Critic Te Ārohi is the official magazine of the Otago University Students' Association (OUSA) of the University of Otago. It is freely available around both the University's campus and selected sites in Dunedin city weekly during term time. Critic is New Zealand's longest-running student newspaper, having been established in 1925. Weekly circulation is 5,000 copies, with an estimated readership of approximately 20,000.

Critic's content is primarily targeted towards its student demographic and is generally written through a student perspective. The magazine enjoys enduring popularity with its readership. The physical copies distributed on a weekly basis have a pick-up rate of 99% according to OUSA.

Critic's content includes recurring columns, news articles, long-form investigative journalism, profiles, reviews, puzzles and culture pieces that often examine or portray student life in Dunedin. The magazine is known for its humorous examination of provocative and taboo subject matter. Traditionally, Critic has had 'themed' issues including the "The Sex Issue", "The Drugs Issue", "Te Reo Māori Issue", "The Food Issue", "The Census Issue" and more. However, recent years have seen a movement away from overtly stipulated themes. Roughly half of all Critic issues remain unthemed within the magazine's yearly cycle.

Although the scope of the content has varied year to year under different editorship, in recent years the magazine's coverage has remained local; focusing on stories of relevance to students and the surrounding Dunedin community. Since 2012, the magazine's mission statement has been to "reflect the reality of Otago University students back to themselves.”^[1] In a 2018 profile of Critic, former Editor Joel MacManus told Stuff the magazine seeks to “cover stories other media can't or won't, in a way that they can't or won’t […] When we write something I know couldn't be published in the Otago Daily Times or on Stuff – that's when I'm like, 'This is great!’ That's when it's Critic.”^[2]

Critic began as a newspaper in 1925, before becoming a magazine in 2001. The publication was tabloid in size until 2002, when it went quarterfold (around A4 size). The design of Critic is often significantly changed each year as new designers are employed; typically from the Otago Polytechnic Design School.

In 2011, Critic's covers (under the magazine's Art Director Andrew Jacombs) were selected in the 2012 Coverjunkie "Best Of" Publication and exhibited alongside some of the world's most leading titles, including TIME, Esquire, The New Yorker, Vogue, Sports Illustrated and lift-outs from The New York Times and The Sunday Times.^[14][15]

Critic Te Ārohi is a member of the Aotearoa Student Press Association (ASPA) and has been awarded Best Publication in the annual ASPA awards in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.^[16]

The Critic Te Ārohi editor-in-chief is an employee of OUSA, operating under a charter that grants editorial independence. The Editor is appointed and employed under a fixed term contract that covers roughly the beginning to end of Otago University's academic year. Previous involvement with the magazine is not a prerequisite for applicants, although most have held a sub-editorial position at Critic prior to being appointed editor. Although Critic's editorship has been shared in previous years (particularly in the magazine's early history), in modern times the role of editor is typically fulfilled by one person. The typical tenure for Critic Editor is one year, though roughly 10% of editors in Critic's history have stayed on for two years as of 2024.

Notable past editors include journalist and Rhodes Scholar Sir Geoffrey Cox,^[21] Priest and human rights activist Paul Oestreicher, TV broadcaster Jim Mora, political commentator Chris Trotter, New Zealand Alliance Party co-leader Victor Billot, Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie and Rhodes Scholar and former Green Party MP Holly Walker.

Critic's sub-editorial roles are Design Editor, Sub-Editor, News Editor, Features Editor and Culture Editor. Design Editor is the second most senior role within Critic as the only staff member (aside from Editor) that is employed full-time. In 2023 the role of Ētita Māori (Māori Editor) was made a permanent position. The role entails the production of Māori interest content and the magazine's annual te reo Māori themed issue.

Until 2018, there were rotating 'Section Editors' (now described as staff writers) covering books, art, film, games, poetry food, music, politics and sport. In some years, "Deputy Editor" "Technical Editor" and "Art Director" have been listed as sub-editorial roles.

In 1925 Otago University medical student Francis Bennett, whom edited the annual student publication The Review, suggested a new student newspaper. OUSA approved. The Critic went on to replace the 4-page newsletter Te Korero, which Bennett later described as “a dismal rag which [Dan Aitken] and I usually filled up with imaginative froth a few hours before it went to press.” Editor Douglas Archibald Campbell outlined the newspaper's ethos in the publication's first-ever editorial, envisioning Critic to be a publication where “criticism may be brought into the open" and would "suffer no word or deed to go unquestioned within the four walls of Otago University.”

The Office of Film and Literature Classification in 2005 banned an issue of the magazine, due to it containing a satirical "how-to-guide" on drug rape.^[22] The article was published in magazine's since-discontinued "offensive" themed issue, which ran from 2002—2005. Possession or distribution of this issue was deemed illegal.^[23] Editor Holly Walker stood by the decision to publish the article, stating it was "defendable" in that it highlighted "a very important issue and [would] hopefully make women more aware of what could happen to them."^[24][25] Walker later backtracked this statement in a comment to Critic in 2012, calling the article's publication a "mistake": "We were trying to be offensive for the sake of it, rather than with any greater purpose in mind […] I wasn’t a very woke feminist back then.”^[26]

In 2010 The New Zealand Media Council upheld a complaint against Critic over the article 'The Bum at the Bottom of the World', which depicted three people the publication deemed homeless and vagrant.^[27][28] Editor Ben Thomson later stated the magazine "completely misjudged where the line was" and apologised for the article. The Press Council accepted Critic's apology as "sincere."^[29]

In 2013 Critic's Editor Callum Fredric received a $35,000 payout after a series of personal disputes with OUSA General Manager Darel Hall. Fredric was suspended by Hall on Friday 3 May, and was trespassed from OUSA buildings by Hall after attending a meeting on Monday 6 May to explain the situation to staff, before being asked to leave by Police. After filing legal proceedings, Fredric accepted a $35,000 settlement package from OUSA on Friday 17 May, and resigned as Editor.^[30][31][32]

In 2018, the cover of "The Menstruation Issue" featured a cartoon image of a woman menstruating. University of Otago Proctor Dave Scott took offence to the image and unilaterally decided to destroy all copies of the magazine.^[33] An open-letter signed by 17 former Editors expressed "deep concern" over the decision, with prominent New Zealand media figures accusing the university of "censorship." The removal of the magazines was further accused of stigmatising menstruation. The university later apologised, calling the decision a “mistake”.^[34]

In 2020 Critic criticised Otago University's response to the Covid-19 pandemic in an opinion piece, leading the university's refusal to answer media requests from Critic and threatening to pull advertising from the magazine.^[35] Following changes in Critic's editorial leadership, the University has resumed accepting media requests and running advertisements.