Who is the mastermind behind THE New York Social Diary? David P. Columbia!
Looking as dapper as ever, David Patrick Columbia embodies the essence of New York society with his clever wit and positive attitude.
The nature of social journalism is people interested in other people! In 2000, David Patrick Columbia (DPC) created his legendary, weekly online newsletter, the New York Social Diary (NYSD) where he has cleverly chronicled the social, historical, and cultural life of NYC. People have aspirations and want to be inspired! There is a fine line between having a gossip publication and a socially informative one, the latter of which is the essence of NYSD. I regard his writing as a fine wine. It tastes like velvet and has subtle but complex nuances from mastering the art of its blending and aging, with just the right touch of intrigue. With one sip, you’ll only want more!
I found out first hand that David is a genius at storytelling. Imagine that! Our interview lasted two hours, but it felt like two minutes! Here is the first half of our chat together. Next week's newsletter will continue with even more delicious stories.
A little DPC background:
At a very early age, David was intrigued and enamored with the lifestyle of NYC, which had the reputation of being glamorous, and completely different than his very modest Westfield, MA upbringing. He begged for a dollhouse and fantasized that he lived in that perfect house. At age six, he read the social column in the newspaper that his father brought home. At age 11, David saw an ad for a Smith Corona typewriter, which he desperately wanted. His mother bought it for him, even though it was very expensive for their family.
He went on to Colby College, where he won $100 in a writing contest. He didn’t finish college but decided to take his money and go to NYC at age 19 to become a writer. He had only been there three times in his life, once to a coming-out party, which had quite an influence on him. A friend offered David her mother’s apartment until he found a place to live. It just happened to be at 740 Park Ave, a 16 room duplex, where he lived, rather lavishly, for the first 8 months! This experience showed him the side of life that he had only imagined as a child.
Young David with his elder sister, Helen, in their hometown of Westfield, Massachusetts.
All of his life he has been a writer but has never thought of himself as a professional writer.
Holly: Did your mother have a positive influence on you?
David: My mother had a huge influence on me! She read to me every night and told me many stories about her life, which was filled with hardships, and that is probably why I am a writer today.
Holly: Was your mother a stickler about certain aspects of your life, and about etiquette?
David: Everything! She was a Virgo… asking me, “Did you wash your face?” when I was age 16… really, mother?! We were brought up to have manners. When I was growing up, we were taught manners on how to behave, and get along with people. “Thank you” and “please” are there so that we can speak to one another. Even in the animal world, manners are taught by their mothers who teach them what they can and cannot do! Etiquette almost does not exist anymore… children are not taught it. Etiquette is a navigational tool, and what one uses to move smoothly in life, and around each other. (My, did that resonate with me!)
Holly: I admire how you do not disparage people in NYSD. There is a fine line between a gossip publication and a socially informative one, as the reputation of NYSD.
David: If it is an interview, I ask questions… anything I want to ask. But if I am invited as a guest to your table, and I really don’t know you, I do not intrude on your privacy with any kind of questions.
A DPC story:
A few years ago, David was invited to lunch at Lee Radziwill’s (sister of Jacqueline Kennedy) apartment. After a lovely time, she mentioned that she was curious about something. “In NYSD, you never say anything bad about anybody.” She wanted to know why. David’s response was, “Why would I? Frankly, what is in it for me, David the writer, if I am saying something bad about someone? I don’t want to have an argument with anybody. I don’t want to have an enemy or any of those things. I don’t look for that. I can see it, obviously, when it is there. I am well aware of things you can say that are bad about people, but I look for the positive in people. That is what we have to live off of and go on. At my later age, I see that the so-called negative things are always there, and will always be there with all of us. But the things that are really important are positive.”
Holly: You eventually left NYC and moved to LA. What brought you back to the East Coast?
David: I was asked to write a book about Bobby Short. (An American cabaret singer and composer.)
A DPC story:
At age 51, David left LA, and on his drive back to NYC to write a book, he asked himself this question: “Let’s say... if you have to live in NYC and write to make a living, and if you could do anything you wanted, what would you like to do?” David then said to himself, “I would like to write a social column! Well, nobody knows me. The world has changed, social columns don’t even exist, so don’t get your hopes up. But, just know, if you could have it, you would want it!”
He went to a cocktail party at the Chanel store in NYC and met a little English lady, Heather Cohane, who in 1986 founded Quest magazine, which was basically a real estate magazine that had some social stories in it. She knew of David’s writing and asked if he would like to write a piece for Quest, about a woman from Philadelphia who was reared in Boston and grew up with the Cushing sisters, Babe Paley, Betsey Whitney, and Minnie Astor. He did and after he wrote a few more pieces, Heather asked, “Would you like to write a column?” David did, and named it the New York Social Diary!
Fast forward: David became the editor of Avenue Magazine (one of Manhattan’s oldest society magazines featuring the elite) and still wrote his column too. He knew there would be an audience on the internet someday because the internet would be everywhere. He said, “I once lived in “everywhere,” and I know how interesting NYC is to “everywhere.”
So, on August 15, 2000, he gave notice and left Avenue to launch his new website, which he started with Jeff Hirsh, who had begun working with him as his assistant and as a talented photographer at Avenue when he was 21. With Jeff’s help, who also left Avenue, they launched the first NYSD online in September 2000, with no sponsors. At first, they published 2-3 times a week but realized that to make an impression, they would have to post five days a week, which they did by the end of that year, and have done so together ever since, for twenty years.
Holly: Who would you say your audience is?
David: Our audience is basically over 40, and 60% of them are women. We are a “reading” publication. The younger generations don’t read, and they are not curious. Life is all about learning! It is everything! Go into a restaurant, and they are just looking at their phones. The world has changed, and the audience has changed.
There is no social life in NYC now. Much of NYC’s social life is built around philanthropy, galas, getting involved with the cause. What I try to write about now under COVID is how important it is to be around each other. We are social creatures. Wearing a mask and staying in the house, not being with people, or even on the phone or Zoom, is not the same as a human relationship. We need human relationships to live, which is required as a creature! People need to be with people.
TO BE CONTINUED! Please, join me for the second half of my interview with DPC on next week's MMM. Find out David’s explanation of “real charm” and how to make people feel comfortable. Be privy to one of the greatest dinner parties he has ever attended in his life which he said was, “A perfect party in every way!”
P.S. You are invited to send this along to others you know who may also enjoy an insight into the background of NYSD!