This is just going to have to be one of those weeks where I throw up my hands and say that I don’t have time to write what I want. I don’t have time to organize my thoughts, to address each aspect of this topic point-by-point, or pull up my Drudge press library to double-check my sources. But here goes: I’m pretty confident that the notion Matt Drudge is the “most powerful man in America”, the “Walter Cronkite” of our era, or consciously forwarding a right-wing agenda outside of his own native bias…is officially out of hand.
Definitely his influence has been underestimated for awhile and the rumors of his career’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. I’ve said this before: he’s somewhere between an 800 pound gorilla and a bull in a china shop. He can sustain damage whether deliberately or otherwise. But has it occurred to anyone that calling him powerful might be handing him power he didn’t already possess…on a silver platter, no less?
As a lefty liberal, and as a freelancer, I don’t have such a problem with bloggers forming a union. I’ll stop short of consciously working with my colleagues to address the effects of conservative talk radio or the undue influence of Drudge or any other media presence. Quality is what we need in citizen journalism, not quantity of voices. Not power in numbers. Not political one-upmanship, not sinking to the same journalistic level as our perceived opponents, not “military strategy” in an emerging industry.
What’s happening this week, I fear, is that a large section of the blogger world is taking up arms against the wrong target. In their rush to grab a tree branch and join the rest of Birnam Wood in the approach on Drudge Castle (oops, Dunsinane), they’re neglecting the real enemy…themselves.
In my opinion, this gorilla-cum-bull-cum-political albatross can do anything he wants to because his motivations are different from anything his detractors have taken the time to assess. He has told the press for some time that his career as he knows it is finite (Radar 2003, Washington Post 2005, Washington Journal 2005). His interests are essentially more personal than political. That is part of his power: the freedom to do what he loves. There is nothing he values that he fears losing. He’s not Superman; he’s merely kryptonite-resistant.
If you take the time to mobilize at a bloggers’ convention to “fight the power”, form a website as the political opposite (”alternative”) to said power, pontificate on his looming downfall, perpetuate unsubstantiable rumors at him, and level silly personal insults at me in MY comment box… maybe it’s worth your while to take the time to study what motivates Matt Drudge. What REALLY motivates him. Not what the media or political interest groups or your peers have told you motivates him. Don’t go for the jugular first…go for the gestalt. When he is having a rational, non-confrontational interview, what is he really telling them? When you really listen without prejudice, what do you hear?
Unfortunately, most audiences hear what they want. Which is a pity, because with a bit of effort and restraint, you can learn from anyone, even people you violently disagree with.
One could argue that it’s arrogant of any journalist (mainstream or citizen) to expect to influence the opinion of discerning adults who can read and decide for themselves. At the risk of sounding facile, here’s my modest proposal:
If you, Joe Blogger, want to influence the swing voters of 2008, don’t concentrate your collective efforts on Drudge. It’s principle-centeredness, not enemy-centeredness, that will elevate your role in our culture. Be the best citizen journalist you can be. Go where others don’t take the time to go. Be thoughtful in your choice of angles and sources. Be different in a positive way. And if, like Drudge, you don’t have an editor or deadline, make the very best use of that freedom. Your travel on the high road will magnify Drudge’s own weaknesses. Let HIM be the buffoon…not you. Let others play the childish “end justifies the means” game. Don’t band together to consciously create a bogeyman on your own team. Instead of a liberal Drudge, a liberal Limbaugh, or a liberal Coulter, the left needs personalities who earn the respect and admiration of publics on both sides of the political spectrum. If that’s you, you know where to go from here.
RegoPark is a freelance writer with a background in marketing communications who has recently completed a media novel. She can be reached at http://regopark.wordpress.com.
by RegoPark - 12:47 am
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