A critically acclaimed documentary unit has had most of its staff cut in a move that reflects a shift in focus by its cable channel, The New York Times’ Media Decoder blog reports.

Current TV let go most of the approximately 10 employees of the documentary series "Vanguard," the story reports.

The network plans to produce more "Vanguard" documentaries, but will rely on freelance workers instead, the story says.

"[G]iven the network’s new focus on political news and analysis, we have chosen to change the present in-house production model for ‘Vanguard,’" said David Bohrman, president of Current TV, in a statement.