A Quandry! Developing...
What do we do about Matt Drudge?
Drudge, you probably know, is the proprietor of the Drudge Report (find it yourself), the number one news site on the internet. Actually, it's not a news site so much as a constantly updating page of headlines from around the world--some slightly editorialized with that right-wing Drudge flair. To wit:
Dailykos Conventioneers Wear Tinfoil Hats!
Congressman: Democratic Majority Means More Money for District; 'I'm going to earmark the s**t out of it'...
(Please note the complete lack of context.)
It's an incredibly valuable site. If anything important happens, it's up there first. He can even lead the networks because he has no editorial oversight--so while the other guys are doing quaint errands like (for example) checking their facts, Drudge has a headline up with a police siren telling you to Stay Tuned! Since he's not tied to any one source, he can post numerous views of a breaking story instantly. It was a brilliant idea and he's a millionaire many times over for having had it.
He also has an enormous amount of control over the discourse in this country. Matt Drudge is the first site that hundreds of thousands of computers log onto every day. Many of those computers belong to talk radio show producers.
If you listen to a full day of AM talk radio, you get a full sense of Matt Drudge's influence. Not just the occasional story, but every story, goes directly from Drudge to the radio. And I'm not just talking about the news of the day that would automatically make the news. I'm talking about a small-town press story about a school that "bans" patriotic clothing.
So Drudge posts it. It becomes "news" and then goes onto the radio within hours, thereby becoming "fact." The next day, it's a Talking Point on Bill O'Reilly and on page three of the New York Post. Soon, the right-wing harangue machine asks--why isn't this getting coverage in the Mainstream Media? All of this before anyone takes the time to see whether or not the story is, um, true.
Sometimes, Drudge will publish blatant falsities and out-of-context slurs as a Vendetta. He has several--Hillary Clinton is his arch-nemesis, but he also loathes Michael Moore, Harry Reid, and Al Gore. Any negative stories about his Liberal Bugaboos will invariably end up on the page, then on talk radio, etc.
Oh, and one more thing. Despite the fact that numerous reputable publications have outed him repeatedly over the years as a (rather inept) gay man, Drudge not only continues to deny it, he hands his links over to the most virulent bigots the Republican party has to offer.
Drudge has tried to expand his empire several times--writing a book, starting a Fox News show, hosting a Sunday night call-in show on Clear Channel radio--but none of them took. The book was quickly forgotten and the low rated TV show ended when even Roger Ailes drew an ethical line in the sand. The radio show remains, but no one listens. So why does all of this other stuff fail while the web site is a record-breaking money printing machine? The other stuff has one thing the web site doesn't--Matt Drudge.
You need to see this guy. He fancies himself a modern day Walter Winchell--right down to the snap-brim fedora with the press card tucked into the side. He's got a voice like a sarcastic chihuahua and face of a small-town copier salesman. In other words, he is unpleasant to look at or listen to. To see him on television is to know in your soul that this is a man you would not like.
SO. What do we do about Matt Drudge? He is the fountain from which Republican lies spring to life. He is a juggernaut. How do you make a man like this go away?
I don't have a plan. I'm asking sincerely. How?
Drudge, you probably know, is the proprietor of the Drudge Report (find it yourself), the number one news site on the internet. Actually, it's not a news site so much as a constantly updating page of headlines from around the world--some slightly editorialized with that right-wing Drudge flair. To wit:
Dailykos Conventioneers Wear Tinfoil Hats!
Congressman: Democratic Majority Means More Money for District; 'I'm going to earmark the s**t out of it'...
(Please note the complete lack of context.)
It's an incredibly valuable site. If anything important happens, it's up there first. He can even lead the networks because he has no editorial oversight--so while the other guys are doing quaint errands like (for example) checking their facts, Drudge has a headline up with a police siren telling you to Stay Tuned! Since he's not tied to any one source, he can post numerous views of a breaking story instantly. It was a brilliant idea and he's a millionaire many times over for having had it.
He also has an enormous amount of control over the discourse in this country. Matt Drudge is the first site that hundreds of thousands of computers log onto every day. Many of those computers belong to talk radio show producers.
If you listen to a full day of AM talk radio, you get a full sense of Matt Drudge's influence. Not just the occasional story, but every story, goes directly from Drudge to the radio. And I'm not just talking about the news of the day that would automatically make the news. I'm talking about a small-town press story about a school that "bans" patriotic clothing.
So Drudge posts it. It becomes "news" and then goes onto the radio within hours, thereby becoming "fact." The next day, it's a Talking Point on Bill O'Reilly and on page three of the New York Post. Soon, the right-wing harangue machine asks--why isn't this getting coverage in the Mainstream Media? All of this before anyone takes the time to see whether or not the story is, um, true.
Sometimes, Drudge will publish blatant falsities and out-of-context slurs as a Vendetta. He has several--Hillary Clinton is his arch-nemesis, but he also loathes Michael Moore, Harry Reid, and Al Gore. Any negative stories about his Liberal Bugaboos will invariably end up on the page, then on talk radio, etc.
Oh, and one more thing. Despite the fact that numerous reputable publications have outed him repeatedly over the years as a (rather inept) gay man, Drudge not only continues to deny it, he hands his links over to the most virulent bigots the Republican party has to offer.
Drudge has tried to expand his empire several times--writing a book, starting a Fox News show, hosting a Sunday night call-in show on Clear Channel radio--but none of them took. The book was quickly forgotten and the low rated TV show ended when even Roger Ailes drew an ethical line in the sand. The radio show remains, but no one listens. So why does all of this other stuff fail while the web site is a record-breaking money printing machine? The other stuff has one thing the web site doesn't--Matt Drudge.
You need to see this guy. He fancies himself a modern day Walter Winchell--right down to the snap-brim fedora with the press card tucked into the side. He's got a voice like a sarcastic chihuahua and face of a small-town copier salesman. In other words, he is unpleasant to look at or listen to. To see him on television is to know in your soul that this is a man you would not like.
SO. What do we do about Matt Drudge? He is the fountain from which Republican lies spring to life. He is a juggernaut. How do you make a man like this go away?
I don't have a plan. I'm asking sincerely. How?
posted by Matthew at 7:59 AM
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