The Drudge Effect

[Memekiller]

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2007/10/23/publiceye/entry3398999.shtml



Then there’s the Drudge Report. Also a big deal. Not entirely unseen – it gets loads of hits – but its effect extends far beyond mere eyeballs. Media professionals and political operatives deal with it every day.

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve gotten a call from a TV or radio producer wanting to have me discuss a certain topic, catching me unaware, and have them say “It’s up on Drudge. Check it out.”

[ShortnFiery]

1. Every time you click on Drudge's Link, a Rovarian Hell's Angel Gets Its Wings.

:evilgrin:

[jayschool]

2. Is that a gun in his hand?

Or is he just happy to see me?

[Memekiller]

3. Another choice "anonymous" qoute

And, just as the New York Times article noted that “few are willing to attach their names to any specific statements about Mr. Drudge or descriptions of their strategies in dealing with him, fearing that they might alienate him,” a Washington political writer passed along an e-mail response, on the condition of anonymity:

Drudge has an enormous effect on political media – primarily on the shallower variety, like cable TV and some daily newspapers. To some extent it's just because he (and his helpers) obsessively scan the wires and other media, plus he has a million tipsters, so he's often the first to have some good new story. So people check him a lot because he's often the first to bring something small but important to a larger audience and that's a valid service. But there's also some completely irrational way in which he's driven media coverage—again, especially cable TV—which I really think to some degree has to do with the psychological effect of his big screaming tabloid headlines.

Generally I think it's usually good tabloid fun but he is sometimes the conduit for stupid non-stories and disgusting smears to circulate at a higher level and that's really bad. Although I credit him for his very uncharacteristic decision not to run with the John Edwards "affair" story, maybe he's turning over a new leaf.