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In tonight’s edition, behind the recent turmoil at Politico that has caught the eyes and ears of Axel Springer chief executive Mathias Dopfner. Plus Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway's new pod deal, and news for SpinCo/Versant staffers about the date they will be leaving 30 Rock.

Mentioned tonight: Goli Sheikholeslami, Chris Licht, Mark Lazarus, Jim Bankoff, Carrie Budoff Brown, Jim VandeHei, Rachael Bade, Julia Marsh, Burgess Everett, Eleanor Mueller, Elana Schor, Meridith McGraw, Gavin Bade, Olivia Beavers, Alexander Ward, Jonathan Lemire, Sam Stein, Danielle Diaz, Ursula Perano, Kate Irby, Sarah Ferris, Claire Barkley, Natalie Allison, Noah Bierman, Ryan Lizza, Ally Mutnick, Eun Kim, Erin Banco, Eugene Daniels, Brittany Gibson, Alex Isenstadt, Adam Peck, Kevin Baron, Joshua Sisco, Heidi Przybyla, Karey Van Hall, Jack Shafer, Betsy Woodruff Swan and Steven Shepard.

Pain at Politico

In a splashy PR announcement that heralded “a new era for Playbook” (and surprised very few D.C. journalists) Politico revealed Sunday that it was once again shaking up its Playbook franchise. Dasha Burns had been named Playbook Chief Correspondent and joined Jack Blanchard at the publication's most lucrative brand.

It was seen internally as a course correction and an admission by editor-in-chief and co-founder, John Harris, that the out-of-left-field move he made to parachute the British Blanchard into the marquee Playbook at a consequential time in American politics wasn’t working. The joke in D.C. had become you now read Playbook for the birthdays — and the corrections.

Politico also announced a new daily podcast called The Playbook podcast which appears to be a reheat of a pod called the Playbook daily briefing that past writers including Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer, Rachael Bade and Eugene Daniels hosted.

At the Arlington newsroom staffers are baffled at more than 40 departures, and partly blame the management style of senior executive editor Alex Burns.

Politico's continuous dramas and departures have so concerned owner Axel Springer that we have learned chief executive Mathias Dopfner…

...and Jan Bayer, Axel’s Deputy chief executive, have been monitoring the matter from Berlin asking questions of Politico chief executive Goli Sheikholeslami and Harris.

The list of talent that has departed includes: Burgess Everett, Eleanor Mueller and Elana Schor (to Semafor), Meridith McGraw, Gavin Bade, Olivia Beavers and Alexander Ward (Wall Street Journal), Jonathan Lemire (The Atlantic),  Sam Stein (The Bulwark), Danielle Diaz and Ursula Perano (NOTUS), Kate Irby, Sarah Ferris and Claire Barkley (CNN), Natalie Allison and Noah Bierman (The Washington Post), Ryan Lizza (Telos), Ally Mutnick (Punchbowl), Eun Kim (National Women’s Law Center), Erin Banco (Reuters), Eugene Daniels (MSNBC), Brittany Gibson and Alex Isenstadt (Axios), Adam Peck (Results for America), Kevin Baron (Elevation Global Strategies), Joshua Sisco (Bloomberg), Heidi Przybyla, Karey Van Hall,  Jack Shafer, Betsy Woodruff Swan, and Steven Shepard.

Insiders say that is less than ten percent of staff – on par with attrition at other comparably sized media companies. But current and former staffers say that Burns' style is the underlying reason. 

Some who have worked alongside Burns describe him as “super smart” with an “insane work ethic” and give him credit for regularly sending notes to reporters who have broken stories to congratulate them and thank them for their work. But his lack of interpersonal skills and polarizing management style have also come under fire. He has, for example, been accused of pitting editors against each other, which has left some feeling humiliated.

“When he is gunning for you it's terrifying,” said a departed staffer who got in Burns’ crosshairs, adding that the former Times journalist had told editors in meetings that he doesn’t care if staffers are unhappy. 

