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Drudge Report

Type of business	Private
Type of site	News & Blogging
Available in	English
Founded	1994
Headquarters	Miami, FL, USA
Owner	Matt Drudge
Founder(s)	Matt Drudge
Key people	Matt Drudge, Andrew Breitbart
Revenue	$800,000 (2003) $8,000,000 (2009 estimate)
Employees	2
URL	www.drudgereport.com
Advertising	Yes
Registration	No
Launched	1994
Current status	Active

The Drudge Report is a news aggregation website run by conservative Matt Drudge. The site consists mainly of links to stories from the U.S. and international mainstream media about politics, entertainment, and current events as well as links to many columnists. Occasionally, Drudge authors news stories himself based on tips. The Report originated around 1994 as a weekly subscriber-based email dispatch. It was most famous for being the first news source to break the Monica Lewinsky scandal to the public after Newsweek decided not to publish the story. Encyclopedia Britannica and the Financial Times have said the site was widely viewed as conservative.

Origins

The Drudge Report started out as a gossip column focusing on Hollywood and Washington, D.C. Matt Drudge began publishing the email-based newsletter called Report from an apartment in Hollywood, California, using his connections with industry and media insiders to break stories sometimes before they hit the mainstream media. Drudge maintains the website from his home in Miami Beach, Florida, with help from Andrew Breitbart, who assists in story selection and headline writing. Breitbart, who describes himself as "Matt Drudge’s bitch", works the afternoon shift at the Drudge Report, as well as running his own website (breitbart.com) and another website providing a conservative support system for people in the Los Angeles entertainment industry.

Drudge, who began his website in 1997 as a supplement to his email newsletter, first received national attention in 1996 when he broke the news that Jack Kemp would be Republican Bob Dole's running mate in the 1996 presidential election. In 1998, Drudge again made national waves when he broke the news that Newsweek magazine had information on an inappropriate relationship between "a White House intern" and President Bill Clinton (the Monica Lewinsky scandal), but was withholding publication. After Drudge's report, Newsweek published the story.

Content

The Drudge Report site consists mainly of selected hyperlinks to news websites all over the world. These linked stories are almost always hosted on the external websites of mainstream media outlets. The rest of the site contains links to media outlets and a number of columnists. The site sometimes includes stories written by Drudge himself — usually two to three paragraphs in length. These stories generally first publish a rumor concerning a story that is about to be published in a major magazine or newspaper. Drudge also occasionally publishes Nielsen, Arbitron, or BookScan ratings, internal email messages, or early election exit polls that are otherwise not made available to the public.

Design

The website is simple and retro by modern standards of web design, consisting of a banner headline and a number of other selected headlines in three columns in teletype (monospaced) font. The vast majority of these link to an outside source, usually the online edition of a newspaper, which actually hosts the story. When no such source is available, either because the story is 'developing' with little known details at the moment or is an exclusive scoop, a special page is created on the Drudge Report servers which contain text and possibly images.

There are different importance levels a story could appear as on the site, the rating of which relies on Matt Drudge's editorial discretion. The Drudge Report almost always holds one major story above the logo, usually just one sentence hyper linked to the most important story of the day. 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. It is rare to see the Drudge Report without an 'above the fold' story. The standard story, either the headline or links below the logo, are written in black. A major development is often written in red, after a time these can be downgraded to plain black. A handful of stories appear in red each week. The highest of alert levels is fully capitalized red text with a siren logo. This is reserved for only the most important of news and are accordingly rare.

Although the site initially featured very few images, it is now usually illustrated with five or six photographs. Generally the images, like the linked headlines, are hotlinked from other news agencies' servers. Drudge does occasionally use some images, usually those he personally edits or are leaked to him, that are hosted on his own server.

Conservatism

Matt Drudge has said that he is a conservative. The Drudge Report website is generally regarded as conservative in tone, and is often referred to in the media as "a conservative news aggregator". More recently Richard Siklos, an editor of Fortune magazine, called the Drudge Report a "conservative bullhorn", the Los Angeles Times labelled Drudge a "well-known conservative warrior", and the New York Times referred to him as a "conservative muckraker".

