The Future of Media, Explained - from Press Gazette
May 7, 2026 · 34 min · 20 segments
Axios dropped its output by almost a quarter but increased page views by almost a third at the start of 2026. Head of news Ben Berkowitz told Press Gazette UK editor Charlotte Tobitt about why they…
Charlotte TobittHost
Dominic PonsfordHost
So they started off leaning heavily on newsletters, which they obviously still have, many of which are free.
They do some really great media reporting, and the key for Axios is the smart brevity idea.
They're to the point, explain what you need to know, often use bullet points in a way that most media organizations don't.
They've also got Axios Pro, so the paid-for section for people that really need to know this stuff, and exclusive stuff for their jobs.
They don't put out their financial figures, but does sound like they are profitable and doing pretty well.
They sort of baby walk the reader through it, don't they? They sort of say, "This is why it matters," you know, "This is what it means." It's, it's very much sort of bite-sized chunks, almost like for the kind of MTV generation or for people who've got, like very short attention spans.
It's just kind of, it's all sort of, like you say, bullet points, and much copied, to be fair.
I don't really, I don't really like it, kind of this sort of cookie cutter approach, but you know, fair enough, it works for them.
Me and Ben kind of talk, talk about this later, but it is a lot of effort to write fewer words well, and I kind of mention that, that maybe at Press Gazette I'm, you know, guilty of overwriting.
It's a bit like the old school writing nibs for the local newspaper, you know.
Actually sometimes getting some information down to 75 words or whatever was quite hard.
That's very much the vibe, isn't it? It's, um, here's an email, you're a busy person, here's what you need to know so you can get on with your day.
And, and to be fair, the re- the reason I really like them is they do get a lot of scoops, don't they? They're doing, like proper reporting.
So they started off leaning heavily on newsletters, which they obviously still have, many of which are free.
They do some really great media reporting, and the key for Axios is the smart brevity idea.
They're to the point, explain what you need to know, often use bullet points in a way that most media organizations don't.
They've also got Axios Pro, so the paid-for section for people that really need to know this stuff, and exclusive stuff for their jobs.
They don't put out their financial figures, but does sound like they are profitable and doing pretty well.
They sort of baby walk the reader through it, don't they? They sort of say, "This is why it matters," you know, "This is what it means." It's, it's very much sort of bite-sized chunks, almost like for the kind of MTV generation or for people who've got, like very short attention spans.
It's just kind of, it's all sort of, like you say, bullet points, and much copied, to be fair.
I don't really, I don't really like it, kind of this sort of cookie cutter approach, but you know, fair enough, it works for them.
Me and Ben kind of talk, talk about this later, but it is a lot of effort to write fewer words well, and I kind of mention that, that maybe at Press Gazette I'm, you know, guilty of overwriting.
It's a bit like the old school writing nibs for the local newspaper, you know.
Actually sometimes getting some information down to 75 words or whatever was quite hard.
That's very much the vibe, isn't it? It's, um, here's an email, you're a busy person, here's what you need to know so you can get on with your day.
And, and to be fair, the re- the reason I really like them is they do get a lot of scoops, don't they? They're doing, like proper reporting.
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