Lana Deist ENGL 315 Journalism Practicum II Dr. Alden 16 December 1999 Matt Drudge: New Media Disciple or Tabloid Opportunist? With the rise of the Internet, news organizations have looked toward new technologies to further expose readers to the news. From special interest email newsletters to large news group web sites, the face of media has changed in the last ten years. However, many of the web sites and newsletters are merely thought of as supplemental means of distribution of information by corporate news. With the rise of Internet journalism, one man has lead the way in changing the face of ‘new media’ and found himself at the forefront of controversy. He has been called a maverick, an opportunist, a gossipmonger and many other names that are unsuitable to print. But despite the name calling, this man is undeniably a force that can not be ignored in modern journalism. His name is Matt Drudge. Drudge, 32, has the reputation of being he man journalists and libel lawyers, “love to hate” (Laurence, The Daily Telegraph , 08/19/98). Drudge’s beginnings are the stuff that news legends of old are made. In 1996, Drudge was living the life of the stereotypical Generation X-er – folding T-shirts in the souvenir shop at CBS Studio City in Hollywood, California. A high school drop out, Drudge was heading nowhere fast. He grew up the only child of a middle-class couple in the suburbs of Washington DC. As a boy, nobody gave him a second glance: he stuttered mildly, avoided sport and failed utterly in class. He had very few friends, and no girlfriends. At night, he would fall asleep with the radio playing; a habit he thinks may have given him his obsession with minute-by-minute news. Upon a visit by his father, Drudge picked up his first computer at a Circuit City store on Sunset Boulevard. Drudge commented on his beginnings to the National Press Club: “‘Come on," he said desperately, "I'm getting you a computer." Oh, yes, and what am I going to do with that, I laughed. And as they say at CBS studios, cut two months later. Having found a way to post things on the Internet -- it was a quick learn; Internet news groups were very good to me early on -- I moved on to scoops from the sound stages -- I had heard Jerry Seinfeld asking for $1 million an episode -- to scoop after scoop of political things I had heard from some friends back here. I collected a few e-mail addresses of interest. People had suggested I start a mailing list. So I collected the e-mails and set up a list called the Drudge Report. One reader turned into five, then turned into 100.” So, with his love of news and the help of a computer, Drudge has become a force. Drudge first became noticeable to journalists when his web site, known as the Drudge Report, scooped the mainstream media by announcing the death of the Princes Diana seven minutes before CNN. Then, on January 14, 1998, Drudge broadcast the news of President Clinton's escapades with intern Monica Lewinsky. For the first time, a pioneer of new media had beaten established news organizations to the stories of the year. Drudge learned early in his journalistic self-education that speed was the key to making the news and a name for yourself (Peyton, Minneapolis Star Tribune 2/05/98). He reported on CBS firing of Connie Chung as well as Bob Dole’s selection of Jack Kemp as his running mate. In July 1997, Drudge got his big break when his Report was added to the America Online service list. The man who let America be in the know was headed for trouble. On August 10, 1998, Drudge reported that Sidney Blumenthal, an aide of President Clinton's, had "a spousal abuse past that has been effectively covered up," but tried to balance the report by citing an unnamed White House source calling it "pure fiction." Drudge's report, which was based on information from an undisclosed source, adds up to a falsehood - there is no known evidence that Blumenthal ever engaged in anything like domestic violence with regard to Jacqueline Jordan Blumenthal. Blumenthal read the Drudge item on the evening it was released (Godwin Reason 2/01/98). Drudge retracted his claim, apologized and told reporters that he had been used "to broadcast dirty laundry. That wasn’t enough to get him out of trouble. Blumenthal sued Drudge and AOL for $30 million. However, U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman dropped the defamation lawsuit in 1998 ( Editor & Publisher , 4/25/98. p.49). With the lawsuit over, Drudge went back to work in earnest but the controversy remains. The pundits have referred to Drudge as the “Walter Winchell” of modern news, complaining that his tactics and methods of cyberjournalism hurt the news industry rather than innovate it. His critics complain that Drudge’s reporting is political gossip and not to be recognized. Veteran political reporter Jules Witcover saw it differently. Writing in the Columbia Journalism Review, he argued that the Lewinsky story "surfaced in the wildly irresponsible Internet site of Matt Drudge, a reckless trader in rumor and gossip who makes no pretense of checking on the accuracy of what he reports." (Haring , USA Today 8/14/97). Minus all the inflamed rhetoric, Internet-news consumers need to know how to define the hundreds of Web sites that, like the Drudge Report, combine gossip or opinion on the one hand with