drudge blog

 UPDATE: If you’re following this from another link, you’ll notice that this is obviously old news which I reported with all available information at the time, which has since been updated and will continue to be updated when I have more to go on than anonymous “friends”. I think it’s quite clear that I acted in good faith to separate fact from speculation.

For first-time visitors: THIS IS NOT A FAN SITE.  I just happen to have spent roughly three years researching Matt Drudge’s press for a novel, distinguishing his direct quotes from journalistic creative license.  This includes all publicly accessible interviews, his radio show since 2004, among other sources.  It’s my philosophy that the clearest picture of an individual emerges from how he or she chooses to dialogue with the press, and what is volunteered.  Drudge raises many epistemological questions about which I write: What can we really know about the news we consume, and what is the real divide between citizen journalists and mainstream media?

I do not dub him the most powerful journalist in America, and I disagree with him on most  issues. But I’ve found the real person much more interesting than the media golem that has come to life and run out of control.

Original posting:

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 Don’t take my word for it. Keep monitoring the news and patronizing your local stations until it’s clear one way or another.  I’ll make a consicentious effort to set the record straight if this is incorrect.

I don’t report like Matt Drudge, so I do not want to be the one to break news that may be disproven later. But from Google News Alerts have sprung reports that Matt Drudge has ended his contract with Premiere Radio Networks after September 30, and an Ohio market has already announced his slot replacement on its website.  Caveat: It is not known whether he is simply changing syndicates or whether he is giving up radio altogether.  

First facts, then educated speculation:

Matt Drudge has said (specifically in 2005 on Washington Journal) that he travels 30% of the time. At least once, he spent three weeks in London, working throughout the day and going out later.

He has been broadcasting his radio show from home. He has also broadcast from London, L.A., Las Vegas, and New York.  I know he was absent once when he was in Vienna. In any case, his contract obligates him to be accessible each Sunday night. 

At the most, he has perhaps 26 hours a week of help (as of 2005).  He works 10 to 14 hours a day on the site.

A review of Drudge Report Archives shows that the permanent link to his radio stations disappeared sometime between 3:30ish and 8 a.m. on August 26, hours after he was most recently on air. (He had a sub this past Sunday.)  However, keep in mind that switching parent syndicates would still necessitate removing that link.

His absences, while not frequent, are growing closer together.

He has told the press that he likes keeping his life simple.

The August 25 show itself was business as usual. The only thing unusual I noted was that he referred to Hillary as a “squirrelly bitch” (is that permitted by the FCC?)  But there was no acknowledgment of the New York article that revealed lots of personal information sure to upset him (specific home address and island location, info on juvenile record and parents).  He had blown off the L.A. Times article weeks ago..but having done so much extensive research on him over the past three years, it is hard for me, personally, to imagine that given Drudge’s obsession with being watched by public cameras and press alike, that he isn’t seriously angry if not a little disturbed.

So: my educated speculation is this:

Whether good or bad, his fame is hitting another peak. He already has what he wants (freedom and autonomy to do what he wants). What he desires more of is time and privacy. Perhaps even more flexibility. I imagine it would be easier to cut the radio show than make changes elsewhere. Logistical problems in his current home might factor in. He may want to keep an even lower profile. Also, he has talked several times on the show about leaving the country if Hillary or another Democrat is elected (including his most recent broadcast), imagining that he will be taxed heavily. (In fact, he said he moved to Florida to avoid paying state income tax).  If he is serious about that, I can see why he might not want to continue a long-term commitment to a radio syndicate.

So having been involved in this Drudge research project of mine for so long, I am surprised, but not shocked.

Nevertheless, I do hope I’m wrong. That will be a bummer.