drudge blog

In the month since the news first leaked about Matt Drudge’s decision to end his popular radio broadcast, the silence on both the Drudge Report and the show itself is deafening. No direct comment has been offered to the press, excluding a public comment box posting from an indeterminate source. We’re down to the wires, kids, and there’s no telling what old Mattness is going to pull over the airwaves at 10 Eastern. Anything…I repeat, anything…is possible.

He could break his silence up front and announce/admit that this will be the last broadcast. Or, he could wait till the final hour, after the final station break..or (and I will not put it past him) he might actually go the entire three hours without even making a peep goodbye, leaving some listeners to find out after the fact.

He could break some unexpected news about himself…retirement, career move, engagement, parenthood, health issue, lawsuit.  Or, he may offer no comment on his decision to hang it up. (Or, he’ll restrict it to one “I Know When to Retire, Unlike Rather and Cronkite” monologue.)

He could get mushy. (One of his favorite quotes is “I’m a sucker for a cheap cry” – a sentiment he’s test-driven in at least one public 1998 speech and “teared up” when he hit the “Enter” key on the Monica Lewinsky post. Or, he could be a rock and an island and steel himself till the end.

He could be generous with callers…or he could go wait till the final half of the show to take them, if at all. Maybe tell them how boring or stupid he really thinks they are.

He could focus on making the best show possible…or he could go out with a ramble and a whimper. Maybe throw in an FCC violation or two.

He could turn the swan song into a retrospective…or he could be strictly business as usual and produce the exact same kind of show he’s always done.

He could have something up his sleeve…or he could be too damned tired to care.

Nothing he can say or do tomorrow night can possibly shock me. Nothing he can say can be expected, either. Except this: Drudge is going to do what Drudge is going to do. And that involves enjoying himself enjoying news.

RegoPark is a freelance writer with a background in marketing communications who has recently completed a media novel. She can be reached at regopark@arcticmail.com .
 

Despite the fun some people have had speculating about Matt Drudge’s retirement from radio, I can think of (and have shared) enough compelling-but-boring reasons why ten years might be a mighty good time to call it a life. At the time I announced the possibility on this space this month, it was still unclear whether Drudge was only leaving the Premiere Radio syndicate or whether he was leaving the industry altogether.  I’m not especially wild about sowing the seeds of gossip, especially when my words will be taken out of context by journalists and readers with less than stellar reading comprehension (which, indeed, they were.) For what it’s worth, let me throw this out before moving along:

If the news of a radio host’s departure is newsworthy enough to report and speculate about, should a journalist:

(a) Seek further information from the syndicate (length of contract, termination clause, date of tendered resignation)

(b) Interview sources in the radio industry for pertinent industry information, radio contracts or other commentary that might offer legitimate clues,

(c) Scour available information on the radio host (other obligations, the tone and nature of recent broadcasts, any significant changes in work, life or job performance)

(d) Scour the grapevine?

Obviously, blogs and mainstream gossip columns aren’t written like term papers. They aren’t written for posterity or the historical record.

You might guess that I’m a real backseat driver when it comes to journalism, and a consummate legalist at that. I don’t go for hooded tribunals or kangaroo court, and if hearsay doesn’t have a place in the U.S. justice system, it won’t occupy one in my mind. To me, anonymous sources mean jack shit. I am not interested in anyone’s imaginary friends. Creative writing has its place…and is no more legitimate a presence in a news story than it would be in a legal brief or scientific abstract.  I also have yet to be sold on the philosophy that “gossip is the glue that holds society together and shows that we all care about one another.”

But I do believe that the media is a court of sorts, and everyone is theoretically entitled to due process. That Matt Drudge is a less than reliable news source himself doesn’t mean that there shouldn’t be fair and accurate reporting about him as well.

I can say this about anyone or any news subject. Drudge just happens to be one of my research subjects. That’s all.

