{"id":519343,"date":"2026-04-08T10:35:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T10:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/519343\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T10:35:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T10:35:07","slug":"a-full-on-embrace-how-the-eus-largest-news-publisher-fell-in-love-with-the-us-axel-springer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/519343\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A full-on embrace\u2019: how the EU\u2019s largest news publisher fell in love with the US | Axel Springer"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Mathias D\u00f6pfner\u2019s 2023 book Dealing with Dictators, the chief executive of the German media company Axel Springer<\/a> SE proposed a fix for western democracy: states that respect the rule of law should stick together and prioritise trading with each other. Better that, he declared, than indulging the illusion that doing business will tame \u201cself-styled strongman leaders\u201d.<\/p>\n

So it came as quite the surprise when last month Hungary\u2019s prime minister, Viktor Orb\u00e1n, was given a prominent opinion article in Welt am Sonntag, less than four weeks before the riskiest elections of the rightwing populist\u2019s career. \u201cIt caused a lot of strong irritation,\u201d said a former editor at the Springer-owned broadsheet.<\/p>\n

Long a powerful and polarising force in Germany\u2019s postwar media landscape, Axel Springer is now aiming to become a major player in the transatlantic sphere. In 2021 it added the US-European outlet Politico to its large portfolio of German titles, and is buying the UK\u2019s Daily Telegraph<\/a> in a \u00a3575m all-cash deal.<\/p>\n

Viktor Orb\u00e1n\u2019s opinion article \u2018caused a lot of strong irritation\u2019, a former editor said. Photograph: Pier Marco Tacca\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

In his books, interviews and the op-eds that regularly appear under his name in Springer-owned outlets, D\u00f6pfner portrays this expansion as being driven above all by a political vision: the need to shore up the values of the west.<\/p>\n

But critics say such lofty goals are sometimes undermined by the pages of his own titles.<\/p>\n

Before the Orb\u00e1n controversy, Die Welt caused a scandal in 2024 when it ran an op-ed by Elon Musk urging German voters to back the far-right Alternative f\u00fcr Deutschland<\/a>, which led to the paper\u2019s opinion editor resigning in protest. It took another staff rebellion to stave off an editorial from the former AfD co-leader Alexander Gauland a year later.<\/p>\n

D\u00f6pfner has said the AfD\u2019s policies are \u201cthe opposite of what Axel Springer stands for\u201d, and none of his outlets have explicitly backed the far right outside op-eds, which often platform opinions that differ from a newspaper\u2019s own editorial stance.<\/p>\n

But as Europe<\/a> slowly retreats from an increasingly erratic US, the EU\u2019s largest news publisher looks determined to single-handedly reverse the trend. Enthusiastic for all things American and strategically uninterested in European autonomy, Axel Springer is boosting the political disruptors beloved of Silicon Valley almost by default, critics say.<\/p>\n

The AfD co-chair Alice Weidel speaking online to Elon Musk during her election campaign launch in Halle in January. Photograph: Hannibal Hanschke\/EPA<\/p>\n

\u201cIn spite of everything we\u2019ve learnt about [Donald] Trump and Musk over the last year, D\u00f6pfner and his crowd are still true believers,\u201d said Matthew Karnitschnig, a former Politico chief correspondent in Europe, who left Axel Springer last year to head up the Brussels-based news site Euractiv. \u201cIt\u2019s a full-on embrace.\u201d<\/p>\n

None of the former or current Springer employees interviewed for this article said D\u00f6pfner had directly intervened in editorial matters, and in a statement a company spokesperson said: \u201cEditorial independence is sacrosanct at Axel Springer. We believe that the best way to safeguard that is through financial and economic success.\u201d<\/p>\n

A self-described \u201cmix between carpet-bagger and aesthete\u201d, D\u00f6pfner got his break in journalism by writing album reviews and profiles of conductors for the highbrow broadsheet Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung while studying for his PhD.<\/p>\n

Even then, former colleagues recall a talent for charming the executive floor. \u201cSome music critics care only about music, but that was not Mathias,\u201d recalls one former colleague. \u201cThere was a sense he was destined for higher things, like a nobleman without a title.\u201d<\/p>\n

D\u00f6pfner in 2001, shortly before he became chief executive. Photograph: Kay Nietfeld\/EPA<\/p>\n

After editing two ailing regional newspapers, D\u00f6pfner rose up the ranks at Springer, editing Welt before being made the publishing house\u2019s chief executive in 2002. He has been its main shareholder since 2020, when its founder\u2019s widow, 83-year-old Friede Springer, gave him a 15% stake in the company.<\/p>\n

In the early 2010s D\u00f6pfner made a series of bold strategic decisions, dumping the venerable print titles Berliner Morgenpost and Hamburger Abendblatt and investing in digital classifieds. It paid off financially, and earned him a reputation as a digital visionary, not least in the corridors of his own company.<\/p>\n

One employee described his reputation among staff as \u201cguru-like\u201d. \u201cThere\u2019s something that being in the same room as Mathias D\u00f6pfner does to other men,\u201d said one former member of staff. Another noted male staff members\u2019 tendency to copy the chief executive\u2019s sartorial style, from three-piece suits to a more recent penchant for a \u201cMiami Vice\u201d combo of suit jackets, T-shirts and white trainers.<\/p>\n

D\u00f6pfner\u2019s reputation survived a sexual misconduct allegation<\/a> under his watch in 2021, when Bild\u2019s pugilistic editor, Julian Reichelt, was found to have promoted a female employee to a high-level newsroom job while having an affair with her.<\/p>\n

