OP-ED COLUMN
By Stingray
I’ve known news reporter/editor Matt Drudge’s Web site, The Drudge Report, for some time, but these past few weeks, I’ve found myself checking it a few times a day — sometimes more.
You may remember hearing of the site back in 1998, when Newsweek decided not to break the Monica Lewinsky scandal, and this guy banging away on a laptop in his Hollywood apartment changed political history by ignoring sticky details like facts, sources and journalistic responsibility and published the story. (After Drudge’s report, Newsweek published its own version).
Although the site mostly consists of links to mainstream media stories of the day, what makes The Drudge Report popular and equally controversial is Matt Drudge’s lax ethical standard when it comes to standard journalistic principals — and his ability to break big stories by not worrying about those processes and traditions that journalists (and their publics) have relied upon for decades.
The site’s lead story often features salacious rumor, political scandal or corporate secrets culled from internal e-mail messages never meant for the public eye. Drudge’s trademark biting, size 72 font headlines adorn the page with unflattering photos and often a story of only a few sentences.
As you may know, Drudge is in the news this month because he ignored the embargo on Prince Harry’s military service in Afghanistan and broke the story. Despite international mainstream print and broadcast media outlets crying foul, the news was out, and Prince Harry was pulled from the front lines immediately.
Then last week, Drudge posted a photograph of Barack Obama dressed in Somali tribal garb with a headline claiming it was leaked by a member of Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
According to The Telegraph, “Within minutes, the photograph was the talk of Washington newsrooms and New York television studios. BlackBerry messages flew back and forth between reporters and political operatives. The story spread across the worldwide web as bloggers weighed in on a juicy item that was suddenly topping the news agenda.”
Drudge doesn’t care about embargos, deliberate fact checking or waiting until the 11 o’clock broadcast to make and break news. He’s a new breed of journalist, and rightly so, he’s scaring the crap out of the establishment.
I was at a panel on new media ethics this week where veteran journalists from National Public Radio, Associated Press and leading local print and broadcast outlets decried Drudge.
“How will we stop him?” they asked. “Has the public forgone trustworthy journalism for this drivel?”
Yet we, the public, tend to overlook Drudge’s big blunders: Bill Clinton’s illegitimate baby, a CNN reporter’s heckling of GOP senators, John Kerry’s intern scandal, etc.
For better or worse, The Drudge Report has become a valuable, albeit sensational news destination, and until society steps up or Drudge oversteps himself, this is one Web site that’s important to those “in the know.”
Personally, The Drudge Report is my dirty little safe-for-work secret.
Some love TMZ.com, Perez Hilton, ESPN.com or eBay; I’m addicted to Drudge and his gonzo, me-first attitude.
See, I want to be the guy who saw “it” on Drudge first and e-mailed my friends.
Drudge makes me part of the cool kids who know everything first. We may not know much detail or if the news of the day is even true, but we knew it first. I’m part of a new generation who isn’t reading through to the bottom of the inverted pyramid. We want headlines, and we want to know it now and first.
And in today’s 24/7 news cycle, first is king.