By Rego Park
Contributing Weblogger

In my monthlong absence, I didn’t monitor the Drudge Report or Drudge-specific news, so I just now discovered that Matt’s one-and-only ex-assistant rejoined him after what must have been four months (max) at the Huffington Post. As I mentioned here in February, there was a bit of press speculation about why he left and what it would mean for the Drudge Report. Consider that Andrew put in 22 hours each week and Matt, without him, was working 16 hours a day according to press interviews. Even though he’s worked out the whole time-management thing over the past 10 years — and he managed the site alone for at least four years without the kind of money he rakes in now –I’m sure it’s a bit of a relief for him. As for the notion of Breitbart “leaving” Drudge for Arianna, it’s probably a case of apples and oranges if his Huffington Post gig was full-time. (Like I said in a February posting, Arianna is an old friend and former boss, and Breitbart’s politics are similar to Drudge’s.) Anyway, apparently Robin has been back with Batman since early June at the latest.

Hmm…if Drudge Report seems “bloggy”, maybe we can blame it on Andrew.

By RegoPark
Contributing Web******er

I came home from a month’s vacation to find Lance mad at Drudge. He’s been kind of a bad boy, emulating all the negative aspects of citizen journalism, to the point where Lance broke down and called him a b*****r on DrudgeForum the other day. Now, I did defend Matt’s honor on a purely philosophical level, not that I have a problem with b****rs. In fact, both Lance and I are two of those. If you really want to know, I’m doing a little b***ing as I write this, so, you know, whatever Matt Drudge is or does is okay with me. Just don’t let’s use that dirty word he doesn’t like.

You’ll notice that recent and upcoming blog entries are giving Drudge a bit of a flailing. You only flog the ones you love, and Matt will feel our love all through the last hot weeks of summer as we examine the good, the bad, and the ugly ramifications of all things Drudge. Even that long (and long-promised) essay debunking ugly rumors about him won’t spare justifiable criticism… nor inspire an e-mailed marriage proposal from our favorite Internet muckraker.

There’s no pattern in this tide. Lance and I aren’t turning on the Drudge Report, just getting around to examining every nook and cranny of Drudge-related issues. This is DrudgeBlog.com…not DrudgeTushKissers.com…and Matt’s man enough to handle anything coming from us. Before we kiss and make nice with him, though, we need for him to step into the back room, unbuckle his belt, and put his hands against the wall nice and slow.

Don’t worry, Matt. This won’t hurt us a bit.

By RegoPark
Contributing Blogger

DAY 1: My request for a hand inspection of my film is readily granted at Nashville International Airport. (Security is required by U.S. law to grant it; I have no rights or luck anywhere in Europe.) One of six disposable cameras, undeveloped and never before used, mysteriously sets off the alarm and a passport and Russian visa isn’t adequate ID; I have to give the guards my home address. The big guys in rubber gloves give me two options: break the camera apart or run it through the X-ray. I choose the latter. (The cameras go through hand inspection in Cincinnati, JFK and Norfolk without incident.)

DAY 2: St. Petersburg, Russia. My passport, visa and migration card are temporarily surrendered at the hotel for registry with the police. To get rubles, my passport number is fed into Mother Russia’s database at the neighborhood currency exchange. Orientation assistants at my 2-week literary seminar warn us to have copies of official papers on our person at all times; cops can stop you and inspect them for any reason.

FIRST WEEK: Not exactly thinking about anything Drudge out in fabulous St. Pete. Two members of our group are seen laughing lightheartedly on Nevsky Prospekt (the city’s main artery and tourist central) at 3 a.m. outside a club. Not appearing horribly Russian. Cops frisk and interrogate them until it’s clear these foreigners are neither drunk nor rich enough to bribe them.

SECOND WEEK: I spend America’s Independence Day reading poetry at a smoky club in St. Petersburg. Outside a joint like this, a fellow workshop member has his backpack seized by policemen who decide it looks suspicious. The bag contains his cellphone, airline tickets and everything else. Anyone overstaying a Russian visa can be prevented from leaving the country until a fine is paid. I’m not sure how this situation got resolved.

LAST DAY IN RUSSIA: Pulkovo Airport screens baggage twice: upon entering the airport and at departure gates. That’s as organized as they get. The currency exchange office is closed for “technical reasons” and the authorities tell me I must either return to the city or spend the dough at the airport. It’s illegal to take Russian currency out of the country. With little time to spare, I fill up on mineral water and buy lots of calendars and postcards, leaving all my extra kopecks with an annoyed shop clerk.

