They’ll have no trouble finding work elsewhere.
Politico is an online publication and media company founded in the United States in 2007, with a focus on politics and policy. It has millions of readers through Politico.com, newsletters, and a subscription-based policy intelligence service called Politico Pro. It is now part of the publishing empire of Axel Springer, the German media giant. Recently some members of Politico’s editorial staff expressed their disagreement with how the company reported on the state of Israel, coverage which they felt was too favorable. The CEO of Axel Springer, Mathias Döpfner, provided a lengthy response in a 40-minute telephone call with Politico’s senior editors on April 27. More on what he said can be found here.Mathias Döpfner, the CEO of Politico’s parent company, Axel Springer, doubled down in defense of the German publishing giant’s corporate values while addressing criticism from Politico‘s editorial staff on Monday, suggesting to journalists that if they do not feel fully comfortable with a mission statement that includes support for Israel’s right to exist and other principles known as “the essentials,” they should find work elsewhere, according to audio of the discussion obtained by Jewish Insider….
The meeting came in response to a letter sent by Politico staffers to [incoming editor-in-chief Jonathan] Greenberger on Friday, accusing Döpfner of using the outlet “to promote his political agenda” and raising concerns that two opinion pieces he wrote for the publication “risk undermining” its “reputation as an impartial news source.”
The letter referred, among other things, to opinion articles in which Döpfner exhorted Europe to stand with the United States and Israel in their war with Iran and said that European aid to Palestinians helped fund terrorists, while arguing that the continent was “on the wrong side of history” in pausing assistance to Israel. The letter and subsequent conversation was first reported by Semafor on Monday, which characterized the meeting as company leadership being receptive to staffers’ concerns….
Semafor’s report on the telephone meeting (presumably via Zoom) was inaccurate. Döpfner’s Semafor’s response to members of the editorial staff of Politico who objected to his, and Politico’s owner Axel Springer’s, pro-Israel stance was firm, not “receptive,” and he suggested that anyone disagreeing with that policy should leave the company.
Döpfner not only rejected staff members’ criticism of his original opinion piece for having called Iran the “aggressor,” but said he should have worded his piece even more strongly, calling the Iranians “terrorists” themselves and supporters of the “terrorist organizations” Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.
“If that is something that somebody wants to question, then we are really reaching the very fundamental principles of our values,” Döpfner reiterated to the staff. “And that then may lead simply to the decision that, because we are very transparent about it, it is then an individual decision whether Axel Springer and somebody who has so fundamentally different beliefs is really a good fit.”…
In other words, if you work at Politico, which Axel Springer owns, and you object to the non-negotiable policy at Axel Springer of supporting Israel, then you should seek employment elsewhere.
Döpfner is unapologetic about defending the pro-Israel policy at Axel Springer, the owner of Politico, which he says is “non-negotiable.” If you work at Politico, and don’t like that policy, then you should consider leaving. --->READ MORE HERE
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