Drudge Report

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Drudge Report
URL drudgereport.com
Type of site News
Available language(s) English
Owner Matt Drudge
Created by Matt Drudge
Launched 1994
Revenue $800,000[1]
Current status Active

The Drudge Report is a U.S.-based news aggregation website run by Matt Drudge. The site consists mainly of links to stories from the US and international mainstream media about politics, entertainment, and current events as well as links to many columnists. Occasionally Drudge authors news stories himself. The Report originated around 1994 as a weekly subscriber-based email dispatch. It is most famous for being the first news source to break the Monica Lewinsky scandal to the public after Newsweek decided not to publish the story.[2]

Contents

[edit] Origins

Drudge began publishing his email-based Report from an apartment in Hollywood, California, using his connections with industry and media insiders to break stories sometimes before they hit the mainstream media. He now maintains the website from his home in Miami Beach, Florida, with help from Andrew Breitbart, who assists in story selection and headline writing [3]. Drudge's reports were electronically syndicated by Wired News from November 1996 to May 1997; AOL carried his reports until 1998. He began his website in 1997 as a supplement to the email reports but eventually stopped the email reports in favor of exclusively updating his website.

Drudge first received national attention in 1996 when he broke the news that Jack Kemp would be Republican Bob Dole's running mate in the 1996 presidential election. In 1998, Drudge again made national waves when he broke the news that Newsweek magazine had information on an inappropriate relationship between "a White House intern" and President Bill Clinton (the Monica Lewinsky scandal), but was withholding publication.[4][5] After Drudge's report, Newsweek published the story.[6]

[edit] Content

The Drudge Report site sometimes includes stories written by Drudge himself — usually two to three paragraphs in length. These stories generally first publish a rumor concerning a story that is about to be published in a major magazine or newspaper. Drudge also occasionally publishes Nielsen, Arbitron, or BookScan ratings, internal email messages, or early election exit polls that are otherwise not made available to the public.

[edit] Design

The website has a simple design, consisting of a banner headline and a number of other selected headlines in three columns. These linked stories are almost always hosted on the external websites of mainstream media outlets. The rest of the site contains links to media outlets and a number of columnists. Although the site initially featured very few images, it is now usually illustrated with five or six photographs. Generally the images are similarly hotlinked from other news agencies' servers although Drudge does occasionally use some images, generally those he personally edits, that are hosted on his own server.

Example screenshot of the Drudge Report front page.
Example screenshot of the Drudge Report front page.

[edit] Influence

According to Mark Halperin, "Drudge's coverage affects the media's political coverage", effectively steering the media's political coverage towards what Halperin calls "the most salacious aspects of American politics."[7] In The Way To Win, a book written by Halperin and John Harris, Drudge is called "the Walter Cronkite of his era."[8][7] Democratic Party strategist Chris Lehane says "phones start ringing" whenever Drudge breaks a story, and Mark McKinnon, a former media advisor to George W. Bush, says he checks the site 30–40 times per day.[7] Matt Drudge has been criticized by other media news personalities: Bill O'Reilly who twice called Drudge a "threat to democracy",[9] and Keith Olbermann who referred to Drudge as "an idiot with a modem".[10]

[edit] Traffic statistics

In October, 2006, Washington Post editor Leonard Downie, Jr., speaking at the Online News Association's annual convention in Washington, D.C., stated "Our largest driver of traffic is Matt Drudge."[11] Nielsen NetRatings reports approximately 3 million visitors per month, with visitors spending an average of 66 minutes on the site, with as many as one thousand advertisers at one time[3].

Alexa Internet estimates that traffic (expressed as the percentage of all Internet users who visit a given site) to the Drudge Report website has diminished from a typical rate of 0.6% in the election season of late 2003 to 0.15% in early 2008.[12]

According to the online advertising company linked to his site, the Drudge Report audience is 78 percent male, 60 percent Republican, and 8 percent Democratic.[13]

In March, 2008, the Newspaper Association of America listed The Drudge Report as having a readership of about 3.5 million, and as one of the most frequently revisited news sites, with up to 19 visits per person per day.[14] This exceptionally high revisit number is influenced by the use of an autorefresh script that logs a new visit for each visitor every three minutes the visitor spends at the site.[15]

[edit] Archives

Archives of older reports are generally not easy to find. A number of reports from 1995 to early 1997 are available in the Usenet archive provided by Google Groups. A more extensive archive of the website is provided by Drudge Report Archives, which has archives since mid-November 2001 and says it takes and stores snapshots of the Drudge Report homepage every two minutes.[16]

