The New York Times has named Elena Bergeron as Culture’s new pop music and new platforms editor, expanding her role to lead pop music coverage and oversee journalism examining how culture intersects with YouTube, TikTok and other digital platforms.
Bergeron will continue reporting to David Malitz, deputy editor of Culture. The appointment builds on work she has already been doing with the department’s pop team since moving from Sports to Culture three years ago.
Her new remit reflects the increasingly close relationship between traditional entertainment coverage and digital platforms, where music, creators and other forms of popular culture are distributed, discussed and commercialized. Bergeron will help shape coverage across those areas while working with reporters and visual teams on different storytelling formats.
“Elena is great at helping writers turn an idea into a fully realized piece, and her news judgment is exceptionally sharp,” Malitz said. “It’s no surprise that immediately upon joining Culture, she fully earned the trust of everyone she worked with.”
Bergeron has edited live coverage of major cultural events including the Grammy Awards and Super Bowl halftime show. Her work has also included coverage of the Sean Combs trial and the ongoing Tupac murder trial.
She has overseen visually driven projects involving Kendrick Lamar and the centennial of Miles Davis and has been editing Lindsay Zoladz’s Amplifier newsletter.
Bergeron has also developed a portfolio of coverage focused on how entertainment and cultural influence are changing across online platforms. She has edited stories examining podcast set design, lessons from YouTube’s earliest stars and prominent digital personalities including Theo Von and MrBeast.
Other projects have explored how online creators are moving into established entertainment businesses, including coverage of a horror YouTuber’s unexpected box-office performance. Bergeron has also worked with The Times’ Popcast team and collaborated with visual editors on multimedia projects, including an examination of reality television casting.
“Elena is a writer’s perfect partner because her ambitions are not bound by the way things might have been done in the past,” Times reporter Joe Coscarelli said. He cited her interest in experimenting with how stories are executed while maintaining editorial judgment about when different formats are appropriate.
Bergeron joined The New York Times in 2019 as editor for the NFL, NHL and golf and also edited the Sports of The Times column.
During her tenure in Sports, she helped lead several investigations, including reporting on allegations of sexual misconduct involving Deshaun Watson and an examination of emails sent by Jon Gruden that preceded his resignation as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. She also worked on coverage of the fatal accident caused by Britt Reid.
Before joining The Times, Bergeron was editor in chief of SB Nation. She previously founded and edited Triangle Offense, a basketball and lifestyle publication, and worked as a staff writer at ESPN: The Magazine.
Her move into the expanded Culture position gives The Times a dedicated editor overseeing pop music alongside emerging distribution and creator platforms. The structure recognizes that coverage of contemporary music and entertainment increasingly extends beyond traditional releases and performances into the digital ecosystems where audiences discover artists, follow creators and participate in cultural conversations.
