Why Axel Springer takeover of Telegraph is good news for UK media

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🍻 Einfach klasse! is my immediate response to news that Axel Springer has bought The Telegraph. I knew that secondary school Germany would get used at some point.

For now The Telegraph remains in limbo operationally, run by independent directors.

But there are no foreseeable regulatory or legal hurdles to this one being waved through by the UK Government.

While jilted suitor DMGT would have been a good owner, Axel Springer will inject fresh thinking, competition and plurality into Fleet Street.

Alongside Politico and Business Insider, Axel Springer will at least double its English language newsroom (to more than 800 journalists). And its sights must be set on creating a right of centre subscription-funded online news powerhouse to rival The New York Times.

Politically, new proprietor/CEO Mathias Döpfner appears to be a decent fit.

Though a trawl through The Telegraph comments section reveals a fair amount of concern about the title passing into EU ownership.

Along with the Mail, The Telegraph has been the most Eurosceptic voice in UK media and it campaigned in favour of Brexit.

Döpfner is no slouch when it comes to embracing AI. His decision to invest £575m in a newspaper is an excellent signal that AI theft and disintermediation won’t wipe us journalists and publishers out.

In fact, he appears to be betting that original content will be worth more in the future as an essential input for which the AI answer engines will have to pay for.

The £575m purchase price is certainly way more than current and recent Telegraph profits justify (especially considering the fact its main revenue source, print, is in long term and accelerating circulation decline).

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🙌 US culture and politics title The Atlantic proves legacy media does not have to be a story of decline and maybe helps justify Döpfner’s evident optimism about the news business.

With 1.4 million subscribers, editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg said the title is now in a virtuous cycle of investment, profitability and growth.

In an interview with Charlotte Tobitt he also shared his views on the woes of The Washington Post and other legacy newsbrands, and winning its ‘tortoise versus hare’ race with digital news start ups.