Audio has been an important part of our journalism for years now. But our audio journalism still hasn’t become a major part of our digital experience. Our most devoted home-page readers might not know that we publish a broad range of award-winning podcasts, along with many other pioneering audio formats.
I’m excited to introduce a new programming team that has been working hard to change that: The New York Times Audio programming team, led by Shreeya Sinha. In partnership with audio producers, editors and product teams, they have been working to shape our audio app, which is currently accessible to a small group by invitation only. The app represents our most ambitious experiment in bringing our signature audio journalism to our listeners, and it has become a laboratory for new kinds of audio journalism, from five-minute shorts, to reporters around the globe discussing and reading their stories aloud.
The New York Times audio programming team includes Times veterans who have worked across a range of departments and BBC editors who have pioneered digital audio experiences. They have partnered with our audio producers, editors and product teams to bring this experiment to life. They have been hard at work forging a voice and an identity for a product that we expect millions of listeners will love. We’ll have more details on our plans for the audio app soon.