Katie Peralta Soloff named Axios Charlotte editor, plus 4 more staff updates

1. Katie Peralta Soloff is the new editor of Axios Charlotte.

Why it matters: Katie’s a gifted journalist, generous human, and a well-sourced machine. She cares deeply about fairness, openness and integrity.

• She has a knack for finding compelling stories on things that matter around Charlotte, from scoops on developments like the one going up in Plaza Midwood, to a broader story on how highway construction has harmed Black neighborhoods over the past half-century.
• She’s earned universal respect from her peers, in our office and beyond — so much so that we all choose to overlook her love for Notre Dame athletics.

What else: A promotion is at best the second-most-exciting development in Katie’s life.

• She and her husband, Jesse, are expecting their first child in early April.

What she’s saying: I asked Katie four questions about the job and Charlotte.

What excites you most about your new role?

• I’m so excited to lead news coverage for this talented team. Expect us to break news and tell stories about our community that inform, entertain and hold powerful people accountable.

What intrigues you about Charlotte in 2022?

• The continued opportunities and pain points that come with our city’s rapid growth.

What’s one thing Charlotte needs? 

• More breakfast taco options.

If you were a Charlotte neighborhood, which one would you be and why? 

• NoDa — small but has a big personality.

2. Alexis Clinton joins the Axios Charlotte team as a lifestyle and real estate reporter.

Why it matters: Alexis fills a vital role on our staff and in our community, starting every day focused on one of the dominant stories of the current moment — what’s going on with residential real estate?

• She spent two years at WRAL, where she was first a news production assistant and then a video editor.
• She grew up in Durham and is a 2019 graduate of UNC Pembroke.
• Email her with tips or residential real estate ideas here: [email protected]

What she’s saying: I asked Alexis four questions about the job and Charlotte.

What excites you most about your new role?

• I’m beyond excited to explore all of the culture that Charlotte has to offer, from restaurants to stores that are crafting this evolving city. … I’m looking forward to telling the story of the blossoming neighborhoods that help make the city unique.

What intrigues you about Charlotte in 2022?

• Even though I did not grow up in Charlotte, I’ve always appreciated the sense of community. I’ve been fascinated at how quickly you feel loved and welcomed regardless of your background. I’m interested in learning about all of the places in the city that make you feel like family and connected.

What’s one thing Charlotte needs? 

• Since there’s always new additions to the city, I vote to add a Raising Cane’s to the Charlotte area.

If you were a Charlotte neighborhood, which one would you be and why? 

• I’d consider myself to be NoDa if I were a Charlotte neighborhood. My appreciation for art/entertainment runs almost as deep as my love for good food. I’m sure we can all agree those go hand in hand.

3. Laura Barrero will serve as editor during Katie’s leave.

Why it matters: Laura leads our lifestyle and food coverage and oversees our Instagram. She’s brilliant, makes friends with anyone she meets, has a creative energy that’s second-to-none, and her nose for stories that people care about is terrific.

• Laura, you may remember, joined our team last fall after working as a producer at WBTV.
• She and the On Your Side Tonight with Jamie Boll team just took home an Emmy for their work there.

4. We’re hiring a reporter.

Why it matters: We’re looking for a top-tier creator and news-knower, someone who cares about Charlotte and can deliver stories to readers in all sorts of ways — from Instagram to web to newsletters to whatever comes next.

• Know someone? Tell them to apply here, and they can join our next meeting.

5. Around the region: I’m moving to bureau chief, and we’re launching in Raleigh.

Why it matters: We’re expanding to North Carolina’s state capital, and as the new Southern bureau chief I have the fun job of announcing the first two hires for Raleigh:

• Lucille Sherman is a rockstar state politics reporter who joins Axios from the News & Observer. She’s one of the best young reporters in the country and last year won a Sunshine Award for helping uncover a bill the legislature passed in the middle of the night that would’ve shielded some death investigations from public record, including those from law enforcement. She started March 21.

• Zachery Eanes also joins us from the News & Observer, where he covered tech and business and startups. He’s a UNC grad and North Carolina native — Thomasville! The town with the big chair! — and he brings a fantastic bag of energy and empathy that will serve him well in the job.

My thought bubble: Since I became a journalist in North Carolina in 1998 — in High Point! The town with the big dresser! — I’ve seen the state’s media scene undergo a wholesale transformation, but recent years have given plenty of reasons to be encouraged about the future.

• Axios is just one of those reasons — we have statewide nonprofits and startups and legacy outlets doing terrific work, from Carolina Public Press to the Assembly to the good people at the Observer here in Charlotte.
• We at Axios simply hope to add more compelling and important work.

On top of that, one of the most rewarding things about the past 16 months since Axios acquired Charlotte Agenda has been watching our team members grow and advance in their careers.

In 2021 alone:

• Emma Way was promoted to deputy managing editor of Axios Local. Emma’s one of the most gifted media minds to come through the city, and she still lives here, right over in Plaza Shamrock, and dishes out stories regularly — in fact the three most popular stories on our site from the past two weeks are from Emma.
• Paige Hopkins got the call to be one of the lead newsletter writers for Axios D.C. — a move that allowed her to finally live in the same city as her boyfriend Jeremy. Now Paige and Jeremy are engaged. (Which is all nice and good but we still miss Paige a bunch here!)
• Brianna Crane now is an associate editor with Axios Local leading our editorial guides team. She and her team explore cities across the country and draw up lifestyle guides for each of our 14 (soon to be 25) markets. Still, Bri can’t help herself and writes about homes and shops here in Charlotte.
• And we added Ashley Mahoney from the Charlotte Post, Danielle Chemtob from the Observer, and turned over the keys to our TikTok to the incredibly talented Symphony Webber.

The bottom line: Here’s to the future.