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Geld verbrennen: Mathias Döpfner, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Axel Springer SE, photographed during an interview with dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa (Photo by Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Welcome to the latest edition of Breaker. If this email has been forwarded, you can subscribe here and send your questions and complaints here. If you have a tip, contact the 24/7 Breaker Tip Hotline via text or Signal # 551 655 2343. Anonymity guaranteed!
In tonight’s edition, Axel Springer had high hopes - and ambitions - when they bought Politico and Business Insider. But new company filings, obtained by Breaker, paint a not-so-rosy financial picture of their prized assets. Tonight, we reveal the state of Axel’s U.S. division.
Also, Hamish McKenzie is back in action at Substack after taking time off to write a book. He’s added a new feather to his cap as well; read more about McKenzie's new job at Substack in tonight's Breaker.
Plus, WaPo execs meet with the Israeli Ambassador, News Corp CEO Robert Thomson is set to be honored, more changes at FGS Global, and we have scene reports from the Harper’s Magazine awards, the Anthony Scaramucci book launch, and the final, final farewell bash for a beloved FT journalist.
Finally, we have a bumper Reading, Listening and Watching list covering the secret strategy behind the success of “You Can See Everything”, Tucker Carlson’s “misjudged” relationship with Trump, and is Will Lewis putting his stamp on Italian newspaper La Stampa?
Mentioned tonight: Jeff D’Onofrio, Matt Murray, Graydon Carter, Katty Kay, Tom Freston, Lorraine Bracco, Richard Grasso, Nicholas Pileggi, Lloyd Blankfein, Pam Wasserstein, Tim Duggan, Albert Lee, Lionel Barber, Jolie Hunt, Alex Vadukul, Michael Hainey, Cristina Alesci, Stephen Diamond, Clara Molot, Emma Orlow, Molly Jong-Fast, Dana Brown, Michael Pescuma, Malcolm Turnbull, James Fontanella-Khan, Victoria Greenwood, Derek Brower, Anna Nicolaou, Antoine Gara, Arash Massoudi, Oliver Barnes, Brooke Masters, Kaye Wiggins, David Crow, Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, Ed Hammond, Kara Scannell, Katherine Maher, John Edgar Wideman, John R. MacArthur, Christopher Carroll, Meredith Burks, David Folkenflik, Gary Knell, Liam Reilly, Liz Hoffman, Kelly Burdick, Akash Shah, Zadie Smith, Jonathan Franzen, Daniel Kehlmann, Rachel Kushner, Andrew Clennell, James Ashby, Andrew Murfett, Chuck Todd, Rob Waugh, Helen Berger, Emine Sinmaz, Zara Stone, Lucie Kon, Gordon Rayner, Jonathan Van Meter, Bob Woodward, Marlon James, Emma Loffhagen, Nicholas Boggs, Noam Scheiber, Beth Wilkinson, Alice Brooker, Dave Jorgenson, Brian Steinberg, Ariel Ehrlich, Katie Rosman, Amy Griffin, Carly Steven, Edward Luce, John Jurgensen, Ben Fritz, Trip Gabriel, Mark Sweney, David Fischer, Sarah Scire, Zach Lowe, Jake Kanter, Max Goldbart, Daniel Wiessner, Kyle Chayka, Tyler Denk, Natalie Jarvey, Bill Owens, Ben Mullin, Wren Woodson, Mabel Kabani, Savannah Walsh, James C. Goodale, Margaret Troupe, Natasha Trethewey, Leila Fadel, Chris Cernich, Kevin Delaney, Yechiel Leiter, Bryan Curtis, Marina Hyde, and more.
Axel Springer’s U.S. Crisis
(Exclusive.) Axel Springer hasn't been afraid to reach for its wallet when it comes to investing in the U.S. It snapped up Politico, including Politico EU and Protocol, for reportedly more than $1 billion in 2021.
That followed Insider's purchase of a majority stake in Morning Brew in 2020, in a deal that valued the company at $75 million, and Axel's acquisition of an additional 88% stake in Business Insider for $343 million in 2015.
It was a much-anticipated U.S. expansion from Axel CEO Mathias Döpfner, who had always harbored greater aspirations as a media baron beyond his native Germany.
Now, according to recently filed company accounts, obtained and reviewed by Breaker, the extent of Axel Springer’s crisis in America has been laid bare for the first time.
The German Company Register (known as the Unternehmensregister) accounts for the 2025 financial year reveal that News Media U.S. pro forma revenue fell …
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⁘ As credited in The New York Times, CNBC, Axios, The New York Post, CNN, Bloomberg, The Guardian, and more.
Substack The Deck
(Exclusive.) Substack’s co-Founder and Chief Writing Officer, Hamish McKenzie, has officially returned to the company with an additional role following the completion of his book, Breaker has learned.
McKenzie, the author of the soon-to-be-released “How To Save The Media”, is now …
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⁘ Unlock full access to our twice-weekly newsletter and archive.
⁘ As credited in The New York Times, CNBC, Axios, The New York Post, CNN, Bloomberg, The Guardian, and more.