I've
got the urge to write a hit piece.
The urge to place my cross-hairs on some unsuspecting individual
and let loose with accusations and conjecture and really let him
have it. To write something so inherently mean and nasty that
even my most loyal readers would tell me I've stepped over the
line. I wanna dig my meat hooks into someone and twist them
clockwise and squeal with laughter as I do it.
Good morning, Matt Drudge.
I have been waiting for the official unseating of Matt Drudge
for some time now. Thinking that some young enterprising sort
would come along and could sniff out a story quicker and whip
Matt's butt up and down the bandwidth. Someone with a
better web design and better writing skills who would make
Drudge seem like a primitive dolt whose 15 minutes were over 2
years ago.
No one has risen to the challenge.
If one takes a peek at Matt's web page, it varies little from
its original form. The Drudge Report logo is still in large
black Arial font and he still runs that silly little police
siren whenever he feels a story is really big. He still limits
his stories to around 8-15 links and he essentially has the same
Internet links as when he first started (with a few notable
omissions).
Just about every word on his web page is capitalized. Really big
stories get a series of capital Xs both in front of and in back
of the headline. His headlines vary from political scandal to
television ratings to freak animal mutations. The man is all
over the road with what he decides is 'Big News'.
My background in marketing tells me that he is destined to fail
at some point. He violates several rules of successful
enterprise. He doesn't serve a niche. He doesn't provide a whole
lot of original material (mainly just links to stories he finds
interesting). He doesn't sacrifice certain types of news items
for the sake of concentrating on more important news. He doesn't
alter his design, nor change his style to fit with the times or
current trends. He runs only one advertisement at a time on his web page. This is a formula for failure, if not bankruptcy, for
most web sites.
So
why is he still around? Why does his site continue to grow and
get new visitors? Why does a man with very little training and
marginal writing skills continue to be the breath on the back of
the neck of anyone in power? This is not Bob Woodward we are
talking about, this is Matt Drudge. A man with a funny name in a
funny hat. When is he gonna fall flat on his face?
Not soon it seems.
Matt Drudge is an enigma. He is a man that lets very little get
in the way of a story. Somehow, this man can smell out a story
better then the Broadcast and Cable news companies combined and
have it to his readers as it is developing.
Does he sometimes get things wrong? Of course he does, but no
more so then the rest of the media. I'll tell you what, I can
find more factual errors and misleading statements in your
average AP story then I can find in several of Drudge's own
stories. The man is good at what he does.
While his writing style and web page design leaves something to
be desired, it certainly has an indelible charm. Drudge will
probably never win a Pulitzer for his writing (I should talk).
He will never earn the respect of his peers in the mainstream
media. I think he revels in the idea that he is a permanent
outsider.
There is something comforting in the way he presents his work.
When I read the Drudge Report, I picture him writing from a
studio apartment with two telephones and a desperate need for a
cleaning woman. Just an average guy with a little too much time
on his hands and a few good numbers on a Rolodex. With the
fedora on and possibly a half dozen cans of Diet Coke stacked up
against the wall. He is Joe Everyman in my mind.
For a long time, I thought his style was a planned shtick. A
barely original style that he used as a novice and
continued using as a gimmick. I thought this until I received an
email from Matt.
I sent him a story I thought he would find interesting. He
replied that he already was on the case and his email was, you
guessed it, in all caps with a lot of Xs all over the place.
This is Matt. I wouldn't be surprised if as a child he would
give out Birthday cards that said:
XXXXXX BIRTHDAY WISHES FORTHCOMING.....DEVELOPING XXXXXXX
I really want to dislike Matt. I want to say to him, "
Dude, you were once cool but now you've sold out." I can't
do it. There have been a few times where I have raised an
eyebrow to what news he was pushing, but when it comes down to
it, he gets the stories that people want to read. As long as he
churns out the stuff that people talk about, you cannot say he
sold out. You really can't say anything, except "where does
he find this stuff?"
I am a news junkie and my 6-7 visits to his site per day feed my
addiction. He is my pusher and everyone knows that you can't
hate your pusher. Somewhere, deep down, I want to see that
picture of a two headed mule. I want to know that Survivor 2
pulled a 32 share. I want to know who is giving the President a
hum-job. Matt gives me the news I want before I want it,
regardless if he packages it with enough Xs to make the Las
Vegas strip jealous.
It bears repeating: This man is good at what he does.
Sorry folks, no hit piece here today.
Have
you joined
Cynic in the request for White Folk Reparations yet?
|
Shop PUSA
Drudge Manifesto
by Matt Drudge
At Any Cost: How Al Gore Tried to
Steal the Election
by Bill Sammon
Spin
Cycle: Inside the Clinton Propaganda Machine
by Howard Kurtz
DVD's Under $10 at buy.com!
Cigar.com
Bitter Legacy
by Christopher Ruddy & Carl Limbacher
Scan your PC for viruses now!
Magazine of the Month
The Burden of Bad Ideas
by Heather Mac Donald
Leather -
Sale (30 to 50% off)
Shop for Your Princess at DisneyStore.com 
Search
the Web for:
Death Penalty
Ronald
Reagan
Middle
East
MP3
Web Music
George
W. Bush
Saddam Hussein
Online Gambling
Auto Loans
Free Online Games
NFL
Nascar
Britney Spears
|
