In a sweeping move, The New York Times has removed four of its veteran critics from the culture desk—each with years of experience in their respective beats. According to an internal memo, the critics will be reassigned, but their exact future roles remain unclear.
Culture Editor Sia Michel announced the changes in a Tuesday memo, affecting:
- Jon Pareles, chief pop music critic (37 years in the role)
- Jesse Green, theater critic (8 years)
- Margaret Lyons, television critic (9 years)
- Zach Woolfe, classical music critic (3 years)
The critics will be replaced, though no successors have been named.
Michel justified the shake-up by citing a shifting cultural landscape: “It is important to bring different perspectives to core disciplines as we help our coverage expand beyond the traditional review,” she wrote. She pointed to how younger audiences are increasingly bypassing traditional institutions, fandoms have fragmented due to smartphones, and readers are now seeking guidance through essays, videos, and experimental formats.
What Michel didn’t address is why the current critics—many with decades of experience—are deemed incapable of adapting to this evolution.
Still, the move highlights how The Times is doubling down on culture and lifestyle content to retain its growing subscriber base—largely upscale and progressive—while many other legacy outlets struggle to stay afloat.
But there’s a trade-off. Once the paper of record for national political discourse, The Times has sacrificed credibility in that arena, often seen now as catering to the ideological leanings of its elite readership.
A case in point: the paper recently reported that Zohran Mamdani, a far-left Democratic mayoral frontrunner, once identified as “Black” on a college application. Despite the story’s relevance, The Times faced backlash from its own readers—and responded with what critics called a sheepish, apologetic walk-back.
As John Nolte sees it, The New York Times has transitioned from a powerhouse news organization to an elite lifestyle brand. “They’ve become a boutique paper, curating news and culture to suit a narrow, far-left audience,” he writes. “They’re thriving—but not as a serious news source. That era is over.”
So while the paper’s culture section may soon feature new voices, its editorial compass, Nolte argues, remains firmly pointed toward appeasing a progressive subscriber base.
