NewsGuild urges New York Times transparency after critics reassigned

The NewsGuild of New York is urging The New York Times to demonstrate “greater transparency and accountability” after staffers were forced to plead with management for an explanation regarding the sudden reassignment of four prominent critics.

The ordeal began last month when chief theater critic Jesse Green, chief pop music critic Jon Pareles, TV critic Margaret Lyons and music critic Zach Woolfe were reassigned to other departments. That prompted unionized culture staffers to pen a memo to Times executive editor Joe Kahn, assistant managing editor Sam Sifton and culture editor Sia Michel saying they were “shocked and deeply concerned” over the decision and demanded a meeting to understand its implications. 

Times leadership responded by meeting with some of the staffers last week, but the Guild wants Kahn and other Times leaders to be clearer going forward. 

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“As a unionized newsroom, our Times Guild members have a right to speak up for the work they produce. This is just one of the essential protections our contract provides to Guild members. We sincerely hope Times management demonstrates greater transparency and accountability to our members on the culture desk going forward, as well as at the bargaining table when we return for contract talks later this year. We are closely monitoring as this situation unfolds,” NewsGuild of New York President Susan DeCarava told Fox News Digital. 

The meeting was first described as “tense” by Semafor, and a Times insider agreed with that description. 

“Kahn repeatedly emphasized that the critics were not removed due to performance issues, but said the paper wanted to bring ‘fresh perspectives’ to the critics’ roles,” Semafor reported. 

The New York Times declined comment when reached by Fox News Digital. 

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Last month, Michel announced the changes in an email to Times staffers. 

“We are in the midst of an extraordinary moment in American culture. 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,” Michel wrote in a memo obtained by Fox News Digital. 

“Our readers are hungry for trusted guides to help them make sense of this complicated landscape, not only through traditional reviews but also with essays, new story forms, videos and experimentation with other platforms,” the culture editor added. “Our mission is to be those guides. As we do so, I am making some changes in assignments in the department.”

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Michel called the four reassigned critics the “best in class,” and said the Times would be “sharing news of their new roles soon.”

“I know that these are big changes. While it has long been the practice in the newsroom to shift the roles of reporters, editors and bureau chiefs to bring different ideas and experience to important beats and coverage areas, we’ve done this far less with our roster of critics. But it is important to bring different perspectives to core disciplines as we help our coverage expand beyond the traditional review,” Michel wrote.