OVERNIGHT AT HEATHROW: A few days after the subway bombings, I nix plans to spend a few hours in the city and snooze on a bench with other “independent” travelers as robo-bobbies make their early morning rounds sporting flak jackets and nifty green A-Ks. After the usual security checkpoint, passengers are patted down at the departure gate and all carry-on bags are hand-inspected.

Apparently, a 2-month seat reservation and 2-hour-early check-in isn’t enought to keep American Airlines from switching my seat on me. Nor is the “seating assistant” fazed by my claustrophobia and my concern that I could have a panic attack in the air. In these days of air rage, why would any airline want to risk that? What if my 5-seat row on the Airbus is more than my phobia can handle? What if the flight attendants freak when they see me getting nervous? I’m ready to get in touch with my inner bitch.

But instead of screaming at them, I think of what Drudge would do…and do the opposite. I spend the most torturous flight I have ever endured, taking every moment possible to tie up the airplane toilet (more elbow room). The only person suffering more than I is the fat Hasidic guy next to me, struggling in the child-sized economy seat rubbing next to a strange woman in shorts. In deference to my seatmate, I cover my knees with my jacket and scoot to the opposite side of my seat so I’ll bump into the other guy instead.

At what point would good old Drudge lose it? When would the absence of American-style civil libs be more for him to bear?

LAST NIGHT: Matt Drudge waxes poetic on the “spiritual shift” that’s been moving right since 9-11. “In the randomness of your daily life,” he asks callers, “do you think it’s right (to be asked at random to have your backpack searched)?”

A newsflash flares up mid-show: Someone chucks a backpack at an Amtrak ticket agent in New York’s Penn Station, claiming it has a bomb. The place is cleared out.

“If you’re searched,” Matt holds out, “your guilt is assumed and you have to work backward…We’re a civilization that doesn’t quite trust our citizens. You don’t know who somebody is anymore. Maybe it would help if you could be sure the people around you were citizens.”

Part of me agrees with Matt, wants him as my libertarian angel as I travel. Part of me is damned glad he’s not my travel partner.

There’s still time to pose questions for our new DrudgeBlog FAQ! Post below for anything you want to know about Matt Drudge, the Drudge Report, or DrudgeBlog itself.

By RegoPark
St. Petersburg, Russia Correspondent

Actually I’ve just returned home from a mostly Drudge-less month away, but I did access Drudge in time to catch that New York’s ABC affiliate is announcing an open call for camera or video documentation of news items (think “Rodney King beating”). Here on DrudgeBlog, I try to emphasize what Matt Drudge himself admits — anybody can report the news and should be cognisant of their own abilities to share important information with the rest of the world. Drudge’s own reputation for sleaze — whether accurate or misguided — as slowed down this progress, but there’s an incredible untapped potential for unfiltered news that is worth exploiting despite the drawbacks.

Matt was at his annoying worst last Sunday night with Much Ado About Nothing –speculating about Wicca in Harry Potter, indulging stupid callers while interrupting others who were about to make interesting points, and insinuating there’s something wrong with adults reading children’s books in public places. (Hey, Matt, I read you, don’t I? And I was a philosophy and English major. Except I don’t give my real name here. ) But he was right about The Weather Channel skimping on windstorm coverage to show ratings-attracting specials. If a hurricane comes my way, yes, I’ll go to Drudge Report first and be my own meterologist, as he says. Citizen journalism at its productive best. And Drudge at his best. Leave the children’s lit and comparative religion to me, hon. You do the weather.

RegoPark is a pseudonym for a writer with a background in communications. She has just returned from a fellowship in St. Petersburg, Russia. She is working on a novel about PR and the alternative media.

Yes, the world may be ending…Drudge style!

Someone kick on the A/C and hand me that bug spray…

It’s one of those days where Matt Drudge is showing some right-leaning partisanship in his headlines.

‘NON-PARTISAN’ WILSON: ROVE MUST GO

The Drudge Report is so much better when it just “follows the stink” and reports the breaking news. Matt, leave the partisan stuff to Fox and MSNBC…

By RegoPark
St. Petersburg, Russia Correspondent

I’m planning a special Q&A DrudgeBlog posting to answer questions about all things Drudge — including Matt Drudge himself, his career, the Drudge Report, Drudge Radio, as well as queries about DrudgeBlog itself.

Keep in mind that I don’t deal in gossip — and I’m pickier than Matt about the information I disseminate. I don’t pat myself on the back as a self-crowned Drudge expert here, but in the course of doing research on something else, I’ve accumulated an extensive archives of his press coverage, some show transcripts, and other “raw” materials. It’s possible I am the foremost authority out there — I don’t know. I do believe, however, that I am in a better position than most journalists to put it all in the correct context. And that includes dispelling rumors, misunderstandings, and commonly agreed-upon misinformation about the guy behind the Drudge Report.