In response to the Drudge Report's conservatism, a parody site called Drudge Retort was founded in 1998 as "a send-up of Mr. Drudge's breathless style".

In 2005, two political scientists published a study on media bias that placed the Drudge Report "left of center". The study was criticised as flawed by critics, including Professor Mark Liberman and liberal media watchdogs. The authors stated that although "conventional wisdom" asserts that the Drudge Report is "relatively conservative", if the site is assessed purely in terms of the political leanings of the media sources to which it links, and if the reports written by Drudge himself and all other aspects of the Drudge Report are ignored (such as story selection and headline phrasing), then the site is "centrist". The authors placed Drudge Report in a dead heat with Fox News in the race for most centrist outlet.

Influence

According to Mark Halperin, "Drudge's coverage affects the media's political coverage", effectively steering the media's political coverage towards what Halperin calls "the most salacious aspects of American politics." In The Way To Win, a book written by Halperin and John Harris, Drudge is called "the Walter Cronkite of his era." Democratic Party strategist Chris Lehane says "phones start ringing" whenever Drudge breaks a story, and Mark McKinnon, a former media advisor to George W. Bush, says he checks the site 30–40 times per day. Matt Drudge has been criticized by other media news personalities: Bill O'Reilly twice called Drudge a "threat to democracy" in response to Drudge disclosing his book sales figures, and Keith Olbermann referred to Drudge as "an idiot with a modem".

Drudge (and his website) was labelled one of the "Top 10 anti-Barack Obama conservatives" by the US editor of The Daily Telegraph in February 2009.

In addition to the media influence, Drudge Report also has influenced design elements on other sites. Some with opposing view points and some who use the same format of listing news.

Traffic statistics

Nielsen NetRatings reports approximately 3 million visitors per month, with visitors spending an average of 66 minutes on the site, with as many as one thousand advertisers at one time. In September 2008, the site's traffic had fallen to 2 million.

Alexa Internet estimates that traffic (expressed as the percentage of all Internet users) to the Drudge Report website has diminished from a typical rate of 0.6% in the election season of late 2003 to 0.2% in early 2008 (a 66% drop), and down further to a weekly average of 0.15% by early 2009.

According to the online advertising company linked to his site, the Drudge Report audience is 78 percent male, 60 percent Republican, and 8 percent Democrat.

In October, 2006, Washington Post editor Leonard Downie, Jr. stated that amongst bloggers, their "largest driver of traffic is Matt Drudge."

In March, 2008, the Newspaper Association of America listed The Drudge Report as having a readership of about 3.5 million with up to 19 visits per person per day. This exceptionally high revisit number is influenced by the use of an autorefresh script that logs a new visit for each visitor every three minutes the visitor spends at the site.

Archives

Archives of older reports are often difficult to find. A number of reports from 1995 to early 1997 are available in the Usenet archive provided by Google Groups. A more extensive archive of the website is provided by Drudge Report Archives, which has archives since mid-November 2001 and says it takes and stores snapshots of the Drudge Report homepage every two minutes.

Views on global warming

Drudge is a global warming skeptic, as seen in his highlighting of winter cold snaps and freak snowstorms in warm places.

On February 25, 2007, Drudge stated during his radio broadcast that global warming is "faux science" and that "the greening of our population, the falling for the science ... is making me nervous."

Dr Heidi Cullen of The Weather Channel was attacked by the Drudge Report after publishing an essay about how reticent some broadcast meteorologists are about reporting on climate change and saying that global warming is largely due to the burning of fossil fuels.

The Drudge Report highlighted the views of TV weatherman John Coleman, a global warming skeptic and "hero to global-warming naysayers". His exposure on the Drudge Report led to an interview on conservative CNN commentator Glenn Beck's TV show.

Notable stories

Monica Lewinsky scandal

The Drudge Report attained prominence when it was the first to report what came to be known as the Lewinsky scandal. Drudge published the story on January 17, 1998, after Newsweek reportedly turned down the story.

