Who we are, how we work and what we're about at Axios New Orleans
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Carlie Kollath Wells, left, and Chelsea Brasted at Bacchus's 2025 ball. Photo: Carlie Kollath Wells/Axios
We're in Washington, D.C., this week with our Axios colleagues from around the country and figured it was a good time to reintroduce ourselves.
Why it matters: Y'all ask us a lot of questions when we see you around town.
- Local news is personal, and we believe in showing you who's behind the bylines.
- We want you to know who we are and how we work.
The big picture: Axios is a national media company based in Arlington, Virginia.
- Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen and Roy Schwartz founded it eight years ago. VandeHei also co-founded Politico. ((More about the company)
- Our national colleagues are experts in White House politics, Congress, business and tech.
- Axios New Orleans is one of 34 newsrooms that focuses on local news. We cover City Hall, restaurants, potholes and all the things in America's most interesting city (at least in our humble opinion).
Our goal: You're busy. We help you get smarter, faster.
- We go to meetings, talk with leaders and read reports so you don't have to. We then curate the news into a phone-friendly email you can read in under 4 minutes.
- We launched in New Orleans about 2.5 years ago and have been so grateful to the thousands of you who read us every morning.
- We are pro-New Orleans, but aim to be politically neutral.
Who we are: Carlie Kollath Wells and Chelsea Brasted co-write the daily newsletter.
- Both have been journalists in New Orleans for more than a decade.
- Chelsea is a New Orleans native and proud LSU grad. Carlie grew up in Gulfport, Mississippi, and went to Ole Miss.
- We are both raising families here.
How we work: Axios has an office in Arlington, but we work remotely in New Orleans, often from our homes.
- Chelsea likes working in coffee shops, while Carlie often camps out in her car between interviews.
How we make money: Our revenue comes from advertising and sponsored events.
- Our newsletters are free, but we offer a membership program so readers can support our work for as little as $25/year.
- Thank you so much to our Axios New Orleans members. We couldn't do this work without you.
Our thoughts on AI: This has been your hottest question lately. Axios has a partnership with OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, and we are testing how and where some AI tools might help us do our jobs in a trustworthy manner.
- But, we still talk with sources, attend City Council meetings, explore our community, take our own photos and write our own stories.
- Read more about our AI usage.
What's next: We love feedback. Our inbox is always open for your questions and suggestions — [email protected].