A subscription grants you instant access to members-only opinion pieces, exclusive podcasts, and more! Drudge, and his soon to be famous site Drudge Report, achieved the impossible in 1998 and stunned the world when he broke the news about President Clinton's affair with an intern named Monica . Today we published 3 short Backstory Tweets highlighting why we believe Mr. Drudge is no longer managing the site. The photo was actually that of a group of Syrian children holding toy guns.[123][124][125]. Word is he sold, just waiting for confirmation. Conservative Website Down Because Of Distributed Denial Of Service Attack, Matt Drudge Tweets", "Matt Drudge suggests US government behind cyberattack on 'Drudge Report', "Someone is trying to take down the Drudge Report, and it's a mystery who's behind it", "Exclusive: The chaos behind the scenes of Fox News' now-retracted Seth Rich story", "Las Vegas Massacre Gives InfoWars More Conspiracy Fodder", "Breitbart Made Up False Story That Immigrant Started Deadly Sonoma Wildfires, Sheriff's Office Says", "FACT CHECK: Were Gun-Toting Children Photographed on the United States Border? Citizen Free Press is the New Drudge Report Run by a former Lou Dobbs producer citizenfreepress.com You're getting competition from everywhere, Matt. FiveThirtyEight calculates a pro-Trump lean in Rasmussens polling of five points, meaning that the adjusted number in the new Rasmussen data would be 47/48 not bad at all by Trump standards. Malibu Land For Sale After Fire, Rather than the broad impact posited by professional political observers, Wallsten found that, even on issues where the site should be expected to have its largest impact, the stories highlighted on the Drudge Report exert a fairly inconsistent influence over what traditional media outlets chose to cover. BizPac Review is under attack by progressive Silicon Valley zealots. Coming soon, stay tuned. October 6, 2019 October 4, 2019 by IWB. Its not run by Matt, and never has been. But it has. Most link to an outside source, usually the online edition of a newspaper, which hosts the story. Drudge often had a fun mix of contrarian articles and unusual viewpoints that were hard to find without its help as a curator of articles. 10:29. @TheDailyBail @DRUDGE_REPORT We don't think Matt is there anymore, CFP. In September, Trump again slammed the site . But for everyday Americans, particularly conservative ones, new competitors have slid into the equation, and according to the experts, theyre on their way to taking over. Rasmussen Reports tweeted in response to Citizen Free Press asking the question, We dont think Matt is there anymore, CFP. This is a FAN account, it reads. Is Drudge aware of his competitors? It's like flashing tasty images of popcorn and sodas between frames at movie theaters, only much less subtle. Drudge arguably helped push Trump across the finish line in 2016, driving the media narrative and rallying the troops to get him elected, so no one would blame the president for being a little salty about the turn of events at Drudge. Bongino taunted Drudge with a pair of tweets: Published: December 8, 2019, 1:59 pm The NOQ Report noted over the weekend that the Drudge Report has lost almost a third of its regular visitors since the summer. [35][36] Some had regarded the Drudge Report as conservative in tone,[37][38][39][40][41][42] and it has been referred to in the media as "a conservative news aggregator". However, as verified commentator Mark Dice notes in the tweet above, even the fan who runs the page seems to think Drudge has sold his site. Many people keep asking me about this. On Sunday the Rasmussen Report posted more evidence that Drudge sold the site or is no longer in charge of the content. While thats possible, the site was raking in plenty of cash before the change, with revenue estimates ranging from $9 million a year to $30 million. All Rights Reserved. ", "Matt Drudge Hires Washington Times Columnist Charles Hurt", "Conservative media release old video of Obama in so-called 'explosive' exclusive", "Why This 'Obama Phone' Ad Is Misleading", "A Nation Challenged: The Media; Network Coverage a Target of Fire From Conservatives", "Conservative news mogul Matt Drudge fires back at Trump, says his web traffic is at record levels", "Has Drudge Report lost its clout in the Trump camp? [70] In The Way To Win, a book written by Halperin and John Harris, Drudge is called "the Walter Cronkite of his era". And now, Rasmussen Reports, an arguably reputable polling operation, is calling Drudge out on Twitter, even suggesting that the site has been sold. We have no special knowledge