[edit] Charges of bias

UCLA political scientist Tim Groseclose and Jeff Milyo, Associate Professor, Department of Economics and the Harry S Truman School of Public Affairs at the University of Missouri–Columbia, published a paper on media bias in December 2004[17] which concluded—based on a comparison of articles linked to by Drudge with Congressional voting records—that the Drudge Report leans "left and sometimes right" of center, compared to the average American voter."[18] The authors ascribe this seemingly anomalous result to the study's design, based as it is on links to other news sources, rather than the handful of news stories written by Drudge himself. Mark Liberman, Professor of Computer Science and the Director of the Linguistic Data Consortium at the University of Pennsylvania,[19] contends that the results were based on a flawed methodology;[20][21] according to Media Matters for America, a liberal political action group dedicated to "correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media",[22] “Groseclose and Milyo are former fellows of conservative organizations [and] the study employed a measure of ‘bias’ so problematic that its findings are next to useless.”[23]

[edit] Views on global warming

Drudge has faced criticism for his skeptical view of global warming, seen in his highlighting of winter cold snaps and freak snowstorms in warm places.[24] On February 25, 2007, he stated during his radio broadcast that global warming is "faux science" and that "the greening of our population, the falling for the science ... is making me nervous."[25][26]

[edit] Notable stories

[edit] Monica Lewinsky scandal

The Drudge Report attained notoriety when it was the first to report what came to be known as the Lewinsky scandal. Drudge published the story on January 17, 1998, after Newsweek reportedly turned down the story.[27]

[edit] Obama Photo

Drudge became a center of controversy after posting a photo of Barack Obama in Somali tribal dress on February 25, 2008.[28] Drudge reported that the photo had been sent to him by a Clinton campaign staffer, but Drudge did not produce the email.[29] The publication of the photograph resulted in a brief war of words between the Clinton and Obama campaign organizations.

[edit] Prince Harry in Afghanistan

On February 28, 2008 Drudge published an article noting that Prince Harry of Wales, third in line to the British throne and a Second Lieutenant in the Blues and Royals Regiment of the Household Cavalry of the British Army, was serving with his regiment in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The fact that Prince Harry was ten weeks into a front-line deployment in Afghanistan was subject to a voluntary news blackout by the UK press[30], designed to protect Prince Harry and the men serving with him from being specifically targeted by the Taliban.

An Australian weekly women’s magazine New Idea broke the story in January [31] - but it was not followed up at the time. New Idea editors claimed ignorance of any news blackout.[32] Then a German newspaper, the Berliner Kurier, published a short piece on February 28, 2008, also before Drudge. [33] Despite these prior publications of the news, Drudge subsequently claimed the report as an exclusive. Chief of the General Staff Sir Richard Dannatt, professional head of the British Army, said: "I am very disappointed that foreign websites have decided to run this story without consulting us".[34] As a direct result of this disclosure the Prince's tour of duty was prematurely ended, due to the fact that his unit was now likely to be targeted by large scale suicide attacks intended to kill the Prince.[35] Shortly thereafter, several Islamist websites reprinted the information, calling on insurgents to seek out and attack Prince Harry's unit.[citation needed] The Prince finally arrived back at RAF Brize Norton in the UK early on 1 March 2008.[36] In the Have Your Say section of the BBC website, BBC viewers were highly critical of the Drudge Report's decision to leak the news.[37]

[edit] Errors

[edit] Sidney Blumenthal lawsuit

In 1997, the Drudge Report reported that incoming White House assistant Sidney Blumenthal beat his wife and was covering it up. Drudge retracted the story the next day and apologized, saying he was given bad information, but Blumenthal filed a $30 million libel lawsuit against Drudge. After four years, Blumenthal dropped his lawsuit. Blumenthal said the suit had cost him tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees. He agreed to pay $2,500 to Drudge's Los Angeles attorney for travel costs, claiming that Drudge was "backed by unlimited funds from political supporters who use a tax-exempt foundation."[38][39][40][41] The Individual Rights Foundation, led by David Horowitz, paid Drudge's legal fees in the Blumenthal lawsuit. A federal judge noted in the judgment that Drudge "is not a reporter, a journalist, or a newsgatherer. He is, as he admits himself, simply a purveyor of gossip."[42]

