The Drudge Report has been around for 10 years, but it was relatively obscure until Matt Drudge broke the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal in 1998. Howard Kurtz wrote about it today in the Washington Post:
Starting with an e-mailed newsletter in 1995, when he lived in a one-bedroom Hollywood apartment, Drudge rode his Monica-induced fame to a Fox News Channel show (which he later quit) and a weekly radio show (still on nearly 300 stations). And while his lifestyle has changed (he lives in what he calls a Miami Beach “mansion”), his loner status has not.“I’m in my own little world,” Drudge says. He doesn’t own a cell phone [?], doing his reporting by e-mail and instant messaging. And he deflects questions about his personal life, though he told London’s Sunday Times he’s not gay and once almost got married. “I don’t feel like volunteering anything,” he says. (Question mark added)
Drudge says he doesn’t read blogs, which I find hard to believe. But OK. While he’s not a blogger, his site was definitely a forerunner to the new medium. During Rathergate, I wrote a long post about Drudge. I don’t feel like re-inventing the microchip, so check out Blogging Matt Drudge.
He doesn’t read blogs, but just in case: Happy anniversary, Matt. 
Update: Arianna Huffington has put together a group of 250 “bloggers” (reg. req) to compete with the Drudge Report. One man.
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“…I wrong a long post about Drudge.”
My brain works like that too.
That was a nasty typo. Yuck.
Great post! La Shawn “gets it” as far as the new media is concerned. The Washington Post still is in the dark ages.
How was the Blumenthal suit resolved? Did Blumenthal pay Drudge? I recall that suit ending with total vindication for Drudge, even though Kurtz stopped short of including that part.
I don’t see a “trackback” url for this post.
Put your cursor on “Trackback URL,” right click and select “Properties.” If you’re using Firefox, place your cursor on the same link, and you’ll see the URL in the bar at the bottom of the screen. Or click on the pop-up comment link. Or better yet, just add the word “trackback” to the end of the permalink URL. – Admin
He’s a blogger, just like Lucianne; it’s just that the scale kind of dwarfs Instapundit like Insty dwarfs the rest of us. Links to favorite sites? Check. Links to interesting articles with his take? Check. Occasional original reporting? Check. So how is he not a blogger?
Oh, and Matt broke the Lewinsky affair in early 1998, not 1999.
You’re right. It was January 1998. What was I thinking? – Admin
We should celebrate the anniversary of three dates every year so that we remember the New Media revolution and all that it stands for:
1) July 4, 1988
2) January 17, 1998
3) September 8, 2004
What was July 4, 1988?
I read Drudge daily. I also listen to the weekly radio show from KFI AM 640 out of Los Angeles.
Last night, Drudge was saying that bloggers need to find a word other than “blogger” to describe themselves.
He doesn’t like the word “blog” at all.
Drudge also said that he was going to link Arianna Huffington’s project.
Milo:
July 4, 1988 is the day Rush Limbaugh began his national radio program.
How come whenever the media write about Drudge they always include the tag “he lived in a one-bedroom Hollywood apartment”? Media shorthand for loser?
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