of why The Drudge Report has changed so noticeably. Ninja Foodi 10 In 1 Pressure Cooker Recipes, On Saturday we posted a story about a conservative journalist that was tired of being taken advantage of and decided to start his own alternative to the Drudge Report and Fox News. She was later asked to leave the group because of the hoax. Well, it appears that Matt Drudge may have sold his site. "[122], In June 2018, the Drudge Report displayed a headline and photo pairing that some perceived as a suggestion that migrant children who had been separated from their parents were violent criminals. The news media are going easy on President Joe Biden, according to a majority of voters, who also think the problem of media bias is getting worse. Drudge wrote with a cranky anti-Clinton slant, but his juicy tidbits and old-time tabloid style made his intermittently reliable Drudge Report a must-read in political and media circles. This observation came a week after Rasmussen Reports called attention to a rumor that Matt Drudge had sold his eponymous media behemoth some time ago. It was also reported in newspapers and on television around the world. Hes always struck me as someone who, rather than being a hardened ideologue, enjoys the chaos and volatility of the political process and the power that comes with driving the news cycle. [5] The site was generally regarded as a conservative[6][7][8] publication, though its ownership and political leanings have been questioned following business model changes in mid-to-late 2019. Napolitano Amused at 'Big Sis' Moniker. Rasmussen Reports (@Rasmussen_Poll) December 7, 2019. What Do You Mean Meme Video, [51][52] The study was also criticized by media watchdog Spinwatch for its methodology and its authors' ties to conservative think tanks. The Drudge Report once cycled through 40-50 links in a single five-hour period. pic.twitter.com/AhqFVGnhKb. [citation needed] It remains entirely written in unscripted HTML, with a mostly monochromatic color scheme of black boldface monospaced font text on a plain white background. None have any insights into who Matt Drudge is as a person or what is happening with the clear negative slant the site has taken toward President Donald Trump, a man who was helped into the White House, in no small part, by the coverage of the Drudge Report.. It would not surprise me one bit if he were to turn back to Trump in the lead-up to the 2020 election for the lulz, as the kids say. The entire direct cost to run Drudge Report is about $3 million a year, McIntyre said. We love hearing from our readers and invite you to join us for feedback and great conversation. The Drudge Report consistently competes and beats news sites like CNN, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. Controversial stories, errors and questions about sourcing, Alleged heckling of Republican senators by CNN reporter, Conspiracy theories about the 2017 Las Vegas shooting. [81], The Drudge Report originally attained prominence when it was the first to report what came to be known as the Lewinsky scandal. We will no longer be beholden to them but we need your help. It published the story on January 17, 1998, showing that Newsweek had turned down the story. [56] In 2019, Rasmussen Reports reported that Matt Drudge had sold the site and was no longer involved in its operations, which would also explain the change in editorial direction; however, that reporting was not confirmed. (Make no mistake: the traffic a coveted Drudge link generates can make a websites week or month or year. But over the past several months, the website, named after its infamous and enigmatic founder MATT. Anyone whos been following Drudge for the last 25 years (!) But if you've seen the Drudge Report recently, you know that it has changed dramatically, 180 degrees. For years Matt Drudge has stood tall as Americas number one news aggregator. [66] This coincided with a near 30% decrease in traffic metrics for the Drudge website in the last months of 2019from a 90 day-ago ranking of #637 in global internet engagement as of July to #844 in December. The Drudge Report countered stating that "it served more than 29 million pages Monday without an e-mail complaint about 'pop ups,' or the site serving 'viruses'. [78][79][80] According to online analytics data for April 2010 from the Newspaper Marketing Agency, the Drudge Report was thennow over ten years agothe number one site referrer for all online UK commercial newspaper websites. Theres no sign of it changing, and so the question then becomes for me, why?. (drudgereport.com / Courtesy) Matt Drudge, a . Just search "Drudge" on twitter.) Other stories surrounding the main headline can be found in the upper left-hand side of the page and link to more specific articles dealing with aspects of the headline story. In its early days Drudge maintained the website from his home in Miami Beach, Florida, with help from assistants in story selection and headline writing. "He recently signed on with a Google affiliated company, which purchased Matt Drudge's father's website, RefDesk, as part of the deal. For especially important breaking stories, especially if they are still emerging, Drudge places art of a flashing red light on the screen. Drudges site did, however, contain three stories from The Daily Beast, a far-left site that this year alone has doxxed a Trump supporter for making a meme about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, ran a patently fake news story about the presidents children and joined its left-wing peers in distorting what happenedwhen the president appeared at a UFC fight last month. Drudge is down 40% plus since he became Fake News. Now is the time. If indeed Drudge sold the site this would be the story of the year. The NOQ Report noted over the weekend that the Drudge Report has lost almost a third of its regular visitors since the summer. Superhero Logo Template, We got the hint & automated the process. email: drudge@drudgereport.com. "The Drudge Report is a politically conservative American news aggregation website. Drudge is NOT a conservative site. Conservativism is right, true, correct and need never apologize. [118], The Drudge Report included articles about the debunked Pizzagate conspiracy theory,[119] as well as conspiracy theories about the murder of Seth Rich. And now, Rasmussen Reports, an arguably reputable polling operation, is calling Drudge out on Twitter, even suggesting that the site has been sold. Lost ALL Trumpers. Thank you for donating. On Friday, conservative commentator and former Fox News contributor Dan Bongino announced the release of his new news aggregating website, the Bongino Report. Bongino taunted Drudge with a pair of tweets: He always wanted to know what LIKELY VOTERS think. The bio being changed was either just a slight about the direction the site has taken lately, or result of belief that the site has been sold and is no longer being run by Matt Drudge. Published: December 8, 2019, 1:59 pm A Story Matt Drudge Would Crack: The NOQ Report noted over the weekend that the Drudge Report has lost almost a third of its regular visitors since the summer. There has been absolutely no discussion about having Sarah Palin on my show. Lysiak's explanation before he got cut off was . During the 2004 US presidential campaign, the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth group made claims about John Kerry's war record, which were mentioned by Drudge and investigated by major newspapers and TV networks. The current ownership, strategy and outlook for the Drudge Report is held close as private information. If you talk to conservatives these days, youll hear that Matt Drudges eponymous news aggregation site has gone over to the dark sidethat Matts joined the anti-Trump resistance. [1][57] By 2020, some prominent conservatives including President Donald Trump had concluded that the Drudge Report had abandoned its conservative ideology, with Fox News primetime host Tucker Carlson stating, "Matt Drudge is now firmly a man of the progressive left. DrudgeReport.com is leaning left of late and there may be a good reason for it. He is, as he admits himself, simply a purveyor of gossip. pic.twitter.com/AhqFVGnhKb. The Drudge Report is the most Republican friendly, conservative news outlet in the US. 34% Approve National Divorce, Voters Dont Trust Government on Ohio Train Disaster, Ukraine: 46% See War as Stalemate After a Year, Nikki Haley Leads Biden, But Trails Trump. CFP is an aggregator just like The Drudge Report. Word is he sold, just wa. UPDATE 12/09/2019: Over the weekend Rasmussen put out the word that Matt Drudge may not even be at the Drudge Report anymore, that he sold his business. Reddit Long Hair Care, Your email address will not be published. Where Is The HHS. Alarm grows on right over site's anti-Trump pivot", "Trump Privately Frets 'What's Going on With Drudge?' email: drudge@drudgereport.com. Now that will be a story. Generally the images, like the linked headlines, are hotlinked from the servers of other news agencies. On Sunday the Rasmussen Report posted more evidence that Drudge sold the site or is no longer in charge of the content. While its doubtful any of those sites will be able to have anywhere near