[edit] John Kerry's alleged intern scandal

Similarly, during the 2004 Presidential campaign, Drudge ran a questionable story quoting General Wesley Clark, where Clark claimed that the John Kerry campaign would implode over an intern affair; and he reported that other news outlets were investigating the alleged affair; Drudge removed it from the site shortly thereafter when the other news outlets dropped the investigations.[43]

[edit] Bill Clinton's alleged illegitimate baby

In 1999, the Drudge Report announced that it had viewed a videotape which was the basis of a Star Magazine and Hard Copy story. Under the headline, "Woman Names Bill Clinton Father Of Son In Shocking Video Confession", Drudge reported a videotaped confession by a former prostitute who claimed that her son was fathered by Bill Clinton. The Report stated, "To accuse the most powerful man in the world of being the father of her son is either the hoax of a lifetime, or a personal turmoil that needs resolution. Only two people may know that answer tonight." The claim turned out to be a hoax.[44]

[edit] CNN reporter's alleged heckling of GOP senators

On April 1, 2007 Drudge cited an unnamed "official" source saying that CNN reporter Michael Ware had "heckled" Republican Senators McCain and Graham during a live press conference.[45] Drudge reported that

“ An official at the press conference called Ware's conduct "outrageous," saying, "here you have two United States Senators in Bagdad giving first-hand reports while Ware is laughing and mocking their comments. I've never witnessed such disrespect. This guy is an activist not a reporter." ”
 
