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Graydon Carter on Paris Hilton (his then-current cover girl), Sept. 29, 2005, as extensively quoted on FishbowlNY:

Jon [Stewart] wants to know if having Paris on the cover makes a difference in sales. "Not particularly," says Graydon. Suddenly from the back of the room "Bullshit!" ... Graydon still wants to address this seriously, saying that the magazine is meant to reflect the culture around it — "we try to slice off our own piece of the culture." As for Paris, Graydon says that he's been watching her for the past four or five years, and — "Yes, I've been watching her too," leers Jon. Graydon continues: "People are fascinated by her...she has an 'X' factor. I don't know what her talents are...."

Graydon Carter on Paris Hilton, March 3, 2006, as quoted in WWD today:

Carter said Hilton wouldn't be coming to the Vanity Fair Oscar party at Morton's, even after she appeared on the magazine's October 2005 cover. "The only Hilton we'll allow in is Conrad Hilton, in an urn," he said on [HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher], adding, "I think the 15 minutes of fame is almost an exaggeration for this generation because there's nothing to support whatever — there's no quality behind what they do."

Having fame but no discernable talent: The most interesting thing in the world, or else the least.

Jon Stewart Kick Some ASME, Part II [FishbowlNY]
Memo Pad [WWD]Earlier: 'Laughing Matters,' Not So Much