the success and influence the Drudge Report has enjoyed, lost readers mean lost revenue, and breaking trust with your faithful readers even if its just for kicks and giggles can backfire big time. During Impeachment, Asks Jared Kushner to 'Look Into It', "Lists: What's Your Source for That? In April 2009, the Associated Press announced that it would be examining the fair use doctrine, used by sites like Google and the Drudge Report to justify the use of AP content without payment. Sources close to Bloomberg campaign tell DRUDGE REPORT that the candidate is considering Hillary as running mate, after their polling found the Bloomberg-Clinton combination would be The Drudge Report consistently competes and beats news sites like CNN, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. As Politico put it, Drudge went "all in on Trump". Coupled with what Rasmussen Reports has claimed, it seems very possible that the answer to Rudells question is that Drudge did indeed sell and that whoevers now running the site aint a conservative. [101], On April 1, 2007, the Drudge Report cited an unnamed "official" source claiming that CNN reporter Michael Ware had "heckled" Republican senators McCain and Graham during a live press conference:[102], An official at the press conference called Ware's conduct "outrageous," saying, "here you have two United States Senators in Baghdad giving first-hand reports while Ware is laughing and mocking their comments. [121], In October 2017, the Drudge Report shared a dubious Breitbart News story claiming that an illegal alien caused the October 2017 Northern California wildfires. Whatever happened one thing is for sure, the Drudge Report has gone in another direction and it doesnt look like Matt Drudge is at the helm. This observation came a week after Rasmussen Reports called attention to a rumor that Matt Drudge had sold his eponymous media behemoth some time ago. For an explanation regarding the question of Drudge Report's political leaning, see: College Republican National Committee (CRNC), October 2017 Northern California wildfires, "Rasmussen on Drudge Report: "We don't think Matt [Drudge] is there anymore. Filed under 2020 presidential election , drudge report , media ink , 10/15/20 Share this article: And now, Rasmussen Reports, an arguably reputable polling operation, is calling Drudge out on Twitter, even suggesting that the site has been sold. This helped his web site traffic hit record high traffic levels. Success! Its been happening for over 100 days straight. That happened, just days after the site changed hands . What Drudge talks about Rush talks about and Hannity and Levin and Bongino and everyone else in the right-leaning media. warned that advertising at the Drudge Report, The New York Times, Yahoo, Google, MySpace and other sites carried malware that could infect computers. [105], On October 23, 2008, the Drudge Report published an unconfirmed exclusive story regarding Ashley Todd, a 20-year-old employee[106][107] of the College Republican National Committee (CRNC) and John McCain volunteer who had allegedly been attacked by a black male for having a McCain sticker on her car in Pittsburgh. "[48] Ben Shapiro wrote, "The American left can't restrict Internet usage or ban talk radio, so it de-legitimizes these news sources. It would also be a major story, as the Drudge Report is a powerful driver of traffic, regularly competing against and beating sites like CNN, the New York Times, and the Washington Post in visits. Here is a sample tweet. Rasmussen on Drudge Report: "We don't think Matt [Drudge] is there anymore. If Matt Drudge sold out youll see one of the most trafficked websites in the world fall like a rock. Word is he sold, just waiting for confirmation. [43] In 2008, Richard Siklos, an editor of Fortune magazine, called the Drudge Report a "conservative bullhorn". Trademark registration for the phrase "Drudge Report" on January 15, 2019, filed on May 15, 2018. pic.twitter.com/E6FGhw4nze, Kirk Smith (@SavingAmerica4U) December 7, 2019. conservative journalist that was tired of being taken advantage of, Mom WRECKS Biden After He Mocked Her WATCH, Dems fume After Historic Election in Blue State. . [54][55] During the impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump of 2019, the Drudge Report began aggregating what CNN Business called "an overwhelming amount of negative news for the Trump White House". Follow her on, Conservative Dan Bongino Launches Alternative to Drudge Gets Boosted by Mark Levin and Devin Nunes, According to a Daily Beast report last month, The FBI Targeted Patriotic Conservatives Exercising