Swift Boat Veterans for Truth

During 2004 U.S. presidential campaign, the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth group made derogatory claims about John Kerry's war record, which were pushed hard by Drudge and then investigated by major newspapers and TV networks. Due to these claims, the term "swiftboating" has become a common expression for a campaign attacking opponents by questioning their credibility and patriotism. The term is most often used with the pejorative meaning of a smear campaign.

Obama photo

Drudge caused controversy by publishing a photo of Barack Obama in Somali tribal dress on February 25, 2008, and reported that the photo had been sent to him by a Clinton campaign staffer, but Drudge did not produce the email. The publication of the photograph resulted in a brief war of words between the Clinton and Obama campaign organizations.

Prince Harry in Afghanistan

On February 28, 2008 Drudge published an article noting that Prince Harry of Wales, third in line to the British throne and a Second Lieutenant in the Blues and Royals Regiment of the Household Cavalry of the British Army, was serving with his regiment in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Prince Harry was ten weeks into a front-line deployment in Afghanistan that was subject to a voluntary news blackout by the UK press. The blackout was designed to protect Prince Harry and the men serving with him from being specifically targeted by the Taliban.

An Australian weekly women’s magazine New Idea broke the story in January, but it was not followed up at the time. New Idea editors claimed ignorance of any news blackout. Then a German newspaper, the Berliner Kurier, published a short piece on February 28, 2008, also before Drudge. Despite these prior publications of the news, Drudge subsequently claimed the report as an exclusive. Chief of the General Staff Sir Richard Dannatt, professional head of the British Army, said: "I am very disappointed that foreign websites have decided to run this story without consulting us". As a result of this disclosure the Prince's tour of duty was prematurely ended, since his unit was likely to be targeted by large scale suicide attacks intended to kill the Prince. In the Have Your Say section of the BBC website, BBC viewers were highly critical of the Drudge Report's decision to leak the news.

Controversial stories, errors and questions about sourcing

Sidney Blumenthal lawsuit

In 1997, the Drudge Report reported that incoming White House assistant Sidney Blumenthal beat his wife and was covering it up. Drudge retracted the story the next day and apologized, saying he was given bad information, but Blumenthal filed a $30 million libel lawsuit against Drudge. After four years, Blumenthal dropped his lawsuit. Blumenthal said the suit had cost him tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees. He agreed to pay $2,500 to Drudge's Los Angeles attorney for travel costs, claiming that Drudge was "backed by unlimited funds from political supporters who use a tax-exempt foundation." The Individual Rights Foundation, led by conservative activist David Horowitz, paid Drudge's legal fees in the Blumenthal lawsuit. A federal judge noted in the judgment that Drudge "is not a reporter, a journalist, or a newsgatherer. He is, as he admits himself, simply a purveyor of gossip."

John Kerry's alleged intern scandal

During the 2004 Presidential campaign, Drudge ran a story quoting General Wesley Clark, where Clark claimed that the John Kerry campaign would implode over an intern affair. Drudge reported that other news outlets were investigating the alleged affair. He removed it from the site shortly thereafter when the other news outlets dropped the investigations.

Bill Clinton's alleged illegitimate child

In 1999, the Drudge Report announced that it had viewed a videotape which was the basis of a Star Magazine and Hard Copy story. Under the headline, "Woman Names Bill Clinton Father Of Son In Shocking Video Confession", Drudge reported a videotaped "confession" by a former prostitute who claimed that her son was fathered by Bill Clinton. The Report stated, "To accuse the most powerful man in the world of being the father of her son is either the hoax of a lifetime, or a personal turmoil that needs resolution. Only two people may know that answer tonight." The claim turned out to be a hoax.

CNN reporter's alleged heckling of GOP senators

On April 1 2007 Drudge cited an unnamed "official" source saying that CNN reporter Michael Ware had "heckled" Republican Senators McCain and Graham during a live press conference. Drudge reported that:

An official at the press conference called Ware's conduct "outrageous," saying, "here you have two United States Senators in Bagdad giving first-hand reports while Ware is laughing and mocking their comments. I've never witnessed such disrespect. This guy is an activist not a reporter."