Post any questions you might have below. I’ll post the complete Q & A toward the end of July.

RegoPark is a pseudonym for a writer with a background in communications. She is currently on a fellowship in St. Petersburg, Russia finishing a novel about PR and the alternative media.

A stormy tropical season is upon us. Count on the Drudge Report for the most over-the-top coverage…

By RegoPark
St. Petersburg, Russia Correspondent

I’ve always felt that part of the misunderstanding about Matt Drudge is a PR problem. He does his own. I hope so, anyway. If he is paying some publicist, that idiot needs to get canned right away.

It never ceases to amaze me how celebrities with the best defense attorneys are represented in the media by well-paid boneheads. There’s Russell Crowe’s hench-dork, who blamed the victim when Russell hurled a phone at a hotel concierge, stating that he “never touched” the guy (who required stitches). There’s Power Girl Lizzie Grubman, who lied on-camera to a press contact on her short-lived reality show (”Relationships are important,” she says). And this was the month of gushy Jacko spokeswoman Raymone Bain, who takes five minutes to disseminate 30 seconds of vague information. So it’s not so bad that Matt Drudge doesn’t have his own publicist. If you can shoot yourself in the foot, why hire a hit man?

“Okay, smartass,” you Drudge Blog/Drudge Forum readers out there may ask. “You’re always talk about PR and about Matt Drudge, what would you do if he hired you?”

Actually, he might do okay on his own…and having done all the research I have on him, I get the feeling he’d be a great friend but a pain to work for. So here’s my open PR advice for Matt Drudge:

Pay someone to give you tough love. Either hire a publicist or marry an intelligent person who’ll kick your tush. A PR professional is not your buddy; this is not a time to hire a friend of yours. Matt Drudge needs someone to muzzle him when his mouth gets diarrhea, make him calm down and think before posting an enemy’s home phone number on his website, and massage his back and neck before getting yet another stupid photo taken.

If you can’t pitch a story discreetly, outsource someone else.Repeatedly asking the New York Times “Why aren’t you writing about me?” is not a very good way to generate coverage. Neither is telling the Miami New Times that you did it.

Check your press coverage daily to weekly. This is actually something Matt does via Lexis-Nexis, but this also needs to be supplemented by Google searches and monitoring rogue sites like Drudge Retort. If I were Matt, I’d get an account on Drudge Forum under an assumed name and keep an eye on DrudgeBlog. I’m not just talking about badmouthing here. The Internet is a breeding ground for slander that can wreak havoc but not be traced to their source.

Screen interview requests. Matt’s recent online “Q&A” interview with Arizona Republic was a good idea for two reasons: he lacked time to choose his words carefully, and the raw interview footage prevented him from being taken out of context.

I would also advise Matt to really think twice about some of the appearances he has done. He tends to do really well on C-SPAN, where he is relaxed and fielding intelligent questions, but tends to make an ass of himself on Hannity & Colmes when he shifts into that “I’m a hot shot expert” mode. I would not have allowed him to grant an interview on a trivial topic like Chris Rock doing the Oscars. One advantage of a publicist is that he or she will screen out bogus interviewers. Ever watch Pat Buchanan, Andy Rooney or Sam Donaldson on HBO’s “Da Ali G Show”? Luckily for Matt, but unluckily for us, the comedian Sacha Baron Cohen never thought to set him up.

Make sure your clothes match. A fedora does not go with a tux. Nor does it go with a sports shirt. Or a “peasant chic” necklace. This is where that tush-kicking sidekick might come in handy.

Record every interview. Especially given the rash of gay questions Matt’s been getting. Drudge tends to look like a buffoon because his ‘tude and the ‘tude of his interviewers feed off one another. If the “interpretation of an interpretation” doesn’t make him look good in the press, he can always post the interview transcript or an audio upload on the Drudge Report. He can even scoop the story before its release if the journalist is really obnoxious. And if I were Matt, I’d never allow reporters into my home — they’ll read something into everything they see.

Finally, have a crisis communications plan. Oh, yeah, you might need that tushkicker for that, too. Basically it means being aware of any liability you carry — both skeletons in your closet and the potential for something going really, really wrong if a story turns out to be less than accurate. In this case, strap on a muzzle and call your publicist in the morning.

RegoPark is a pseudonym for a writer with a background in PR. She is currently on a writing fellowship in St. Petersburg, Russia.