The Scoop
Politico is folding an energy spinoff brand it purchased years ago amid a reorganization which expands its energy-focused coverage.
On Monday morning, the company will announce that it’s sunsetting E&E News, the standalone energy brand it bought in December 2020. In September, Politico plans to launch a series of energy-focused newsletters: Surge will track how rising energy demand driven largely by AI is reshaping politics and business in North America and Europe, while State Power will focus on the minutiae of state energy policymaking. The company will also revamp its existing newsletters Morning Energy and Morning Environment, as well as its European energy and environmental-focused newsletters.
“Energy has become the story behind almost every major story, whether that’s AI, geopolitics, manufacturing, or national security,” Politico global editor-in-chief Jonathan Greenberger told Semafor in an email. “Energy policy used to be a specialty beat. Today it’s a central driver of economic, technological and geopolitical power, and we’re connecting those dots in a way only POLITICO can.”
The reorganization has been in progress for months. In early February, the company integrated Politico Energy and E&E staff, which had previously operated separately.
Politico purchased E&E News in late 2020 as part of its push to expand its coverage of the energy space, and grow the company’s premium subscription business. According to the Wall Street Journal, at the time Politico bought the company, it had 65 energy reporters on staff. Politico now employs over 90 global journalists covering energy.
But since its acquisition in 2021 by German media giant Axel Springer, the company has been reshuffling its editorial products and focusing on its premium subscriber brands. In January, Politico laid off 3% of its staff, including some journalists with E&E. A Politico executive told Semafor that Monday’s move did not include any staff cuts.
Know More
The move to officially fold E&E into Politico as it grows its energy coverage comes at a moment of transition for much of the professional media covering energy and the environment.
Data centers powering the AI boom have driven massive new demand for electricity, which now sits at the center of political fights and a massive energy business boom. While the major energy story of the previous generation focused on its impact on climate change, the fight for energy dominance itself has become a major business and politics story that professional audiences (and advertisers) are tracking closely.
Washington media has adapted to this shift. In 2024, Semafor changed its Semafor Climate newsletter into Semafor Energy. The former CEO of The Dispatch told Semafor last year when it launched its energy vertical that it was covering the issue through the lens of energy, and it differentiated its coverage from competitors by not focusing on climate change and the environment.