Late last month, SpringerNature divested itself of Scientific American and the German publication Spektrum der Wissenschaft:

Scientific American is to be acquired by LabX Media Group, a global science-focused media company. The transaction will complete on 24 June 2026.

Springer Nature has reached an agreement to sell Spektrum der Wissenschaft to GeraNova Bruckmann, a Germany-based publishing group. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to complete later in the year.

“Springer Nature to divest its consumer media businesses,” June 23, 2026

How much the acquisitions cost Canadian firm LabX and GNB was not disclosed. Nieman Journalism Lab reports that LabX “moved to halt a staff unionization bid that began in April.”

Image Credit: gustavofrazao - Adobe Stock

Layoffs and salary cuts followed swiftly and the union held a rally to demand recognition from LabX.

At A Media Operator, Bron Maher offers a trifecta about what went wrong:

Springer Nature said the two brands together contributed “approximately €25 million” ($28.4 million) to group revenues in 2025, approximately 1.3% of the €1.9 billion ($2.2 billion) total.

A nearly 181-year-old magazine, Scientific American covers topics including research, tech, health, space and climate. The brand is also interested in the overlap of science, politics and society, writing for example about the effects of Trump administration policies on U.S. research institutions. In 2020 it endorsed Joe Biden for president, the first presidential endorsement in its history, and endorsed Kamala Harris in 2024.

“LabX Media Group Buys Scientific American From Springer Nature, Seeks Unionization Halt, June 25, 2026

In short, Scientific American wasn’t making money, began dabbling in electoral politics, and then started talking union.

Lost touch?

At Legal Insurrection, Leslie Eastman offers a less friendly perspective, identifying ways the mag lost touch with the middlebrow audience:

The low-lights from the magazine’s stack of articles include:

• Scientific American colluding with other media to normalize “climate emergency” terminology, despite vast swaths of scientific evidence showing the Earth’s climate has continuously changed over 4 billion years.
• The magazine pushing “birth parent” terminology, which is utter nonsense in the face of real biology.
• The magazine offering a ridiculous take on football injuries…tying them to racism.

“Scientific American Sold as Publisher Divests Itself of the Bud Light of Science Journals,” July 1, 2026

A question hangs in the air: Is the traditional, time-governed, print-focused way of publishing news even relevant in the non-local, instantaneous age of the internet? LabX will get a chance to find out.