Axel Springer vs Condé Nast

Morning Brew Acquires Express Checkout Newsletter

Morning Brew Inc., the business media publisher owned by Axel Springer, has acquired Express Checkout, a creator-led media brand focused on the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. The all-cash deal, whose terms were not disclosed, gives Morning Brew 100% of Express Checkout's intellectual property. Co-founders Nate Rosen and Jenna Movsowitz will join Morning Brew full-time. Express Checkout started as a weekly newsletter covering CPG and e-commerce. This acquisition continues Morning Brew's strategy of bringing independent creators and their audiences into its portfolio.

• Morning Brew Inc. acquires Express Checkout, a creator-led CPG media brand.
• The deal is all-cash and includes 100% of Express Checkout's intellectual property.
• Co-founders Nate Rosen and Jenna Movsowitz will join Morning Brew full-time.

Carsten Schwecke to Lead Retail Media at MediaMarktSaturn

Carsten Schwecke, formerly Chief Commercial Officer at RTL Deutschland and previously head of marketing at Seven.One Entertainment Group, will become co-CEO and Managing Director of MediaMarktSaturn Marketing GmbH on November 1, 2026, leading the retail media and partner marketing unit jointly with CMO Michael Schuld. Schwecke focuses on expanding first-party data activation, offsite media, and the publisher business, broadening the growth strategy beyond retail media and partner marketing. He succeeds Boris Prondzinski and Torsten Ahlers, who are leaving amicably; Ahlers supports the handover until January 31, 2027. In fiscal year 2024/25, retail media revenue reached around 91 million euros, up from about 5 million three years earlier. For offsite expansion, MediaMarktSaturn partners with Unlimitail.

• Carsten Schwecke becomes co-CEO and Managing Director of MediaMarktSaturn Marketing GmbH on November 1, 2026, alongside CMO Michael Schuld.
• Schwecke previously held leadership roles at RTL Deutschland, Seven.One Entertainment Group, and Axel Springer.
• He will focus on first-party data activation, offsite media, and expanding the publisher business as part of a broader growth strategy.

Peter Thiel mit dem Axel Springer Award 2026 ausgezeichnet

Unternehmer und Investor für seinen prägenden Einfluss auf die digitale Transformation gewürdigt / Diskussion über Innovation, Freiheit und die Zukunft westlicher Gesellschaften

Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch Departs for Mattel

Condé Nast chief executive Roger Lynch is departing the company to become the new CEO of toymaker Mattel, ending a seven-year tenure. The article notes that Lynch joined Condé Nast in 2019 from Pandora. During his leadership, the company faced challenges from the shifting digital media landscape, including a notable decline in search traffic attributed to generative search. Following his departure, independent board member Mike Perlis will assume the role of interim CEO until a permanent replacement is appointed. The announcement was made on Wednesday, and the article includes Lynch's memo to staff, though full details are behind a paywall. The reported publication date is September 30, 2026.

• Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch departs to become CEO of Mattel.
• Lynch joined Condé Nast in 2019 from Pandora.
• Interim CEO Mike Perlis will lead Condé Nast until a permanent replacement is found.

Publishers Lobby Congress for 'Bad Bots' Bill

Over 300 news publishing executives, including leaders from Condé Nast, Hearst Magazines, USA Today Co., and The Seattle Times, traveled to Washington D.C. to lobby Congress for the Stealth Bot Prohibition Act. The bill would require AI stealth crawlers to identify themselves, preventing them from disguising traffic and bypassing publishers' scraping blocks. Organized by News/Media Alliance, the event follows a similar New York state law and aims to address the growing problem of AI bots scraping content without permission. Executives met with lawmakers to emphasize the need for transparency, control, and fair compensation when their content is used for AI training. The initiative highlights the increasing urgency as AI bot traffic has surged significantly, with TollBit detecting over 22 billion AI bot scrapes in the first half of 2026.

• More than 300 publishing executives lobbied Congress for the Stealth Bot Prohibition Act.
• Key participants included Condé Nast, Hearst Magazines, USA Today Co., and The Seattle Times.
• The bill would require AI stealth crawlers to identify themselves.