how Condé Nast owner Si Newhouse’s supportive but hands-off approach granted him the freedom to innovate, thereby solidifying Vanity Fair’s standing as a cultural barometer.
Carter vividly describes the industry’s late-20th-century heyday, when print circulations soared, advertising budgets flourished, and editors became high-profile tastemakers. He reminisces about the close-knit newsroom camaraderie, extravagant budgets for photo shoots, and the sense that each new issue could define public debate for weeks. Anecdotes about the annual Vanity Fair Oscar Party, which became a Hollywood institution, illustrate the magazine’s ability to merge journalism with social spectacle. These recollections highlight an era in which magazines did more than reflect culture—they actively shaped it.
As the memoir progresses, Carter details the profound impact of the internet on established media. He laments that where once a single feature article could spark cultural debate for days, social media now disperses attention within hours. He cites the reduction in fact-checking teams, the turn toward quick content, and the loss of a dedicated audience as key indicators of print’s waning relevance. While acknowledging digital media’s broader reach, Carter emphasizes that magazines offered a tangible sense of continuity and communal experience—qualities that online platforms have not fully replicated.
Woven throughout are stories that bring the golden age to life. Carter recounts his early days at Spy, where fearless satire rattled icons like Donald Trump. He reveals behind-the-scenes moments at Vanity Fair—collaborations with Annie Leibovitz, brainstorming sessions for the Hollywood Issue, and financial balancing acts required to sustain lavish editorial projects. Through each anecdote, Carter shows how magazines were once uniquely positioned to capture both the zeitgeist and the complex dynamics between fame, wealth, and power.
One of the book’s strengths lies in its panoramic view of an industry at its zenith, enriched by Carter’s knack for weaving personal stories into larger cultural insights. Readers get a sense of both the glamour and the intellectual rigor that characterized print’s apex. However, the memoir occasionally leans heavily on nostalgia. Carter’s homage to the bygone era sometimes overshadows deeper critiques of exclusivity or lack of diversity in editorial rooms. Additionally, while his reflections on digital media’s pitfalls are perceptive, readers seeking actionable insights into how print might adapt today may find the discussion limited.
When the Going Was Good stands as both an elegy and an admonition. Carter’s nostalgic accounts of editorial creativity, journalistic thoroughness, and cultural gravitas remind us of what made magazines resonate so powerfully. At the same time, he challenges current and future media professionals to carry forward the best aspects of print—careful editing, strong storytelling, editorial integrity—even in a digital domain. For anyone curious about the media’s past, present, and possible future, Carter’s memoir offers a compelling historical record and a thoughtful reflection on what might be preserved or reborn in new forms.