— 8px, in The Drudge Report, Matthew Drudge, 8px

Ware disputed Drudge's report on CNN April 2 2007, saying that the story was leaked "by an unnamed official of some kind to a blog", that the story was anonymous, and that no one was willing to put their name to it; he advised people to view the tape. Video hosted by Rawstory shows that Ware did not make a sound nor ask any question during the press conference. The Drudge Report did not retract or apologize for the story. Drudge's report was echoed in The Washington Times, which carried opinion questioning Ware's trustworthiness, and in many conservative blogs, some of which called for Ware's resignation.

Oprah and Sarah Palin

On September 5, 2008 the Drudge Report reported that Oprah staffers were "sharply divided on the merits of booking Sarah Palin." He said that he obtained the information from an anonymous source. Winfrey responded in a written statement to news outlets that: "The item in today’s Drudge Report is categorically untrue. There has been absolutely no discussion about having Sarah Palin on my show. At the beginning of this presidential campaign when I decided that I was going to take my first public stance in support of a candidate, I made the decision not to use my show as a platform for any of the candidates." Drudge was accused of planting a false story for political ends by some commentators.

Ashley Todd scandal

On October 23, 2008, Drudge published an unconfirmed exclusive story regarding Ashley Todd, the 20-year old employee 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. Drudge reported the story without a link but as 'developing', titling the headline "SHOCK: McCAIN VOLUNTEER ATTACKED AND MUTILATED IN PITTSBURGH - "B" carved into 20 yr old Woman's Face". The story set off a "storm of media attention", being quickly picked up by many conservative bloggers and right-wing talk radio show hosts, all citing the Drudge Report as their source. It was also reported in newspapers and TV both in the US and around the world. The story was confirmed to be a hoax perpetrated by Todd and spread to reporters by McCain's Pennsylvania Communications Director.

Drudge printed a retraction of the story the next day, including links to the news stories detailing that the attack had been a hoax and that Ashley Todd had performed a similar 'attack' on herself while working for the Ron Paul campaign.

