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Gordon Repinski, editor-in-chief of the news portal “Politico” © Carsten Koall/dpa
The launch of the US media brand “Politico” with a German-language offering had been expected for some time.
Now the first political newsletter is coming onto the market.
It shouldn't stay that way.
Berlin - The US media brand “Politico” is launching a German-language newsletter about Berlin’s political scene.
The free email newsletter “Berlin Playbook” will be published this Monday (February 19th).
It is the market entry in Germany that had been expected for some time.
The media group Politico plans to expand the offering.
The brand has long been established in the USA, it is also expanding in Europe, there are Politico offers from London, Paris and Brussels.
The journalists report on in-depth political topics in newsletter form.
In 2021, the media group Axel Springer bought the US media group Politico - this was the largest corporate takeover in Springer's history.
Politico was founded in 2007.
The journalist Gordon Repinski leads the editorial team in Berlin, which is based in the gold-colored Axel Springer high-rise.
In an interview with the German Press Agency, the 46-year-old said: “Politico is unique in one thing: it is the global network of reporters.” There is a team in Berlin that starts with around ten people and should continue to grow. as well as the network of over 500 reporters worldwide.
“That is also the idea of “Politico” and the “Playbook”: to bring the knowledge from Brussels, London, Paris and Washington to Germany.” It is also about politics as a whole, looking beyond borders in an international year must be made more understandable internationally.
“Thanks to our network, we can fulfill this better than others,” said Repinski.
When asked, the company did not disclose investments or sales targets.
When asked whether there are plans to collaborate on content with the Springer brands “Welt” and “Bild”, Repinski explained: “There is no formal cooperation.”
The “Playbook” newsletter appears Monday to Friday and had more than 10,000 registrations before its launch.
Repinski added: “More products will be coming throughout the year.”
This also includes paid newsletters.
These will focus, for example, on the US election or the European election.
Whether they will be limited in time remains to be seen.
A podcast will follow in the first half of the year.
A printed German-language newspaper from “Politico” - there is an English-language weekly edition - is not planned.
Repinski said: “We are not focused on a print newspaper.”
In Germany, the range of subscription specialist newsletters for specific target groups has increased in recent years.
Media houses such as Gabor Steingart's Media Pioneer or Sebastian Turner's Table Media are active.
The “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” started a weekly expert briefing on the digital economy in the fall.
The “Süddeutsche Zeitung” entered the segment in November.
Regarding the competitive situation in the specialist briefing business, Repinski said: “For me, 2024 is the ideal year to start.
Because there is more focus on international issues than ever before.”
Repinski himself comes from Media Pioneer;
Springer also holds shares in the company.
When asked why he left Pioneer, the journalist said: “I didn't leave Pioneer, I went to Politico.
I have been following the brand for years and find it to be an absolute pacesetter for political reporting.” dpa