— The Drudge Report, Matthew Drudge

Ware disputed Drudge's report on CNN April 2, 2007, saying that the story was leaked "by an unnamed official of some kind to a blog", that the story was anonymous, and that no one was willing to put their name to it; he advised people to view the tape.[46] Video hosted by Rawstory shows that Ware did not make a sound nor ask any question during the press conference.[47][46][48] The Drudge Report did not retract or apologise for the story. Drudge's report was echoed in The Washington Times, which carried opinion questioning Ware's trustworthiness, and in many conservative blogs, some of which called for Ware's resignation.[49]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Keighley, Geoff (2003-04-01). The Secrets of Drudge Inc. How to set up a round-the-clock news site on a shoestring, bring in $3,500 a day, and still have time to lounge on the beach.. CNNMoney.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-01.
  2. ^ Scandalous scoop breaks online (html). BBC News (1998-01-25). Retrieved on 2007-06-23.
  3. ^ a b Sappell, Joel. "Hot links served up daily", Los Angeles Times, 2007-08-04. Retrieved on 2007-08-04. 
  4. ^ Drudge, Matt (1998-01-17). Newsweek Kills Story On White House Intern. The Drudge Report. Retrieved on 2006-10-05.
  5. ^ Johnson, Glen. "Newsweek got, held scoop on Clinton story", AP/Denver Rocky Mountain News, 1998-01-23. Retrieved on 2007-04-05. 
  6. ^ Fineman, Howard; Karen Breslau. "Sex, Lies and the President", Newsweek, 1998-02-02. Retrieved on 2007-04-05. 
  7. ^ a b c "Drudge Report Sets Tone for National Political Coverage", ABC News, 2006-10-01. Retrieved on 2006-10-01. 
  8. ^ Halpernin, Mark; John F. Harris (2006). The Way To Win. Random House. ISBN 1-4000-6447-3. 
  9. ^ Drudge, Matt (2003-12-18). Host Unhinged After Sales Figures Revealed; Calls DRUDGE 'Threat To Democracy'. Drudge Report. Retrieved on 2007-03-26.
  10. ^ Kurtz, Howard. "MSNBC Pundit Rises With Clinton Crises", Washington Post, 1998-09-15, pp. E1. Retrieved on 2006-10-01. 
  11. ^ Hirschman, David S. (2006-10-06). 'Wash Post' Editor Downie: Everyone in Our Newsroom Wants to Be a Blogger. Editor & Publisher. Retrieved on 2006-10-08.
  12. ^ Alexa "The Drudge Report" Traffic Graph (html). Alexa (2008). Retrieved on 2008-03-01.
  13. ^ Philip Weiss (2007). Watching Matt Drudge (html). New York Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-08-31.
  14. ^ Nielsen Online Names Top 30 News Sites. Newspaper Association of America (2008). Retrieved on 2008-03-26.
  15. ^ The Truth About Perez Hilton's Traffic. Gawker.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-26.
  16. ^ Drudge Report Archives. Drudgereportarchives.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-05.
  17. ^ Tim Groseclose, Jeff Milyo (December 2004). "A Measure of Media Bias". . UCLA Retrieved on 2006-10-05.
  18. ^ Sullivan, Meg (2005-12-14). Media Bias Is Real, Finds UCLA Political Scientist. UCLA News. Retrieved on 2006-10-04.
  19. ^ LDC staff. Linguistics Data Consortium. Retrieved on 2007-04-02
  20. ^ Liberman, Mark (2005-12-23). Multiplying ideologies considered harmful. Language Log. Retrieved on 2006-11-06.
  21. ^ Liberman, Mark (2005-12-22). Linguistics, politics, mathematics. Language Log. Retrieved on 2006-11-06.
  22. ^ "Media Matters - Our Mission - Who We Are", Media Matters for America. Retrieved on 2007-05-09. 
  23. ^ "Former fellows at conservative think tanks issued flawed UCLA-led study on media's liberal bias", Media Matters for America, December 21, 2005. Retrieved on 2006-12-14. 
  24. ^ Joel Connelly (2007). Deniers of global warming harm us (html). Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
  25. ^ [1]Oscars Podcast by Matt Drudge, includes comments on Global Warming
  26. ^ Drudge Radio Archives (html/mp3) (2007). Retrieved on 2007-02-28.
  27. ^ "Newsweek Kills Story on White House Intern", Drudge Report, January 17, 1998
  28. ^ "Clinton Staffers Circulate 'Dressed' Obama", Drudge Report, February 27, 2008
  29. ^ "Barack Obama tribal photo 'sent to Drudge Report by Hillary Clinton staff'", Telegraph, February 27, 2008
  30. ^ "News black-out". BBC News (2008-02-29). Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  31. ^ "New Idea defends claims it endangered Prince Harry". Daily telegraph (Australia) (2008-02-29). Retrieved on 2008-02-29.
  32. ^ New Idea pleads ignorance on Harry embargo. ABC Australia News. Retrieved on 2008-03-01.
  33. ^ Frontline Harry a well-kept secret. The West Australian. Retrieved on 2008-02-29.
  34. ^ Harry leak disappoints army chief. BBC News. Retrieved on 2008-02-29.
  35. ^ "Army prepares to evacuate Harry after news blackout fails", The Guardian, February 29, 2008
  36. ^ BBC NEWS | UK | Prince returns from Afghanistan
  37. ^ BBC NEWS | Have Your Say | Should Harry be allowed on the front line again?. BBC News (2008-02-28). Retrieved on 2008-03-02. “Nothing but contempt for the people who have leaked this story./Recommended by 607 people”
  38. ^ "Blumenthal Pays $2,500 To Settle Drudge Suit", Wall Street Journal, 2001-05-04, p. B.8. Retrieved on 2006-07-12. 
  39. ^ Kurtz, Howard. "Clinton Aide Settles Libel Suit Against Matt Drudge -- at a Cost", Washington Post, 2001-05-02, pp. C01. Retrieved on 2007-04-11. 
  40. ^ Drudge, Matt (2001-05-01). May Day: Lawsuit Against Drudge Dropped; Blumenthal Pays Cash To Get Out!. Drudge Report. Retrieved on 2006-12-15.
  41. ^ Tim McDonald (2001). Online Matt Drudge Libel Suit Comes to 'Wimpy Conclusion' (html). Newsfactor.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-30.
  42. ^ BLUMENTHAL vs DRUDGE (html). Tech Law Journal (1998). Retrieved on 2006-12-18.
  43. ^ Polier, Alexandra (2004-06-07). John Kerry intern scandal - Alexandra Polier's account. New York Magazine. Retrieved on 2004-06-07.
  44. ^ Special Reports Personal Collection. Drudge Report Archives. Retrieved on 2007-04-02
  45. ^ Drudge, Matt. "McCain heckled by CNN reporter", Drudge Report, April 2, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-04-02. 
  46. ^ a b "CNN's Ware flatly denies report that he "heckled" McCain, but right-wing media flog it anyway", Media Matters for America, April 2, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-04-02. 
  47. ^ "CNN reporter slams Drudge's charge that he 'heckled' McCain; Exclusive video confirms his claim", Rawstory, April 2, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-04-02. 
  48. ^ CNN's Ware fires back at Drudge report about 'heckling', USA Today April 2, 2007
  49. ^ UPDATE: CNN's Ware flatly denies report that he "heckled" McCain, but right-wing media flog it anyway (html). Media Matters (2007-04-02). Retrieved on 2007-08-09.

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