Over at Buzzfeed, Steven Perlberg profiles Mike Allen and Axios, the news organization he co-founded just a year ago:
Axios has bigger ambitions than changing Washington’s news diet. Led by Allen’s fellow Politico alum Jim VandeHei, the company has a broad audience in mind: tens of millions of smart people who seek out quick news on a daily basis. Like Politico, Axios delivers news fast — but distilled down to a few sentences or bullet points. And like Playbook, Axios has created another language, framing the day’s stories under tags like: “Be smart,” “Why it matters,” “Go deeper,” and occasionally the highest praise, “Worthy of your time.” Allen calls these little framing phrases “Axioms,” and they litter Axios’s coverage of politics, media, business, and tech. Rival reporters call them primers for warmed-over conventional wisdom, but if you read Axios consistently enough, you can find yourself texting in Axiosese to friends.
Allen’s daily email newsletter, Axios AM, you’ll recall, was among my favorite email newsletters of 2017.
It’s timely, written in a personal voice by someone in the know, contains exclusive news, and – a big benefit in these crazy times – aggregates the top stories from a variety of different news outlets, so you always feel up to speed on what’s up in Washington.