Their First Amendment Rights: Theyre All Bleeping Terrorists, Young Man Does His Own Taxes for First Time, Rage and Mirth Ensue. And now, Rasmussen Reports, an arguably reputable polling operation, is calling Drudge out on Twitter, even suggesting that the site has been sold. You could be getting the best stories in your inbox twice a day. Now that will be a story. The past 30 days has been the most eyeballs in Drudge Reports 26-year history. They call Matt Drudge a muckraker and a yellow journalist. Traffic to the site has fallen by more than 45% from the previous year. Last fall, when I included the Drudge Report in my Top Conservative Websites list, the comments section filled up with sentiments like this: While its fair to say that Trump supporters by and large dont have a lot of tolerance for criticism of the president, their complaints about Drudge are not unfounded. South Florida Sun-Sentinel. But a significant change occurred over the summer when the Drudge Report dropped its advertising representative of close to 20 years, Intermarkets, in favor of a new and unknown company Granite Cubed. The very readers who made him a very wealthy man are now turning to other aggregators for their news. According to Comscore data, the Drudge Report had 1.488 million unique visitors in July 2020 the most recent month for . Matt Drudge sold his website, no longer there? Total Approval 1,500 . A Story Matt Drudge Would Crack: We dont think Matt is there anymore, CFP. The Drudge Report one of the most popular news destinations on the web, regularly clocking over a billion page views per month has historically been a conservative-leaning news aggregator . But if you've seen the Drudge Report recently, you know that it has changed dramatically, 180 degrees. Just another reason we miss his visionary media instincts-https://t.co/SYmGBVQiFe pic.twitter.com/xTZOXB3ria. If Matt Drudge sold out youll see one of the most trafficked websites in the world fall like a rock. [70][71] Democratic Party strategist Chris Lehane also said in 2006 "phones start ringing" whenever Drudge breaks a story, and Mark McKinnon, a former media advisor to George W. Bush, said that he checked the site 3040 times per day. visits to drudge 2/21/2021 019,307,264 past 24 hours 693,592,779 past 31 days 10,238,209,816 past year reference desk. Rasmussen on Drudge Report: "We don't think Matt [Drudge] is there anymore. Rasmussen Reports (@Rasmussen_Poll) December 7, 2019. Well, it appears that Matt Drudge may have sold his site. The Drudge Report's influence on media coverage", "Host Unhinged After Sales Figures Revealed; Calls Drudge 'Threat To Democracy', "Drudge Retort's Retort To AP: Personal Issue Resolved But 'Larger Conflict' Remains", "From the Drudge Report To the Drudge Retort", "PaidContent: where UK newspapers get their traffic", "Newsweek Kills Story on White House Intern", "The Drudge Report warms to the Clinton camp, or is it vice versa? 152 Rasmussen Reports @Rasmussen_Poll Replying to @CitizenFreePres and @DRUDGE_REPORT We don't think Matt is there anymore, CFP. "The past 30 days has been the most eyeballs in Drudge Report's 26 year-history," Drudge said in an email to CNN. "[49], A study in 2005 placed the Drudge Report "slightly left of center". Conservative? Millions of other conservatives and Republicans agree. Matt Drudge started his eponymous report in 1995 from this Los Angeles apartment. Plausible, but is it true? [59], Matt Drudge's business entity in Florida is a privately owned limited liability company called Digital, LLC. [26] In March 2010, antivirus company Avast! Sold out, really. be seen! Rasmussen Reports (@Rasmussen_Poll) December 7, 2019. After President Trump today tweeted "he gave up on Drudge", quite a lot of his responses claimed that Matt Drudge sold the Drudge Report and is under a Non-Disclosure Agreement. Rasmussen Reports 20-year track record of accuracy, transparency, independence and our bi-partisan team of pollsters is here to help you get true American public opinion heard. Dan Bongino has the BonginoReport.com (boring so far), there is whatfinger.com, Liberty Daily, Gab Trends, PolitiPage . Backstory: Matt Drudge used to dig out these same 1st term, same-day Presidential approval comparison stats out of our data tables by hand & publish them. [104] Drudge was accused by some commentators of planting a false story for political ends. [22], In 1997, the Drudge Report reported that incoming White House assistant Sidney Blumenthal may have been perpetrating domestic violence. The Drudge Report has been described by Cheryl Woodard, co-founder of PC, Macworld, PC World