For several years, tensions have been building between Mathias Döpfner, CEO of the European media company Axel Springer, and staff at Politico, one of the outlets the company owns.
Early this week, those tensions peaked when Döpfner told employees he would not abandon the company's "vital principles" – among them Israel's right to exist as a state – and that anyone uncomfortable with those principles was free to leave. The remarks were captured in recordings obtained by Jewish Insider.
Axel Springer, one of Europe's largest media companies, acquired Politico in 2021 for more than $1 billion as part of an international expansion. The company was founded after World War II by publisher Axel Springer, who died in 1985, and built its identity around pro-American, pro-Israel, and pro-free-market values.
In addition to Politico, the company owns the German outlets Bild and Die Welt. A few weeks ago, the British government formally approved Axel Springer's $766 million deal to acquire The Daily Telegraph, which has traditionally leaned conservative and pro-Western.
The dispute over core principles
Unlike Bild and The Daily Telegraph, which lean clearly toward the conservative, pro-Israel end of the global media spectrum, the American Politico – which also has a European edition – tilts in the opposite direction. Despite that, Döpfner used the outlet's platform to publish op-eds backing Israel and supporting the US-Israeli campaign against Iran.
Döpfner, who received the Medal of Honor from Israeli President Isaac Herzog in October of last year and has repeatedly warned about the wave of antisemitism that erupted after the October 7 massacre, had not publicly expressed his views on such matters within Politico – at least until recently.
Staff at the outlet, who objected to the CEO publishing his op-eds there, submitted a letter late last week – on April 25 – to Jonathan Greenberg, Politico's incoming editor-in-chief, who is set to formally take over in two days. In it, they protested that Döpfner was using the platform to "advance his political agenda." Among other things, they argued that two op-eds he recently published on the site could damage its reputation.
In those pieces, Döpfner called on Europe to stand alongside the US and Israel in their conflict with Iran. He also argued that European aid to Palestinians had helped fund terrorism, and claimed the continent was "on the wrong side of history" by scaling back its support for Israel.
"If you have a problem, you don't have to work here"
On Tuesday, Jewish Insider obtained recordings from an April 27 meeting Döpfner held with Politico's senior leadership, including the outgoing editor-in-chief and the outlet's CEO. He responded sharply to the staff letter and made clear he had no intention of retreating from the company's "essentials."
"Nobody should work for Axel Springer despite the essentials or in disagreement with one of the essentials," Döpfner said. "If the essentials are not attractive, if the essentials are not a magnet, if the essentials are not a reason why to work for this company, I can only recommend to work for other companies."
Döpfner was unyielding. He noted there were "many options" where "values don't play such a role – or where other values play a role," pointing to left-wing organizations, financial investors, and other publishers. "Our values are very clear. They are very transparent, transparent for our readers, transparent for our employees, and only those who feel very much attracted by the values should work for us," he said.
The company's principles include support for the NATO alliance, free-market economics, democracy, and the fight against antisemitism – with Israel's right to exist as a safe Jewish state at the top of the list. Döpfner emphasized, "If the Green Party in England says that Zionism is racism, I want to make it absolutely clear that we believe Zionism is, by official definition, Israel's right to self-determination and its right to exist as a safe haven for Jews" – the same Jews "who were nearly wiped out in the Holocaust." He added, however, that support does not mean Politico is barred from criticizing Israel or the West, "as it does every day."
Iran as the aggressor
Döpfner also took aim at the staff letter itself, in which employees argued that calling Iran "aggressive" was "misleading and does not meet our standards as journalists." He responded, "If you're saying that one should not say that the Iranian leadership, the mullahs, are aggressors, you may be right. The wording is more a euphemism. We should rather say they're terrorists, or they are mass murderers. That would be more appropriate, given the kind of spread of terrorism with Iranian proxies from Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthi and other terrorist organizations. I think to position that as an aggressor is a mild version of what it is."
He added, "These two facts — that the Iranians are working on the nuclear bomb and that they are aggressors for decades — are so obvious, so proven for many times, they are almost — it's like saying America is the biggest democracy in the world."
Döpfner made clear he intends to keep writing op-eds – "even more in the future, not less" – but emphasized they do not dictate Politico's editorial line. "That doesn't mean we don't criticize the Israeli government, which happens every day. But our values are clear."
Incoming editor-in-chief Jonathan Greenberg sided with Döpfner, saying he was "not going to tell me what to do... He's a resource, and I appreciate that." He said the values "coexist" with the journalism, without undermining it.
In response to the leaked recordings, Axel Springer said it "values such internal discussions, as they help clarify our principles of journalistic independence and our non-negotiable values, which we call 'vital principles.'" Politico, for its part, declined to comment.