“The place lost track of who it was and became a really unpleasant place to work,” another former staffer told Breaker. 

“It lost a sense of who it was and who its audience was and they kept talking about our global readers but it felt like our core audience was people in D.C. and an informed general public that wanted to know some juicy details about the inner workings of Washington.”

Burns’ leadership is in stark contrast to his predecessor Carrie Budoff Brown who is now at NBC News. Brown was a beloved presence in the newsroom known as much for her strong editorial judgment as her warm and nurturing nature. Staffers say it was what Politico needed after the intense Jim VandeHei and Harris years. 

Burns had gotten his start by being Harris’ researcher in 2008. He was brought back by Harris as a columnist in 2022 after several years at The Times with the intention of making him a newsroom leader.

“If everyone around you is miserable you’re going to be miserable by osmosis and it rubbed off on everyone,” another departed Politico journalist told us.

Meantime the current White House team have their noses out of joint about what has become known internally as “the Dasha rule” -- that the former NBC correspondent is (for the most part) the only person permitted to attend White House briefings.

It all comes at a time that the D.C. newsletter market has become increasingly crowded. Punchbowl, Axios, Semafor and Puck are all looking to eat Politico’s lunch. Where Politico remains the envy of its competitors is its Pro business that continues to be a cash cow. 

Despite all the turnover Politico still manages to break news, a reflection of the talent that remains, including plugged in Trump reporter Rachael Bade. Its expansion into California under Julia Marsh is also seen as a success and its digital magazine continues to attract eyeballs with buzzy pieces. 

“Our 600 journalists are focused on breaking news and capturing this historic moment and are eclipsing our competitors on both fronts,” Sheikholeslami told Breaker in a statement. “Under Alex Burns' skillful leadership, our exceptional journalists are setting the agenda in Trump's Washington and their incredible work speaks for itself."

Kara and Scott’s pivot

(Exclusive.) Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway are renewing their hit podcast Pivot at Vox media, Breaker has learned.

With just days left on their current deal at the Jim Bankoff-led company there had been speculation the duo could depart. Bloomberg had reported late last year that the pair had been shopping around for a potential “eight figure deal” and that one potential suitor was CNN.

“Kara and Scott are generational talents who continue to grow their audiences and innovate across media formats,” a representative for Vox told Breaker. “We’re proud of our long-standing relationship and are excited to work together on Pivot’s next chapter.”

Versant move date

(Exclusive.) It’s the talk of 30 Rock. Just when will staffers at MSNBC and the company formerly known as SpinCo (now known as Versant) properties be moving out of their historic headquarters? Breaker has learned that the moving trucks will be arriving as soon as August for the company's temporary location. Versant chief executive Mark Lazarus is still finalizing that location with contenders on 49th and 43rd streets not far from 30 Rock. Staff are expected to be told the destination by Memorial Day. A Versant spokesman declined to comment.

The Breaker podcast

Who is Team Pollock and who is Team Copeland? On this week’s podcast from Super Burrito (apologies for the audio quality) in Greenwich Village we reveal the fallout from our Tuesday night scoop about a “death threat” at The New York Times business section that resulted in star reporter Rob Copeland lodging a HR complaint against Business editor Ellen Pollock. We also discuss how Wendy Murdoch worked her way back into Rupert Murdoch’s inner circle. Plus why Jake Tapper has hired scandal PR queen Risa Heller and the backstory to Ryan Lizza calling Puck’s peerless media reporter Dylan Byers “untrustworthy.” And all the juicy bits from Keith McNally’s new book. It's also available on Spotify, Apple and most other places you can get podcasts.

Reading list

CNN+ is back. Can someone please check in on Chris Licht?

Bryan Burrough profiles a Texas gunfighter.

Richard Rushfield has the goods (including leaked audio) on the imploding Penske Media Corporation.

Kicker

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