传播学经典导读教材-9 Drudge Report.docVIP

9 Drudge Report Marcia Layton Turner Up until January 17 , 1998 , Matt Drudge and his Web site , www﹒com , a political news and gossip source , were far from famous . Oh , there was a core of loyal subscribers , tipsters , and media insiders who turned to Drudge for daily news snippets about entertainment and political personalities , but the Drudge Report had by no means been recognized by the main-stream media or the public－until January 17 , that is . January 17 is the fateful day that the Drudge Report decided , with the click of a button , to release a story online accusing President Clinton of having had an affair with a white house intern －Monica Lewinsky . In doing so , the Drudge Report became the most celebrated news medium of the moment , beating every other known news channel , station , and publication to the punch . Yes , several were preparing to release the story , including Newsweek, which was holding off until key pieces of information could be verified and fact-checked . But none did until days later . It was actually Newsweek that ultimately decided to proceed with the story , on January 21 , with the help of AOL .Waiting until the next print edition of the magazine hit newsstands the following Monday to corroborate Drudge would mean potentially losing out as the first traditional media outlet to break the news . The fact that Drudge was aware of Newsweek’s hesitancy and was willing to take the chance of releasing false information says a lot about the Drudge Report’s founder and reporter , Matt Drudge . What has happened since January 17 , 1998 , says a lot about the power of the media and the Internet . Matt Drudge , founder of that “ daily electronic rumor bulletin board ”, the Drudge Report , was born in 1967 and raised in Tacoma Park , Maryland , a middleclass suburb of Washington , D.C. It was here that his early fascination with current events began . An only child to working parents －his father was a social worker and his mother was a l