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Axios double bill: Inside shift from volume to value, and local expansion returns at pace
Plus People Inc pivots after massive Google traffic drop, Philadelphia Inquirer's turnaround, and Wall Street Journal editor on challenges of Epstein scoops
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Welcome to a bumper Press Gazette Future of Media US newsletter on Friday, 8 May.
💡In January to March this year, Axios put out 22% fewer stories compared to the same period last year - but page views were up 30%.
This wasn’t just because of a bumper news agenda with the Iran war, although that helped. Last year had the new Trump administration and the DOGE federal mass layoffs.
But page views per visitor increased 22%, suggesting people were sticking around more despite less content being offered up on the Axios buffet.
It’s a similar idea to the “less is more” shift taking place at The Times of London, which I wrote about last month.
The key difference is that The Times did not make any accompanying job cuts, where Axios has reduced the size of its newsroom. Head of news Ben Berkowitz told me this was to tighten up the types of roles they needed to have, with more focus on subject matter experts.
Berkowitz has undertaken a similar process at several news organisations previously and shared some great advice for other newsroom leaders thinking of doing the same thing. You can hear his insights in full on our Future of Media, Explained podcast - or you can read an abbreviated version on the Press Gazette site.
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🏙️ At the same time, Axios is expanding its local output again and plans to reach 43 cities by the end of 2026.
It paused at 30 cities in 2023 after failing to hit revenue targets and is now focusing on opportunities in “news impoverished” areas.
Axios Local is not yet profitable but this expansion, along with new tech, is seen as a way to get there.
It has also seen impressive growth in paying members since the end of 2025, doubling the number of people choosing to donate in four months.
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📉 People Inc’s Google traffic has fallen 63% in the past two years.
But its leadership insists they are one of the best publishers at weathering this transition as their digital revenue not reliant on website page views increased 24% in Q1 and now makes up 41% of all digital revenue.
They are moving away from evergreen content and building 19 new initiatives using their IP that go beyond the websites, including the People app, InStyle social video narrative series, and MyRecipes aggregator.
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