References

1. Keighley, Geoff (2003-04-01). "The Secrets of Drudge Inc. How to set up a round-the-clock news site on a shoestring, bring in $3,500 a day, and still have time to lounge on the beach". CNNMoney.com. Retrieved 2006-10-01.
2. "The Twenty Five Most Valuable Blogs - 247 Wall Street". 247wallst.com. Retrieved 2009-03-04. ...operating income should be $8 million.
3. ^ Sokol, Brett (2001-06-28). "The Drudge Retort". Miami New Times. Retrieved 2006-11-01. I am a conservative. Cite error: The named reference "miaminewtimes" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
4. Landesman, Cosmo (2005-04-17). "The World is his Laptop". Times Online. Retrieved 2006-10-28. "I'm a conservative and want to pay less taxes. And I did vote Republican at the last election.
5. "Advocates for Self-Government - Libertarian Education". www.theadvocates.org. Retrieved 2009-03-03. Drudge also admits to being a conservative .... he described himself as a "pro-life conservative who doesn't want the government to tax me." In the same magazine, he acknowledged that he was a registered Republican.
6. "Scandalous scoop breaks online" (html). BBC News. 1998-01-25. Retrieved 2007-06-23.
7. "The Huffington Post (Web site) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2009-03-03. ...the Drudge Report, a news and commentary Web site that was widely viewed as conservative.
8. ^ "Will a funny thing happen on the way to Washington?". Edward Luce. The Financial Times. Retrieved 2008-10-29. ...the conservative Drudge Report...
9. ^ "Huffington Post and Politico Lead Wave of Explosive Growth at Independent Political Blogs and News Sites this Election Season". comScore. Retrieved 2008-10-28.
10. ^ "BLUMENTHAL vs DRUDGE" (html). Retrieved 2006-12-18. Cite error: The named reference "gossip" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
11. ^ Sappell, Joel (2007-08-04). "Hot links served up daily". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2007-08-04.
12. "Lists: What's Your Source for That? Where Andrew Breitbart gets his information". ReasonOnline.com. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
13. "Andrew Breitbart: Drudge's Human Face". Gawker.com. Retrieved 2008-09-10.
14. "Hollywood Infidel". Observer.com. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
15. Drudge, Matt (1998-01-17). "Newsweek Kills Story On White House Intern". The Drudge Report. Retrieved 2006-10-05. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
16. Johnson, Glen (1998-01-23). "Newsweek got, held scoop on Clinton story". AP/Denver Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved 2007-04-05.
17. Fineman, Howard (1998-02-02). "Sex, Lies and the President". Newsweek. Retrieved 2007-04-05. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
18. "McCain labels Obama 'the redistributor'". Stephen Dinan. The Washington Times. Retrieved 2008-10-29. ..the conservative Drudge Report...
19. "MoveOn.org Targets AP's Fournier for Alleged Pro-McCain Bias". Editor and Publisher (pay site, article is available elsewhere online). Retrieved 2008-09-10. ...the Drudge Report ....and numerous other conservative sites
20. "Drudge Retort Considers Lawsuit Against AP". MediaPost NY. Retrieved 2008-12-09. ...the conservative Drudge Report
21. "A weekly look at what's getting the most looks online". The Topeka Capital-Journal. Retrieved 2008-12-09. ...the Drudge Report, a popular conservative Web site.
22. "Bill Clinton tells Rush Limbaugh: 'You're tan, fit, look good'". Rawstory.com. Retrieved 2008-12-09. Limbaugh spoke about how the conservative Drudge Report first reported...
23. "Liberal media's voice grows stronger". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2009-03-07. ...conservative news aggregator The Drudge Report...
24. Richard Siklos. "The Web 2.0-defying logic of Drudge". CNN. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
25. Wallsten, Peter. "New political era? Same as the old one - Los Angeles Times". www.latimes.com. Retrieved 2009-02-07. ...well-known conservative warriors such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Matt Drudge...
26. "The Associated Press to Set Guidelines for Using Its Articles in Blogs - NYTimes.com". www.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2009-02-21. Drudge Report, run by the conservative muckraker Matt Drudge
27. "Pen With Meaning". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
28. "Drudge Retort's Retort To AP: Personal Issue Resolved But 'Larger Conflict' Remains". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
29. "NEWS WATCH; From the Drudge Report To the Drudge Retort". New York Times. 1998. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
30. Liberman, Mark (2005-12-23). "Multiplying ideologies considered harmful". Language Log. Retrieved 2006-11-06.
31. Liberman, Mark (2005-12-22). "Linguistics, politics, mathematics". Language Log. Retrieved 2006-11-06.
32. "Flawed UCLA-led study on medias liberal bias". www.spinwatch.org.uk. Retrieved 2009-03-07.