and Publish magazines, as "a big, haphazard mishmash of links and photos"[29] and by Dan Rahmel as "popular despite a plain appearance". Spoiler Hope is not a plan. Congratulations to @dbongino https://t.co/9eTNfivkpD https://t.co/SuxuA6hUol, Rasmussen Reports (@Rasmussen_Poll) December 7, 2019, Then on Saturday, Citizen Free Press, another conservative news aggregator, announced on Twitter that theyre the new Drudge Report. Rasmussen responded with a bombshell worthy of a great big Drudge siren: We dont think Matt is there anymore, CFP. The whole kerfuffle appears to have begun at the end of November, when the Bongino Report, touted as a Trump-friendly alternative to Drudge, launched. The Liberty Daily is probably my favorite, because it keeps as much of the Drudge Report as possible, but it has an outraged sense of humor which has really grown on me. Matt Drudge and his father, the owners of the Drudge Report, sold the Drudge Report site several months ago. @Rasmussen_Poll We don't think Matt is there anymore, CFP. "[94][95][96] The Individual Rights Foundation, led by conservative activist David Horowitz, paid Drudge's legal fees in the Blumenthal lawsuit. ", "Drudge Report Used Photo Of Children In Syria To Depict U.S. Border Crisis", "The Drudge Report chose a very misleading photo for a child immigration story", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Drudge_Report&oldid=1131862233, Articles with dead external links from February 2019, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2017, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from October 2022, Pages using Sister project links with default search, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 6 January 2023, at 03:10. Screen capture of the website Drudge Report (www.drudgereport.com) on Dec. 18, 2019. Rasmussen Reports, the influential polling company, tweeted Saturday their belief that Matt Drudge has sold and is no longer running the titanic news A change of ownership would explain the websites move away from the right. News, Analysis and Opinion from POLITICO. And what he and his team found at the time appeared to suggest that Drudge may have essentially sold his conservative bona fides for clicks and moola. . [87] The blackout was designed to protect Prince Harry and the men serving with him from being specifically targeted by the Taliban. The whole kerfuffle appears to have begun. Regarding the pollsters tweet, it wasposted in response to Citizen Free Press touting its latest stats. A few months ago the Rasmussen Report posted more evidence that Drudge sold the site or is no longer in charge of the content. The site's design has seen few changes since its debut in 1997. The Drudge Report printed a retraction, including links to the news stories detailing that the attack had been a hoax, and that Todd had performed a similar "attack" on herself while volunteering in a local Ron Paul grassroots group. Rasmussen Reports, the influential polling company, tweeted Saturday their belief that Matt Drudge has sold and is no longer running the titanic news aggregator that bears his name, the Drudge Report. ", However, a video hosted by Rawstory showed that Ware did not make a sound nor ask any question during the press conference. Stories on the site are ascribed different levels of importance, which Matt Drudge rates at his editorial discretion. Word is he sold, just waiting for confirmation. A Story Matt Drudge Would Crack: We have no special knowledge of why The Drudge Report has changed so noticeably. Wishy, washy tweeters need not apply. But in recent years, the site has become more or less indistinguishable from a standard mainline legacy media site. After all, the problem may simply be that he's just getting old and lacking in ideas. The fact that the Drudge Report appears left of center is merely a reflection of the overall bias of the media. Now that will be a story. The Drudge Report originated in 1995 as a weekly subscriber-based email dispatch. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation. [34], Although the site initially featured very few images, it is now usually illustrated with five or six photographs. Some have pointed to the following tweet from a Twitter account named Drudge Report to claim that he is: The Drudge Report is still the king of conservative aggregator websites, but its rivals are gaining ground. Bongino taunted Drudge with a pair of tweets: Tired of Drudge? On Saturday we posted a story about a conservative journalist that was tired of being taken advantage of and decided to start his own alternative to the Drudge Report and Fox News.