While I could be wrong, I have doubts that the “Matt Drudge” commenter in Jeff Bercovici’s Portfolio column is the real McCoy. The documented e-mails and online interviews show Matt’s type in all-caps with shoddy spelling and punctuation.  It’s more the exception than the rule for reporters never to hear from Drudge, who’s received daily e-mails in the thousands since the late 90s. One Miami New Times reporter, who was granted a 2001 interview, waited weeks for a response.

Why would Matt Drudge, who has not even acknowledged he is leaving radio (let alone commenting on the reasons), promptly post a response in a public comment box?  It’s withing the realm of possibility but outside the realm of probability.

The Top Ten Unsexy Likelihoods Why Drudge is Leaving Radio

1. He’s done it ten years and has always expressed disdain for old fogeys like Walter Cronkite who don’t know when to hang it up.

2. He works 10-14 hours a day even without the show.

3. He travels 30% of the time and has to either broadcast from a studio in a major city, secure appropriate equipment, or arrange for a substitute every Sunday night.

4. Either Drudge or his syndicate wants to make changes in the contract that aren’t amenable to the other…and it seems like a good time for an amicable departure.

5. As he told Miami New Times: “The callers are boring.”

6. He may be serious about his radio rantings that he’ll leave the country if a tax-and-spend Democrat enters the White House.

7. His social or personal life is changing and something has to go.

8. He has to reduce his stress, even if the issue isn’t being forced right now.

9.  Lowering his profile would be kinda-sorta nice, even if he isn’t ready for an icehouse in Minnesota.

10. He’s focusing on what he really has a passion for, doing it as long as he can.

RegoPark is a freelance writer with a background in marketing communications. She has recently completed a novel on the relationship between PR and new media. She can be reached at regopark@arcticmail.com .

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My observation of Matt Drudge thus far is that he knows publicity but not public relations.  The news of him leaving the radio show has been around for a week, perhaps despite a news embargo (it leaked when his replacement on a local outlet expedited a press release). The news has now been picked up on Page Six and still no acknowledgment on the Drudge Report nor last Sunday’s radio show.

If he wanted to deflect further attention from the media — which he’s been eluding for awhile now — his best course of action would have been to post an announcement on the site as soon as the news leaked (if not before) and acknowledge it on last week’s radio show to diffuse the time bomb. Keeping an open line of communication with publics doesn’t necessarily mean baring one’s soul, but it can save lots of headaches. Unfortunately this is probably the last way to get the results he really wants…which, from all he’s alluded, is to be left alone to work on his site.

So the reason I’m following this with fascination is probably different from most of you. Why he’s leaving the radio show isn’t nearly as interesting as how he’s choosing to communicate the fact…the strategy or non-strategy he’s working right now. What raises my whiskers is not a public figure’s personal life, but how he or she chooses to interact with the media. One thing I’ll miss about the radio show is the raw, unedited monologue. As a PR person, I understand the intrinsic value of a sound bite. Yet the news consumer in me feels that quantity IS quality.

In any case, I can’t say it’s not getting interesting…Meanwhile, his rant last Sunday pretty much reflects what I’ve understood before (but expressed more humorously…check out the 10:00 segment on Drudge Radio Archives for the September 9th show)…

Enough already! Oh! And that’s just a snippet. I mean, that’s just a snippet. (Laughing) What is…Okay, one guy, sitting in front of a computer, with a WiFi connection. And all of this? Come on, give me a break. Snap out of it, guys!  I mean, obviously there’s not enough news to report, so…you know, I guess they’re reporting on me. Obviously you know, a, a country of 300 million people is not fascinating enough and they’re, they’re, you know concentrating on little old me, sitting here with this mouse and this keyboard and this monitor…Come on! Not all that!  The mania! The mania. Now that was from the, uh, Fox News media show. So I — are they trying to get me back on television, is that was it is, are they trying to seduce me, “The most powerful man in the world!” “The most powerful man in journalism, Matt Drudge!” (Chuckles) Come on! All right, yeah, the website’s interesting, I agree; I give it my all, all right! Cool! Fun! Welcome, jump in! But all of this? I mean, this is just – this is a little – this is a little much, guys!

(Replaying clip) “…terms that is what?”“Convergence of gossip and trivia with politics…”