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Waxel Springer: Peter Thiel, Bari Weiss and Mathias DĂśpfner attend the red carpet for the Axel Springer Award at Hauptempfang Axel Springer SE on September 24, 2026, in Berlin, Germany. (Credit: Gerald Matzka/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, as Axel Springer’s top leadership gathered in Berlin on Thursday to honor Peter Thiel – with a starring role for Bari Weiss – turmoil is afoot at their latest acquisition, The Telegraph, with job losses on the way and a U.S. expansion that is off to a slower-than-expected start. 

Plus, a bumper edition of Journo Jobs with gigs at National Geographic, The Ankler, The Information, NPR, NBC, Politico, Bloomberg, CBS News, Vox Media, The New York Times and The Economist. 

Finally, we joined Brian Morrissey and Troy Young on this week's episode of People vs Algorithms. We chinwagged about the fallout from Paramount’s looming Warner Bros acquisition, RedBird’s deal with Puck, and answered some probing questions about start-up life. The pod will be live tomorrow.

Mentioned tonight: David Ellison, Mathias Döpfner, Peter Thiel, Friede Springer, Bari Weiss, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Rob Winnett, Will Lewis, Gerry Cardinale, Jon Kelly, Neal Zuckerman, Bob Chapek, Bob Iger, Brooks Barnes, Mark Stenberg, Michael Savage, Laura Brown, Kristina O’Neill, Clarissa Ward, Todd Spangler, Andrew Palmer, Paul Kiernan, Ben Fritz, Earl Spencer, Piers Morgan, Michael Grynbaum, Xi Jinping, Erik Wemple, Victoria Craw, Scott Nover, Cameron French, Lance Frank, Tyler Denk, Jack Appleby, Vinita Nair, Max Tcheyan, Kat Tenbarge, Hope King, Francis Zierer, Zach Griff, Richard Huff, Molly DeMellier, Victoria Salves, Daniela Pierre-Bravo, Samuel O’Brient, Norman Oliver, Anthony Martinez, Sharon Weinberg, Noah Shachtman, John Cook, Spencer Ackerman, Elizabeth Visceglia, Marty Swant, Sylvia Varnham O’Regan, Ryan Tate, Hannah Dreier, Jonathan Guyer, Alyssa Quart, Peter Maass, Matthew Cole, Drake Bennett, Ethan Zindler, Audrey Wilson, Leigh Morris Sloane, Eliana Johnson, and more.

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Axel To Grind

(Exclusive.) On Thursday evening in Berlin, key Axel Springer figures, including CEO Mathias DÜpfner, came together to hand out their annual award, given to someone who demonstrates an exceptional talent for innovation, creates and transforms markets, and faces their social responsibilities. Past recipients have included Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Sam Altman. 

With protesters outside the venue, PayPal mafia member, Gawker killer, and co-founder of Palantir Peter Thiel was present as this year's honoree. 

Sitting front row alongside Palantir CEO Alex Karp, PayPal co-founder Max Levchin, and the widow of Axel Springer, Friede Springer, was CBS News Editor-in-Chief and The Free Press founder Bari Weiss.

Front row seats: CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss sits alongside Palantir CEO Alex Karp, PayPal co-founder Max Levchin, and the widow of Axel Springer, Friede Springer. (Credit: Axel Springer)

“As expected from the moment we announced the decision, we were facing petitions, protests, posters criticizing we would dare award Peter Thiel, quite the anti-democrat, the anti-Christ,” Döpfner began his speech.

“Perhaps we should have invited anti-semites, Islamists, Klan chiefs of organized crime – then the event would have enrolled without protest,” the giant German said to applause.

Döpfner went on to praise Thiel “as the most impactful German of our times” an “unconventional thought leader and unprincipled contrarian” in an award he said was handed out to encourage risk-taking and new thinking.

Then it was over to Weiss, who has grown close over the years with DÜpfner, and now the pair see themselves as fellow travellers. 

“I want to begin by thanking you all for attending my lecture on the anti-Christ,” she said.

“For all the media journalists poring over this transcript, that was a joke. I only talk about the anti-Christ at my secret weekly meetings under the supervision of the Mossad,” Weiss added in a joke that fell flat.

If Weiss ever finds herself on the outs with Paramount CEO David Ellison, she made pretty clear who her first call for another job would be, praising …

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There’s Life in the Old Fox Yet

Interest in Rupert Murdoch has never been higher, with his early story, recently covered in Netflix’s “Ink,” sparking a revival. On October 28th, The Spectator presents “Murdoch’s World,” where Breaker and Eliana Johnson, Editor-in-Chief of the Washington Free Beacon, will discuss Murdoch’s empire and its influence on the global media landscape. Tickets are now on sale.

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