33. Tim Groseclose and Jeffrey Milyo (2005). "A Measure Of Media Bias" (pdf). Quarterly Journal of Economics. Retrieved 2009-03-07.
34. "All Major U.S. Media Lean Left Except Fox News and Washington Times, UCLA Study Finds". www.lifesitenews.com. Retrieved 2009-03-07. ...Fox News' "Special Report With Brit Hume" and the Drudge Report - were in a statistical dead heat in the race for the most centrist news outlet...
35. ^ "Drudge Report Sets Tone for National Political Coverage". ABC News. 2006-10-01. Retrieved 2006-10-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
36. Halpernin, Mark (2006). The Way To Win. Random House. ISBN 1-4000-6447-3. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
37. Drudge, Matt (2003-12-18). "Host Unhinged After Sales Figures Revealed; Calls DRUDGE 'Threat To Democracy'". Drudge Report. Retrieved 2007-03-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
38. Kurtz, Howard (1998-09-15). "MSNBC Pundit Rises With Clinton Crises". Washington Post. pp. E1. Retrieved 2006-10-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
39. "Top 10 anti-Barack Obama conservatives :: Toby Harnden". blogs.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-03-03. Drudge's deft selection of links helps build a conservative case against Obama every day.
40. "Drudge Retort" (html). 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-24.
41. "Jrudge Report" (html). 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-24.
42. "Nielsen: Drudge Report Leads Top 30 in Sessions per Person". Newspaper Association of America. Retrieved 2008-09-10.
43. ^ "Alexa "The Drudge Report" Traffic Graph" (html). Alexa. 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
44. Philip Weiss (2007). "Watching Matt Drudge" (html). New York Magazine. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
45. "'Wash Post' Editor Downie: Everyone in Our Newsroom Wants to Be a Blogger". Editor and Publisher. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
46. "Nielsen Online Names Top 30 News Sites". Newspaper Association of America. 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
47. These numbers also ignore the 3-minute auto-refresh that Drudge activates on his page. "Drudge (refresh) loads 800,000,000 pages (refresh) in October '08". www.thestandard.com. Retrieved 2009-03-03. {{cite web}}: Text "The Industry Standard" ignored (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
48. "Drudge Report Archives". Drudgereportarchives.com. Retrieved 2006-10-05.
49. Joel Connelly (2007). "Deniers of global warming harm us" (html). Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
50. "The Drudge Report: clever headlines, and eye for the news jugular - Americas, World - The Independent". www.independent.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-03-03. Matt Drudge is ... a sceptic of global warming (a cold snap anywhere in the world is guaranteed coverage)
51. "California Chronicle". www.californiachronicle.com. Retrieved 2009-03-03. Matt Drudge is another huge skeptic, and typically ridicules global warming on The Drudge Report. Whenever significant reports are released, (like the IPCC or Stern), he makes sure to give prominent placement to stories showing record cold or frost, or links to renegade scientists and their discredited theories. He is also quick to slam Gore or UN officials as hypocrites for their air travel. I've come to the conclusion over the years that while Drudge is entertaining, and he many times gets the scoop, and I can't resist reading his site--he's just a couple of tiny clicks to the left of arch-conservative demagogues like Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter. {{cite web}}: Text "Global Warming is the Shadow of Civilization--The Denial is Over" ignored (help)
52. Oscars Podcast by Matt Drudge, includes comments on Global Warming
53. "Drudge Radio Archives" (html/mp3). 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
54. "Into the Limelight, and the Politics of Global Warming - New York Times". www.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2009-03-03. The next thing I knew, I was being denounced on the Web sites of ... Matt Drudge
55. "SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Metro -- KUSI's Coleman a climate lightning rod". www.signonsandiego.com. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
56. "Newsweek Kills Story on White House Intern", Drudge Report, January 17, 1998
57. "The Swift Boating of Cindy Sheehan" Editorial by Frank Rich, August 21, 2005 New York Times
58. "Al Jazeera English - Americas - Obama plays down photo row". english.aljazeera.net. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
59. "Clinton Staffers Circulate 'Dressed' Obama", Drudge Report, February 27, 2008
60. "Barack Obama tribal photo 'sent to Drudge Report by Hillary Clinton staff'", Telegraph, February 27, 2008
