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According to the last Reuters Digital News Report 2022, 71 per cent of UK news audiences still prefer text over video in today's digital age. In the US, that figure is 53 per cent. The majority of people, across all age demographics, still value text journalism because it is a quick and easy way to access information and then go about their daily lives.
One news publisher that has thought hard about the text article format is Axios. It was launched in 2017 with a very distinctive model for its editorial articles.
Head on any Axios article and you will see a heavy emphasis on sub-headings, summaries and bullet-pointed information. It has even coined its own term for this style: "smart brevity".
In this week's podcast, we talk to Sara Kehaulani Goo, editor-in-chief of Axios about reprioritising text articles in a time-poor world. She shares the secrets of its bootcamp training sessions to help reporters get to grips with its signature writing style and what they look for in potential new hires to be surefire fits.
That is pulled into focus by plans to expand its coverage (and hiring) into local US markets following this month’s agreed $525m acquisition from its lead investor, Cox Enterprises.
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