Overview

• The Times has reassigned television critic Margaret Lyons, music critic Jon Pareles, theater critic Jesse Green and classical music critic Zach Woolfe to new roles following a memo from culture editor Sia Michel.
• Michel described the shift as a response to an extraordinary moment in American culture marked by new generations bypassing institutions and audiences splintering across digital platforms.
• The overhaul aims to broaden arts coverage through essays, video features and experimental story formats instead of relying solely on traditional reviews.
• A search for new critics to fill the vacated TV, music, theater and classical music beats will begin in the coming weeks.
• Rotating veteran critics is rare for the newsroom, underscoring the Times’s effort to inject fresh perspectives into its core arts reporting.