Who say’s the media business is not a good bet?

Politico, a website founded by two journalists back in 2007, has been sold to German media giant, Axel Springer for US$1 billion.

Politico has been a must-read for political insiders and junkies in the United States and has redefined the digital news model, focusing on its base and paying close attention to its corporate sponsors. It has spawned many imitators, most notably, Axios.

Explaining this acquisition, Axel Springer’s CEO Mathias Dopfner said: “Objective quality journalism is more important than ever, and we mutually believe in the necessity of editorial independence on nonpartisan reporting. This is crucial for our future success and accelerated growth.”

Looking to change the US political coverage landscape, journalists John Harris and Jim VandeHei got together and created Politico with Mike Allen joining later, becoming Politico’s star reporter.

Financially backed by Robert Albritton, Politico quickly set its mark with unique political coverage with a heavy emphasis on video. After a year in operation, it had three million unique visits per month.

By Barack Obama’s second term as president of the United States in 2012, it had tripled the size of its staff, adding more reporters, editors, web engineers, videographers and designers. 

Growing the business over the years, Politico branched out and created a number of dedicated products including Politico Playbook. Eleven years after Politico launched, it had more than 100,000 readers a day with political power players regarding it as a must-read.

Politico has insisted on remaining a privately held company, allowing it to execute strategies expeditiously and side-step stifling corporate regulations.

30 MILLION UNIQUE VISITORS

Explaining Politico’s popularity and financial success, Jim VandeHei once said: “ People come to us because we break news, we are authoritative and we help readers understand how Washington really works.”

Today Politico has 30 million unique visitors a month coming to its American website with 60 million across all its platforms including Politico Europe.

Axel Springer has been  steadily building its U.S. media asset portfolio. In 2015 it bought Business Insider. It also snapped up Morning Brew, a popular newsletter. U.S. private equity firm KKR which has a 48 per cent stake in Axel Springer has been snapping up media companies through the  German corporation.

Commenting on the shifting international media landscape, Our Today’s Al Edwards said: “It is clear to see that journalists with talent and know-how have built successful businesses that are inspiring. Just look what these fellas have done with Politico? Arianna Huffington also comes to mind. Rupert Murdoch has been able to create a media empire and on the way has been a true champion for journalists and media professionals.

“It’s baffling to hear bankers and financiers in the Caribbean dismiss media enterprises and talk about ‘there is no money in it.”

“The world’s richest man, Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post  in 2013 for US$250 million. In March 2019 Disney bought 21^st Century Fox’s TV and film assets for US$71.3 billion.

“I have always been taken with Rupert Murdoch strategic long term thinking and how he has built media products across the world. As a young man growing up in London, I saw what he was able to accomplish with The Sun and both The Times and Sunday Times in the UK.

“Three journalists started Politico fourteen yeas ago and now it is sold to a corporate giant for US$1 billion. The Huffington Post was sold to AOL for US$315 million. Last year the Huffington Post was sold to BuzzFeed with its CEO Jonah Peretti saying, ‘I have vivid memories of growing HuffPost into a major news outlet in its early years but BuzzFeed is making this acquisition because we believe in the future of HuffPost and the potential it has to continue to define the media landscape for years to come.’”