Morning Brew

Beehiiv Adds Programmatic Ads to Newsletter Platform

Newsletter platform Beehiiv has rolled out programmatic advertising for email newsletters as part of a broader set of publisher features, including subscriber-to-subscriber messaging and an AI copilot for growth and monetization. Beehiiv says it built an internal SSP-like system and tracking pixel while operating a network of roughly 60,000 publishers. The programmatic product currently supports text-and-image native placements, contextual targeting, publisher-controlled price floors, and CPC or CPM buying; the company is working on subscriber-level targeting and plans to extend programmatic to websites and dynamically inserted podcast ads.

Axel Springer completes takeover of The Telegraph

Axel Springer has closed its £575 million acquisition of The Telegraph after receiving regulatory approval in the UK, Ireland and Austria. The deal ends a multi-year sales process that began when Lloyds Banking Group seized control of the newspaper's parent to recover debts from the Barclay family. Multiple bids faltered during the sale — including a blocked RedBird/IMI proposal and an unsuccessful Dovid Efune approach — before Axel Springer outbid the Daily Mail’s parent. Telegraph management reported double-digit digital commercial growth and a one-third rise in digital subscriptions during the ownership uncertainty. Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner and Telegraph executives say the purchase will accelerate AI-powered digital transformation, support US expansion, strengthen commercial and subscription offerings, and launch new events and premium products.

Pizza Cutters, Japanese Washlets, and AI Adoption

This opinion piece criticizes rolling pizza cutters as an inferior tool (favoring shears, rocking cutters, or large knives), praises Japanese washlets (bidet toilets) for hygiene and comfort while noting their slow adoption in the U.S., and uses these consumer-tech examples as an analogy for how cultural attitudes shape technology uptake. The author recounts conversations with educated progressive professionals who are largely dismissive of AI, contrasts that with rising national AI usage and survey data, and warns that progressive refusal to engage with AI risks leaving those groups and the country disadvantaged. The piece cites examples and polls and urges serious engagement with AI while acknowledging legitimate risks.