NY Times Names Director Of Audio
• The New York Times has bolstered its growing Audio Division (now nearly 100 people deep) by promoting Paula Szuchman from Director of Opinion Audio to the newly created position of Director Of Audio.
The news of Szuchman’s upgrade was delivered in a joint memo from Times‘ Exec. Editor Dean Baquet, Managing Editor Joe Kahn, Asst. Managing Editor Sam Dolnick and Opinion Editor Kathleen Kingsbury, which reads, in part, “As director of Audio, Paula will manage the teams that make our podcasts to ensure that our journalism remains excellent, even as we scale to do more, and that we live up to our values in fostering an equitable and inclusive culture.”
The statement continues, “Paula joined The Times in 2020 as the leader of Opinion Audio, where she quickly built up an all-star team that produces five episodes a week across three first-rate shows. Paula is a creative and exacting editor who makes every story she works on better. She is a compassionate manager who understands the demands of audio production as well as print. Paula has a proven track record in managing journalists across mediums — she ran production teams for five years at WNYC, eight years at The Wall Street Journal (three years as a Page One editor), she ran the newsroom at The Daily Beast and worked as an editor at Newsweek.
In closing, the memo states, “News Audio and Opinion Audio will continue to be two separate teams, maintaining a clear distinction in the journalism that each produces. In overseeing both teams, Paula will focus on ensuring that each remains independent and empowered to do its best work. She will also lead, alongside Katie, the effort to hire her replacement to helm Opinion Audio. We are confident that bringing both teams under her leadership will create new career paths, better communication and a stronger culture that will continue to make The Times the best place for ambitious audio journalists to build wide-ranging careers.” [Photo credit: Amy Pearl]
