Axios (website)

Axios (stylized as AXIOS) is an American news website founded in 2016 by former Politico executives Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz. It officially launched in 2017. The site's name is based on the Greek: ἄξιος (áxios), meaning "worthy".[2]

Axios
Axios logo
Type of site
News and opinion
Available inEnglish
OwnerAxios Media Inc.
Key people
URLwww.axios.com
Alexa rank 5,457 (July 2020)[1]
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional
Launched2017
Current statusActive

History

Axios's founder VandeHei said he aimed for the company to be a "mix between The Economist and Twitter."[3] The company initially targeted coverage of a mix of news about business, politics, technology, healthcare, and media. Founder VandeHei said Axios would focus on the "collision between tech and areas such as bureaucracy, health care, energy, and the transportation infrastructure".[2] At launch, Nicholas Johnston, a former managing editor at Bloomberg LP, was named editor-in-chief.[4]

In the summer of 2016, Axios secured $10 million in a round of financing led by Lerer Hippeau Ventures. Backers include media-partner NBC News; Emerson Collective, the investment vehicle of Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Steve Jobs; Greycroft Partners; and David and Katherine Bradley, owners of Atlantic Media.[2] The company had raised $30 million as of November 2017.[5][6] It planned to focus on "business, technology, politics, and media trends."[2] Axios generates revenue through short-form native advertising and sponsored newsletters.[7] The company earned more than $10 million in revenue in its first seven months.[5] Their advertisers include Exxon Mobil and Koch Industries.[8]

In January 2017, the company hired as an executive vice president, Evan Ryan, the assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs and a former staffer for Vice President Joe Biden.[9] In March 2017, the company said it had 60 employees with 40 working in editorial.[10] Axios had six million visitors in September 2017, according to comScore. As of November 2017, Axios said it had 200,000 subscribers to 11 newsletters, with an average open rate of 52%. That same month, Axios said it would use a new $20 million investment to expand data analysis, product development, fund audience growth, and increase staff to 150, up from 89.[5]

In March and April 2019, HuffPost and Wired reported that Axios had paid a firm to improve its reputation by lobbying for changes to the Wikipedia articles on Axios and Jonathan Swan.[11][12]

Content

The content is designed to live on digital platforms, such as Facebook and Snapchat, as well as its own website.[2] Reporters have made appearances on television news on NBC News and MSNBC through a deal with NBC.[4] Its NBC Universal partnership has featured Axios co-founder Mike Allen on its show Morning Joe.[13][14] Content is distributed via newsletters covering politics, technology, healthcare, and other subjects. Among the newsletters is a daily report by Mike Allen, who formerly wrote the Playbook newsletter for Politico.[2] Typical articles are shorter than 300 words.[15]

In 2018 the editors of the literary magazine n+1 identified Axios as an example of a new style of writing that "is simultaneously careful and strident, low-key and declarative" in order to cater to impatient readers. They noted that "Axios, whose name is a cross between a defense contractor and an aggressive men's deodorant, has dispensed with everything but theses and bullet points."[16]

Axios on HBO

A documentary series based on the website's reporting, also titled Axios (sometimes disambiguated as Axios on HBO), began airing on HBO in the United States and internationally on November 4, 2018.[17] The program, which primarily features interviews with political and business figures in the news, is a co-production of Axios Media, HBO Documentary Films, and DCTV. Initially airing on Sunday evenings in blocks of four consecutive weeks once or twice a year, the program switched to year-round bi-weekly production, airing on Monday nights, starting in April 2020.[18]

gollark: Plus, I could build a tower out of my excess furnaces.
gollark: I mean, it would be nice to at least not be limited to Y256.
gollark: Also, disk space is something like £0.02/GB, I'm sure you can afford to keep your drawings around.
gollark: Hmm, might just be older versions.
gollark: I mean, the latest is 11, but Minecraft doesn't work on 9 and up.

References
  1. "Axios (website) site ranks". Alexa Internet. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  2. Ellison, Sarah (November 30, 2016). "Exclusive: Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei Reveal Their Plan for Media Domination". Vanity Fair. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  3. Shephard, Alex (May 2, 2017). "Axios and Donald Trump Are Made For Each Other". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  4. Alpert, Lukas I. (September 6, 2016). "Politico Co-Founder Jim VandeHei to Launch News Venture for Professionals". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  5. Mullin, Benjamin (November 17, 2017). "Axios Raises $20 Million to Fund Newsroom Expansion". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  6. Shephard, Alex (May 2, 2017). "Axios and Donald Trump Are Made For Each Other". New Republic. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  7. Sutton, Kelsey (November 20, 2018). "Why Axios Is Betting Big on Native Content, Sponsored Events and Branded Newsletters". AdWeek. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  8. Fox, Emily Jane. "Exclusive: Axios Has Another Trick Up Its Sleeve". Vanity Fair. Vanity Fair. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  9. Fox, Emily Jane. "Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen Bring on Washington Insiders to Help Run Axios". The Hive. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  10. Fox, Emily Jane. "Exclusive: Axios Has Another Trick Up Its Sleeve". The Hive. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  11. Feinberg, Ashley (March 14, 2019). "Facebook, Axios And NBC Paid This Guy To Whitewash Wikipedia Pages". HuffPost. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  12. Cohen, Noam (April 7, 2019). "Want to Know How to Build a Better Democracy? Ask Wikipedia". Wired. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  13. Wemple, Erik (January 24, 2017). "Opinion | NBC boosts Axios out of the gate". Washington Post. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  14. "Mike Allen: Axios Is For What You Would Talk About With Your "Smart Friend"". realclearpolitics.com. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  15. Dillet, Romain. "Media startup Axios raises another $20 million". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  16. "The New Reading Environment". n+1 (32). 2018.
  17. ""Axios," Four-Part Limited Series from HBO Documentary Films and the Groundbreaking New Media Company, Debuts Nov. 4". The Futon Critic. October 9, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  18. "Documentary News Series "Axios" Expands Its 2020 Season, Returning Monday April 27". The Futon Critic. April 24, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2020.

See also
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