Jim VandeHei is the guy who basically decided your attention span was broken and built a multi-million dollar empire to fix it. If you’ve ever scrolled through an Axios newsletter or winced at a 40-page corporate memo that could have been a text, you’ve felt his influence. He’s the co-founder of Politico, the CEO of Axios, and the man who convinced the business world that "Smart Brevity" isn't just a gimmick—it's a survival strategy.
But honestly? Most people focus on the dot-points and the "Why it matters" headers without seeing the actual chess game VandeHei is playing. As we sit here in early 2026, the media landscape he helped build is fracturing again. He’s now calling this the "post-news era." It sounds dramatic, maybe a little dire, but for a kid from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, who started as a sports reporter and ended up selling companies for a combined $1.5 billion, drama is usually just a precursor to a payout.
💡 You might also like: The Crossing Over Express: Why This Specialized Freight Route Is Changing Logistics
From the "Crap Trap" to the $525 Million Exit
VandeHei didn't just wake up one day and decide to kill the long-form essay. His philosophy was born out of genuine frustration with what he calls the "digital media crap trap." Back in 2006, he and Mike Allen walked away from the cushy world of The Washington Post to start Politico.
People thought they were crazy. Who leaves the Post to start a niche website about the granular details of Capitol Hill?
They did it because they saw that legacy news was too slow. They wanted to "win the morning." They succeeded, but eventually, the same bloat they fled started creeping back in. By 2016, VandeHei was ready to burn it down and start over. That’s when Axios was born. The formula was simple: give readers exactly what they need to know, explain why it's important, and then get out of the way.
It worked. Like, really worked. In 2022, Cox Enterprises bought Axios for $525 million. This came after Politico (the house he helped build) sold to Axel Springer for a reported $1 billion in 2021. Jim has a knack for knowing when a market is "screaming" for change.
The Reality of the "Post-News" Era in 2026
If you follow VandeHei today, his tone has shifted. It’s less about "how to write" and more about "how to survive the pollution." He recently issued a pretty stark memo. He’s arguing that we’ve moved past the point where a single "news cycle" exists. Instead, everyone is trapped in their own personalized, algorithmic bubble.
"America's information ecosystem is badly broken, deeply polluted and increasingly dangerous."
That’s a heavy quote from a guy whose job is to sell information. But he’s not just complaining. He’s betting on a few specific things to pull media out of the dirt:
- Human Expertise: In a world where AI can churn out "generic" news, VandeHei is doubling down on "distinct, unique, human, verified" journalism.
- Local News at Scale: Axios has been aggressively expanding into local markets (now over 40 cities). He believes if you can fix the local news business model, you "crack the code" to a healthier society.
- The Personal Assistant Future: He predicts that within a few years, we’ll all have personal AI assistants that curate our news. His goal? Make sure those assistants are pulling from Axios.
What Most People Get Wrong About Smart Brevity
There’s a common misconception that Jim VandeHei just wants everyone to write less. That’s not it. His book, Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less, is actually about confidence.
He often says that "length is fear." People write long emails because they’re afraid they haven’t done enough work or because they want to hide their lack of a clear point in a forest of words. Smart Brevity is about having the guts to be brief. It’s about respecting the reader's time.
But it’s not just for journalists. Through Axios HQ—a software spin-off that helps companies communicate internally—he’s moved into the SaaS (Software as a Service) world. It turns out, CEOs at places like JPMorgan Chase and Delta were desperate to get their employees to actually read their internal updates. They didn’t need more writers; they needed a formula.
The Man Behind the Bullet Points
VandeHei isn't some robot who only speaks in punchy ledes. He’s a guy who credits his success to playing poker. Seriously. He told Guy Raz on the How I Built This podcast that poker taught him pattern recognition and how to manage risk.
He’s also been open about his health. He lives with ankylosing spondylitis, a rare and painful spinal condition. It’s a detail that doesn’t often make the "Smart Brevity" cut, but it adds a layer of grit to his "work harder than everyone else" mantra. He’s a Midwesterner at heart, still deeply connected to his Wisconsin roots, which probably explains why he doesn’t have the same "ivory tower" vibe as some other media moguls in D.C. or New York.
Applying the VandeHei Method to Your Own Life
You don't have to be a media CEO to use his tactics. Honestly, most of us would be more successful if we just stopped "clearing our throats" in our communications.
Stop "Updating" and Start Informing
Instead of saying "I'm writing to give you an update on the project," just start with the update. Use a "muscular tease"—a headline that actually says something. Instead of "Meeting Notes," try "Project X is 2 Weeks Behind Schedule."
The "Why It Matters" Test
If you can't explain in one sentence why someone should care about what you're saying, you probably shouldn't be saying it yet. VandeHei forces his reporters to answer this for every single story. You should do it for every email.
The "Go Deeper" Exit Ramp
Brevity isn't about being shallow. It’s about giving the "need to know" upfront and providing a way for people to "go deeper" if they want. Attach the 20-page report, but don't put it in the body of the email.
Embrace the Hyper-Volatility
His biggest piece of advice for 2026? "Buckle up." He believes the shift in how we consume information is only going to accelerate. Whether it’s AI or the death of traditional search, the only way to stay relevant is to be "agile." That sounds like corporate-speak, but from VandeHei, it’s a warning. If you don't evolve how you talk and how you work, you’re just part of the noise.
Actionable Next Steps for Better Communication
- Audit your last five sent emails. Could they have been 50% shorter without losing the core message? (The answer is almost always yes).
- Use the "1-2-1" Rule. One strong headline, two short paragraphs of context, and one clear call to action.
- Read the first sentence of your drafts aloud. If it takes more than one breath to say, it’s too long.
- Prioritize the "Smart Professional" audience. Write for the busiest person you know. If they can get the point in 30 seconds, everyone else will too.
Jim VandeHei’s career is a masterclass in identifying what’s broken and building a leaner, meaner version of it. From Politico to Axios to whatever comes next in this "post-news" world, the lesson remains the same: in a world of infinite noise, the person who says the most with the fewest words wins.