The New York Times Lays Off Critics and Shows the New Criteria for Criticism

And on the same week the government decides to defund NPR and PBS.

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On Tuesday, the New York Times made the announcement that their four arts and culture critics—music critic Jon Pareles, TV critic Margaret Lyons, chief theater critic Jesse Green and classical music critic Zachary Woolfe—would be removed from their positions and new critics would be hired. The four weren’t being fired, per se, but would be reassigned to new, undetermined roles in the future. It’s unfortunate to see four top-tier writers demoted, regardless of the situation. But what struck me, and other writers out there, was what NYT Culture Editor Sia Michel said they were looking for to fill the four open jobs.

“We are in the midst of an extraordinary moment in American culture,” Michel said in a letter to staff. “New generations of artists and audiences are bypassing traditional institutions, smartphones have Balkanized fandoms even as they have made culture more widely accessible than ever, and arts institutions are facing challenges and looking for new opportunities.”