Defining the Modern Canon

When we choose the best movies of the 21st century, old favorites like "Parasite" and "Mulholland Drive" surge in popularity again.

When The New York Times declares "My Brilliant Friend," "The Warmth of Other Suns" and "Wolf Hall" the century's very best books, it's no surprise that their readership rises.

And reservations become scarce at Kabawa, Yamada, Tatiana and other top dining spots when we choose New York City's 100 best restaurants.

The Times plays so many roles: as the place to go to understand the world in real time, as the primer on every subject under the sun and, lest we forget, as a convener and tastemaker that helps define the modern canon.

In this last category, we've excelled in recent years. Using our authority, we have polled 500 influential directors, actors and other notable names in Hollywood to assess the best films since the start of 2000. We have sought the opinion of 503 novelists, nonfiction writers, poets, critics and other book lovers. And we've surveyed 250 music insiders as well as an array of Times critics to assemble those who define the new American songbook.

Our lists are hardly casual affairs - they are based on statistical rigor, data analysis, shoe-leather reporting, in-house expertise and industry voices. They have each sparked conversation, delight and debate while guiding our audience to new favorites.

It's clear that this type of work offers a rich opportunity to serve our audience. To help us do even more of this important work and to maintain the rigor of the process, we've selected a creative, forward-thinking editor with deep cultural fluency and a track record of innovation across desks, topics and formats.

We couldn't be more excited that Gilbert Cruz will take on the new role of Canon editor.

Gilbert will build a team dedicated to expanding our embrace of those moments when we invite experts and readers alike to help us declare the definitive works in a given discipline. While The Times will continue to publish an array of news-driven lists throughout our report, Gilbert's new department will be charged with iterating on and updating our most ambitious canon work, collaborating with subject matter experts and colleagues across the newsroom. Our colleagues in Product are eager to team up with Gilbert to ensure that readers can easily share their own picks, and return to The Times regularly to update what they've read or watched or experienced.

Gilbert was the first to realize the potential in creating definitive catalogs of culture when he and the Books desk published the " 100 Best Books of the 21st Century " package in collaboration with The Upshot two years ago, inviting critics, readers and authors into the conversation. As Canon editor, Gilbert will expand on that effort. He will build a team that will work with others across the newsroom to develop canon and signature lists, while ensuring overall quality and cohesion along the way.

Gilbert is uniquely positioned to head this new department, having been a change agent since he arrived at The Times over a decade ago.

As television editor, he helped launch the streaming-focused Watching product, which expanded our scope of service journalism.

As Culture editor, he shepherded prize-winning criticism and diversified story forms.

As Books editor, he's reimagined the nation's last standalone newspaper book-review section for the digital age and invigorated our reporting and criticism, in addition to hosting the "Book Review" podcast.

Importantly, while leading both Culture and Books, Gilbert harnessed the desks' expertise to strengthen their service muscles and guide people toward what to watch, listen to or read. And, as these videos show, he clearly had a lot of fun along the way.

Gilbert is a rare leader with a combination of qualities and experiences tailor-made to lead this new Canon team. We can't wait to see what he'll do.

We'll be looking for the next editor of The Book Review in the coming months. Until then, Tina Jordan will serve as interim editor.

Please join us in congratulating Gilbert.

- Joe, Marc and Carolyn