For his spring semester class, “Social Responsibility of the News Media”, Geoffrey Cowan decided to give his students firsthand insight into the process for building a credible and high-quality news organization. Once a week, the students had a chance to speak by phone with staff members of the media start-up Axios, a new enterprise started by POLITICO’s Mike Allen that embraces the concept of “smart brevity”. The students learned about advertising, production, digital design, and journalism from the Axios’ perspective. The experience was a highlight for the students and, as a result, Annenberg News covered the unique series in its May article, “News outlet Axios gives journalism students an up-close look at its startup“.