By RegoPark
St. Petersburg, Russia Correspondent

Like the Yankee mass media, the Russian press doesn’t quite know what to do with or make of Matt Drudge. The concept of total freedom of the press is a bit difficult to grasp in its entire cultural breadth. What I’ve read of Drudge on this chunk of the globe mostly centers around the Blumenthal blunder and the smoking gun leading to the Clinton impeachment. I’d say the Russian press is so distracted by the “journalistic legitimacy” question that it hasn’t explored the full ramifications of non-professionals covering national and international news. It’s a bit hard for them to conceive that someone like Matt Drudge can emerge as viable competition for the attention of the American news consumers.

I wish I knew about libel and slander laws and victims’ recourse here in the Russian Federation. Drudge’s image in Putin country seems somewhere between that of a monkey in the zoo and a worm in the apple of the big bad American mass media. In translating Matt’s Russian press coverage, my favorite description I’ve found is “digitized dandy”. (Wow, it translates into an English alliteration!) Maybe that’s because the only Drudge pic I’ve spotted on a Russian website is that Tootsie moment on the courthouse steps, large chartreuse hat and matching jacket, lavender shirt. I’ve also never seen Matt quoted in a Russian news article, which does impact public opinion.

All this research really got me thinking. While the Drudge Report is a clearinghouse of international press links, media like Jerusalem Post target English-language audiences. What are we missing out on? What if someone took the time to scour non-English news media and post translated versions of the most compelling, up-to-the-minute stories on a website — and online equivalent of World Press? That would require a paid staff and resources beyond Matt Drudge’s one-man operation, but would be an infinitely valuable resource.

Any multilingual entrepreneurs out there?

RegoPark is currently on a fellowship in St. Petersburg, Russia.