New York Times Merges Audio, Video Teams Into Single Unit As Podcast Video Expands.

The New York Times is revamping its internal structure as more of its podcasts begin producing video. To date, the effort has been the result of work by the Audio and Podcast Video teams, which under the new structure will see the two merged into the newly created Shows department. The Times says it will serve as the central hub for the video podcast work with all its podcasts except flagship morning news series “The Daily” and “Serial” now part of the unit.

“With fewer silos and one unified Shows department that has best-in-class audio and video producers functioning as one team, we’ll be able to focus on building the best shows in journalism — sometimes in video, sometimes in audio, often in both,” Executive Editor Joe Kahn and Deputy Managing Editor Sam Dolnick say in the announcement.

The Times has created more video content from podcasts including “The Interview,” “Hard Fork,” “Popcast,” “Cannonball,” “The Book Review” and “Modern Love” experiment, which it says has allowed the podcasts to become more dynamic. It says those videos have been viewed by “millions,” although no specific figure was released.

“After a fruitful period of experimentation, we’re pleased to announce changes that will allow us to do even more,” Kahn and Dolnick say. They also share that the Times is planning to expand its roster across a range of formats.

“We’re excited to collaborate even more closely with journalists across the newsroom to develop a slate of shows that helps our audience understand the world,” the executives tell staff in the memo. “We are excited about the progress we’ve made during this past year of experimentation, and we’re looking forward to helping this new team build more formats and shows for our journalism.”

While much is changing, the Times says “The Daily,” led by Executive Producer Ben Calhoun and Deputy Editor Paige Cowett, will stand on its own as a separate team, reporting to Dolnick, along with “Serial,” led by Serial Productions Executive Editor Julie Snyder.

The Times says it is also not yet ready to announce a successor for Paula Szuchman, who has been Director of Audio for the past five years. Last month, she moved on to a new role on the Enterprise Team, a unit that focuses on investigative journalism.

The Times is also announcing that it is closing its Reporter Reads project. It has featured a selection of stories read aloud by Times reporters. “The Reporter Reads team deftly brought creativity and delight to our listeners, and we will incorporate those lessons into our video and audio work going forward,” Kahn and Dolnick say in the memo. The move has led to the elimination of several roles.