More recently, D\u00f6pfner\u2019s pronouncements on the future of news publishing have attained a prophetic fervour. Last summer, the company announced its intention<\/a> to double its value within five years, by expanding media marketing platforms and exploring \u201cAI-based journalism\u201d.<\/p>\n

Elon Musk (right) with D\u00f6pfner at the Axel Springer awards ceremony in Berlin in 2020. Photograph: Hannibal Hanschke\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Shortly after, Bild had to withdraw an error-strewn article<\/a> that had apparently been based on an AI-generated synopsis of a Swiss documentary. When confronted about the case, D\u00f6pfner doubled down, saying in an interview<\/a>: \u201cNo one here has to justify themselves for using artificial intelligence for articles, presentations, speeches, whatever. Only those who don\u2019t use it have to justify themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company now acknowledges the article was a mistake and says it is introducing new processes to ensure the accuracy of AI-assisted journalism.<\/p>\n

Axel Springer\u2019s record of making news journalism succeed in the digital sphere is patchy. Bild is the most visited German-language news portal in the world, but it comes bottom of the pile in surveys on trustworthiness<\/a>. A three-year project to build a \u201cmulti-platform universe\u201d with an in-house \u201cBild TV\u201d live channel, costing tens of millions of euros, was discontinued after three years in 2023.<\/p>\n

Bild, the most visited German-language news portal in the world, comes bottom of the pile in surveys on trustworthiness. Photograph: Martin Meissner\/AP<\/p>\n

When it comes to politics, there is also a sense that the vision that holds sway on Springer\u2019s executive floor has been drifting apart from German society at large. While the company\u2019s German titles are broadly supportive of chancellor Friedrich Merz\u2019s conservatives and ferociously critical of the German Greens, D\u00f6pfner\u2019s true instincts \u201care that of a libertarian\u201d, said one ex-employee.<\/p>\n

Private text messages that were leaked to German media in 2023<\/a> showed that D\u00f6pfner had urged Bild\u2019s then editor to \u201cdo more for the FDP\u201d, a small pro-business party that dropped out of parliament at the last federal elections.<\/p>\n

A podcast series in which D\u00f6pfner interviews figures in public life, launched last autumn under the title \u201cMD Meets\u201d<\/a>, has so far featured mostly the chief executives of tech companies. The only European politician to have appeared on it is Orb\u00e1n.<\/p>\n

In a December 2025 opinion article, D\u00f6pfner insisted that Trump wanted \u2018a strong Europe, a reliable and effective partner\u2019. Photograph: Dpa Picture Alliance\/Alamy<\/p>\n

With Politico Europe, Springer owns one of the few English-language outlets focused on reporting on decision-making in Brussels, but the publishing house\u2019s passion for the European project seems to have dimmed. \u201cThey don\u2019t think that much about Europe, other than it\u2019s this big bureaucratic apparatus that needs to be lobbied,\u201d said Karnitschnig.<\/p>\n

D\u00f6pfner\u2019s passion for all things American, meanwhile, has grown even in the face of a US president who has pulled up barriers to trade with Europe and disparaged Nato allies.<\/p>\n

Last June, as Europe struggled to manage an unpredictable White House, the publishing company deleted a commitment to a \u201cunited Europe\u201d from its \u201cessentials\u201d \u2013 the five core values that its German employees are contractually obliged to uphold. The clause was replaced with advocating \u201can alliance between the United States of America and Europe\u201d.<\/p>\n

In a December 2025 opinion article<\/a> published in Politico and Welt, D\u00f6pfner said Trump wanted \u201ca strong Europe, a reliable and effective partner\u201d, and warned Europeans against reacting to inflammatory talk with \u201chauteur\u201d. He reiterated that message in another article in Politico this week<\/a>, accusing European leaders of \u201calienating\u201d their main ally by criticising Trump\u2019s war in Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe romantic view of the Anglosphere runs deep inside Axel Springer,\u201d said one company insider. \u201cAnd Mathias is the biggest romantic of them all.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Telegraph will boost Axel Springer\u2019s base of English-language subscribers. Photograph: Yui Mok\/PA<\/p>\n

D\u00f6pfner has done little to hide his admiration for the Wall Street Journal<\/a>, fuelling speculation that his company has in the past been keen to buy the newspaper off Rupert Murdoch. The Telegraph may go some way to serving as a substitute, as well as considerably increasing Axel Springer\u2019s base of English-language subscribers.<\/p>\n

D\u00f6pfner\u2019s suggestion that Springer could move into the top spot in the American market, however, seems unrealistic. \u201cEspecially on the rightwing spectrum, media consumers in the US lean towards broadcasting and podcasts,\u201d said Abi Watson of Enders Analysis. \u201cIt\u2019s a difficult market to launch into.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson said in a statement: \u201cAxel Springer stands for freedom, free speech, the rule of law and democracy. As owners Axel Springer will grow the Telegraph Media Group<\/a> while preserving its distinctive character and legacy, to help it become the most read and intellectually inspiring centre-right media in the English-speaking world. This will protect British journalism, of which the Daily and Sunday Telegraph is known as a quality institution.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In Mathias D\u00f6pfner\u2019s 2023 book Dealing with Dictators, the chief executive of the German media company Axel Springer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":519344,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[84,59,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-519343","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-gb","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=519343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519343\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/519344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=519343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=519343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}