61. ""News black-out"". BBC News. 2008-02-29. Retrieved 2008-03-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |publisher= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
62. ""New Idea defends claims it endangered Prince Harry"". Daily telegraph (Australia). 2008-02-29. Retrieved 2008-02-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |publisher= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
63. "New Idea pleads ignorance on Harry embargo". ABC Australia News. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
64. "Frontline Harry a well-kept secret". The West Australian. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
65. "Harry leak disappoints army chief". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
66. "Army prepares to evacuate Harry after news blackout fails", The Guardian, February 29, 2008
67. "BBC NEWS | Have Your Say | Should Harry be allowed on the front line again?". BBC News. 2008-02-28. Retrieved 2008-03-02. Nothing but contempt for the people who have leaked this story./Recommended by 607 people
68. "Blumenthal Pays $2,500 To Settle Drudge Suit". Wall Street Journal. 2001-05-04. p. B.8. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
69. Kurtz, Howard (2001-05-02). "Clinton Aide Settles Libel Suit Against Matt Drudge -- at a Cost". Washington Post. pp. C01. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
70. Drudge, Matt (2001-05-01). "May Day: Lawsuit Against Drudge Dropped; Blumenthal Pays Cash To Get Out!". Drudge Report. Retrieved 2006-12-15.
71. Tim McDonald (2001). "Online Matt Drudge Libel Suit Comes to 'Wimpy Conclusion'" (html). Newsfactor.com. Retrieved 2007-07-30.
72. Polier, Alexandra (2004-06-07). "John Kerry intern scandal - Alexandra Polier's account". New York Magazine. Retrieved 2004-06-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
73. Special Reports Personal Collection. Drudge Report Archives. Retrieved on 2007-04-02
74. Drudge, Matt (April 2 2007). "McCain heckled by CNN reporter". Drudge Report. Retrieved 2007-04-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
75. ^ "CNN's Ware flatly denies report that he "heckled" McCain, but right-wing media flog it anyway". Media Matters for America. April 2 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
76. "CNN reporter slams Drudge's charge that he 'heckled' McCain; Exclusive video confirms his claim". Rawstory. April 2 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
77. CNN's Ware fires back at Drudge report about 'heckling', USA Today April 2, 2007
78. "UPDATE: CNN's Ware flatly denies report that he "heckled" McCain, but right-wing media flog it anyway" (html). Media Matters. 2007-04-02. Retrieved 2007-08-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
79. "FOXNews.com - Oprah Denies Report She's Balking at Having Palin on Show - Celebrity Gossip". www.foxnews.com. Retrieved 2009-02-20. {{cite web}}: Text "Arts And Entertainment" ignored (help); Text "Entertainment News" ignored (help)
80. "US election: Storm as Oprah says no to Palin interview". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-02-20. Some experts believe the issue, initially reported on Drudge ... was a media ploy to drag Winfrey's backing of Obama into the election and show a media bias against the Republicans {{cite web}}: Text "The Observer" ignored (help); Text "World news" ignored (help)
81. ^ "McCain volunteer admits to hoax". www.post-gazette.com. Retrieved 2009-03-03. One photo appeared on The Drudge Report on Thursday, setting off a storm of media attention.
82. Meg White. "Ashley Todd, PA Racist Hoax "Victim," Was Paid Organizer for College Republican National Committee, Not a Volunteer". BuzzFlash.com. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
83. "SHOCK: McCAIN VOLUNTEER ATTACKED AND MUTILATED IN PITTSBURGH - "B" carved into 20 yr old Woman's Face". Retrieved 2008-10-23.
84. "'Countdown with Keith Olbermann' for Friday October 24, 2008 - Countdown with Keith Olbermann- msnbc.com". www.msnbc.msn.com. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
85. "McCain volunteer made up robbery story". Retrieved 2008-10-24.
86. "McCain Campaign Pushed Now-Discredited Attack Story/publisher=TPM". 2008-10-24.

External links

• Drudge Report The Official Drudge Report Website
• Drudge Report Archives (since Nov. 2001)
• Drudge Tracker - The top Drudge Report headlines of the past 2 weeks
• Archives of the Drudge Report at The Internet Archive (less comprehensive than DrudgeReportArchives.com, but dates back to Dec. 1998)
• Drudge Radio Archives & Podcast - MP3 archive and podcast of Matt Drudge's Sunday evening radio show
• Early history of the Drudge Report
• Drudge Report RSS Feed
• Matt Drudge articles at Media Matters for America
• Linking news sites, Matt Drudge creates an Internet success, by Richard Pachter, The Miami Herald, September 1, 2003
• The Secrets of Drudge Inc By Geoff Keighley
• Blumenthal v. Drudge Opinion by Judge Paul Friedman

• News websites
• Lewinsky scandal
• Alternative journalism
• Conservative websites