hyperlinks to traditional wire services or newspapers on the other. How much of the material is original rather than taken from other sources? Is there a way to separate traditional reporters from amateurs who spend evenings tapping away in garages without the benefit of editors or fact checking? (Lissit The World & I , 10/1/98). Drudge is, in a way, more of a new-media publisher than a reporter, for what he does is take stories from "sources", often other journalists, and publish them at lightning speed. "I've been called a muck-raker, but also the most powerful journalist in America," he says. "That is because I am just seconds from publishing, without having to ask anyone, and with no money (Laurence, The Daily Telegraph 8/19/98). Forbes media critic Terry Eastland says Drudge's mix of gossip and rumor is a ``new phenomenon'' that raises serious questions. ``Here we have someone who says he's not a journalist, so he doesn't want to be held to those standards. It's not wise to say he has credibility -- as least as we understand (journalistic credibility) to be.'' Drudge however sees it differently ( Peyton Minneapolis Star Tribune 2/5/98). "It (the Drudge Report) just happened," he explains. "I discovered these guys. Winchell never minded pissing people off, particularly the deceivers. I'm not political. I'll be giving the next president my undivided attention, too." Drudge claims that his report is merely a throwback to the birth of the mainstream media. Drudge’s philosophy is that computer communications have restored us to the pre-industrial age, when a brave man could raise his voice and be heard, he says. To many of his supporters, he invokes the memory of Thomas Paine, the English rebel who came to America before independence and helped shape its democracy. Paine' s weapon of choice was the printed pamphlet ( Peyton Minneapolis Star Tribune 2/5/98). "I'm Thomas Paine - he's the model," says Drudge. "We are nailing pamphlets to a tree, on a world scale. In the future, the media will come down to each man and his conscience. The Internet era will be like the early days of the pamphleteers." ( Peyton Minneapolis Star Tribune 2/5/98). Drudge dismisses his critics. ``To me, you don't get a license to report,'' Drudge says. ``I think that's a faulty theory that's built up in the last half of the century. Anyone can report anything. You don't have to work for ABC.'' When most journalists would pull back from controversy, Drudge steps even further into the spotlight. Drudge admits mistakes, but says careerists and corporate influence are ruining journalism far more than he is. ``I don't give a damn what the bureau chief's going to think,'' he says. ``I don't have one.'' But Matt Drudge has more in his corner than his own ego. Many readers, journalist, politicians and everyday people, stand up for Drudge and his work. James Glassman, of the American Enterprise Institute, wrote after Drudge's speech, "Let a thousand Matt Drudges bloom, and let readers make up their own minds," traditional journalists reacted strongly. (Lissit The World & I , 10/1/98). Michael Kinsley, editor of the on-line publication Slate (www.slate.com) told the Los Angeles Times that Drudge's "has done for the Internet what the Gulf War did for CNN, and what the Kennedy assassination did for television in general." As a student of journalism, Matt Drudge represents to me a man who has taken opportunity and fulfilled his American dream. The Internet is the fastest growing industry and news groups must keep up with the times in order to keep their business. As a person who plans on entering the workforce, web skills are important to finding a job. But in my opinion, a cyber journalist must adhere to the ethics and teachings of traditional journalism. Without ethics, fact checking and integrity to the facts of the story are superior to scooping your competitors. Modern journalism is a business where in order to keep your job you must keep your readers. However, to ignore the teachings of traditional journalism in order to get the story no only degrades the validity of the story, but turns the public against the news. Matt Drudge represents a new frontier in journalism. The Report allows one person to deliver news, however sensational, to the public without having a business bottom line allows journalists to be freer to do their jobs. There is no editor to answer to, no dependency on labor to physically produce your product and ultimately the ability to have unlimited distribution through the web site and email. It is community journalism on a world scale. Works Cited “ISP’s not held liable for content.” Editor & Publisher , 4/25/98. p.49. Godwin, Mike. “The Drudge Retort.” Reason . 02/01/98. Haring, Bruce. “Matt Drudge's maverick journalism jars Internet.” USA Today . 08/14/97. Laurence, Charles. “Is no one safe from Matt Drudge? The scandal-monger who unearthed Monica Lewinsky is an obsessive recluse - with a TV show.” The Daily Telegraph . 08/19/98. Lissit, Robert. “Internet News: Cybergold or Cybersludge?” The World & I . 10/01/98. Peyton, Dave. ”Drudge Report author again finds himself in the news.” Minneapolis Star Tribune . 02/05/98. Washington Transcript Service . “Matt Drudge Delivers Remarks at the National Press Club.” 06/02/98. Note: All sources recovered from www.elibrary.com