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The Today programme's six dedicated correspondents will have to reapply for new multimedia roles, as part of a move to freshen up the flagship BBC Radio 4 show's output.
Jamie Angus, the former deputy editor of Newsnight who took over the Radio 4 flagship show last September, is restructuring its reporting team around five new multimedia roles, expected to include more online and production responsibilities.
Sources close to the show said Angus wanted to refresh the sound of the programme, which has more than 7 million listeners a week.
"There is the feeling that the programme has not made the best of its reporters over the years," said a source. "Some reporters have been heard on air more than others."
The reporting team on Today is made up of Mike Thomson, named news journalist of the year at the 2012 Sony Radio Academy Awards, Sanchia Berg, Andrew Hosken, Nicola Stanbridge, science correspondent Tom Feilden and Zubeida Malik.
The new-look team will do away with specialisms and be expected to focus on the UK, with foreign stories covered by the BBC's global newsgathering operation as well as reporters on the World Service. The new reporting roles are expected to be advertised shortly.
Today has already evolved under Angus with the addition of Mishal Husain, the programme's first Muslim presenter, although she was appointed before he joined.
The BBC's former Washington correspondent, her arrival helped to counter prolonged criticism that the show did not have enough female voices.
The BBC said the latest changes were not part of a cost-cutting exercise, with any savings re-invested in additional production roles.
A spokeswoman said: "We're restructuring the Today team and creating several new multimedia reporter roles which will strengthen the programme, making it more ambitious and better able to break new stories and lead the news agenda.
"There will be as much or more on-air reporting but the changes will also encourage innovation and enable us to create more impact across the rest of BBC News."
Today faced the prospect of losing some of its reporters as part of the BBC's £700m Delivering Quality First cuts. But proposals for the programme to share its on-air team with other Radio 4 news programmes have been shelved.
Angus, a former editor of Radio 4's The World at One, succeeded Ceri Thomas as editor of Today after the latter was elevated to BBC head of news programmes.
Husain's arrival aside, Angus's on-air changes have so far been subtle, although more attentive listeners might have spotted the more frequent use of clips to break up the studio discussion.
Husain joined last October, expanding the programme's roster to six, alongside John Humphrys, Evan Davis, Justin Webb, Sarah Montague and James Naughtie, who took an enhanced role covering the independence referendum in Scotland.
Naughtie is expected to return to the programme full-time after the poll on 18 September, although a roster of 'six presenters on a programme hosted by two people, six days a week, is likely to be seen as excessive in the long term.
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