The Charlotte Agenda digital news startup sold to national media firm Axios
The Charlotte Agenda digital news startup has been sold to national media company Axios for nearly $5 million, The New York Times reported Thursday.
With the sale, Charlotte Agenda’s name is changing to Axios Charlotte, according to The Charlotte Agenda website.
“Our team isn’t going anywhere,” Charlotte Agenda publisher Ted Williams posted on Thursday. ”We’re joining Axios’s larger effort to bring its successful model to local markets across the country.”
Charlotte Agenda debuted in 2015; Axios in 2017. Axios co-founder Jim VandeHei also founded digital media company Politico and is a former political reporter. Mike Allen, another founder of Virginia-based Axios, also is a former Politico reporter, while Roy Schwartz, the third co-founder of Axios, is the former chief revenue officer of Politico.
Williams is the former director of digital strategy/new initiatives at The Charlotte Observer who ran CharlotteFive, which is part of the Observer.
In his post, Williams said he expects Charlotte Agenda’s audience to grow under Axios, as local visitors to Axios.com convert into Charlotte Agenda newsletter subscribers.
And the Axios studio and technology teams will provide Charlotte Agenda even better brand advertising, according to Williams.
The sale “allows us to better serve Charlotte and gives us the opportunity to make global impact,” Williams wrote. “Honestly, it’s exhilarating.”
This story was originally published December 17, 2020 at 5:59 PM.