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.

"[2] In 2018, Critic Te Ārohi reported that University of Otago Proctor Dave Scott had illegally entered two students flats without permission and confiscated bongs/water pipes, which were estimated to be worth over $700 combined.

[9] Although the feature was lauded for its investigative merit, Critic later issued an apology for not contacting Head Master Caroline Hepburn-Doole for comment before publication.

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."

[17] 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.

"[18][19] 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.

"[20] 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.

"[23] In 2013 Critic's Editor Callum Fredric received a $35,000 payout after a series of personal disputes with OUSA General Manager Darel Hall.

[27] 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 Editor is appointed and employed under a fixed term contract that covers roughly the beginning to end of Otago University's academic year.

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,[35] Priest and human rights activist Paul Oestreicher (OBE), renowned obstetrician Diana Mason (OBE), 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.

Until 2018, there were rotating 'Section Editors' (now described as staff writers) covering books, art, film, games, poetry food, music, politics and sport.