Matt Drudge facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Matt Drudge
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Drudge in 1996
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Matthew Nathan Drudge
October 27, 1966 Takoma Park, Maryland, U.S.
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| Occupation | Political commentator, news editor |
| Known for | Reporting political scandals, creating the Drudge Report |
Matthew Nathan Drudge (born October 27, 1966) is an American journalist who created and edits the Drudge Report. The Drudge Report is a popular American news aggregator, which is a website that collects news stories from other sources and displays them in one place. Drudge is also an author and used to host his own radio and television shows.
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Early Life
Matt Drudge grew up in Takoma Park, Maryland, which is close to Washington, D.C. His parents divorced when he was six years old, and he went to live with his mother. As a kid, he didn't have many friends but loved reading the news and listening to radio talk shows. In high school, he was not a top student and graduated 325th in a class of 350 students.
Career
The Drudge Report
Drudge wasn't famous until he started his website, the Drudge Report. Before that, he worked many different jobs. He was a cashier at a 7-Eleven store, a manager at McDonald's, and a sales assistant in a grocery store.
In 1989, he moved to a small apartment in Hollywood, Los Angeles. He got a job in the gift shop at CBS studios. While working there, he heard inside gossip and news, which gave him the idea for his website. In 1994, his father, who was worried about him, bought him a computer. This is when the Drudge Report began as a simple email newsletter sent to a few friends.
At first, the newsletter was mostly about entertainment gossip. But by 1996, it started to focus more on political news. Instead of just being an email, it became a website for everyone to see.
The website quickly became popular. In 1995, it had 1,000 email subscribers. By 1997, that number grew to 85,000. The Drudge Report became well-known for breaking big news stories before major news companies did.
- 1996: Drudge was the first to report that Jack Kemp would be Bob Dole's running mate in the presidential election.
- 1998: He became very famous when he was the first to publish news about the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal, a major political story involving President Bill Clinton.
During the 1990s, Drudge met Andrew Breitbart, who later helped him run the Drudge Report. Breitbart went on to create his own news website.
The Drudge Report became very successful. By 2003, it was estimated that the website was earning around $800,000 a year from advertising. A year later, Drudge confirmed he was earning over $1 million a year. He runs the website from his home in Miami, Florida, where he uses multiple computers and TVs to watch the news all day.
Television and Radio Shows
From 1998 to 1999, Drudge hosted a TV show on the Fox News Channel called Drudge. The show ended after a disagreement. Drudge wanted to show a picture on air that the network felt was not appropriate for the story. Because of this, Drudge and Fox News agreed to end the show.
Drudge also hosted a popular Sunday night radio talk show. He sometimes filled in as a guest host for other famous radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh. Many other radio hosts would often use stories from the Drudge Report on their own shows. He stopped hosting the radio show in 2007.
Books About Drudge
Drudge has been the subject of books. In 2020, a book called The Drudge Revolution was published. The author, Matthew Lysiak, interviewed over 200 people who knew Drudge to tell the story of his impact on the media.
In 2000, Drudge co-wrote a book called Drudge Manifesto. It became a New York Times Best Seller. The book included his speeches, emails from readers, and stories about his life. Some reviewers said the book was a strange mix of ideas and that it seemed padded with extra material.
How Drudge Influenced the News
Matt Drudge has had a big impact on how news is reported. In 2024, the website Mediaite named him the most influential person in news media.
Many political campaigns have tried to get their stories featured on the Drudge Report because so many people read it. For example, during the 2008 presidential election, Hillary Clinton's team worked to build a relationship with Drudge because his website was so powerful.
News reporters and authors have noted his influence:
- In their book The Way to Win, authors Mark Halperin and John Harris wrote that Drudge played a central role in the 2004 presidential election.
- In 2006, Time magazine named Drudge one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
- ABC News reported that the Drudge Report often sets the tone for what the rest of the country's political news will be about.
- Even major newspapers like The Washington Post have said that Drudge's website is a huge source of their online traffic.
Journalists have different opinions about him. Some have called him "the Walter Cronkite of his era," comparing him to a legendary news anchor. Others have said his reporting style can be a "menace to honest, responsible journalism." But many agree that he changed the news industry by proving that one person with a computer could be as powerful as a large news company.
Personal Life and Views
Drudge lives in Miami, Florida. He has earned millions of dollars from his website and enjoys traveling. He once said that his one big purchase, besides travel, was his Corvette sports car.
Over the years, Drudge has described his political views in different ways. He has called himself a libertarian, a conservative, and a populist. A populist is someone who tries to appeal to ordinary people who feel that powerful groups ignore their concerns. In general, he supports lower taxes and has voted for the Republican Party.
