Drudge the “Journalist”
Christian is discussing this Daily Telegraph article that proclaims Matt Drudge to be the “world’s most powerful journalist”.
From Christian-
He doesn’t work at a newspaper, television station or in radio. He works from his home posting links to media reports, creating a distinct narrative on current events.
Is Matt Drudge really a journalist? I like the Drudge Report. I think it is a great website, but I have never considered Drudge to be a journalist. Sometimes he does get the early scoop on things, but all he really does is link to other news stories. No commentary really, just links.
What do you think? And do even try claiming that you never visit the Drudge Report. Anybody that does that is sure to have a copy of “Thriller” hidden up under their car seat.
I don’t visit Drudge, nor do I have a car.
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So which song on the Thriller album is your favorite?
I personally visit the site everyday. Any consistent HUMAN source that aggregates news content to me is telling a story, sometimes of their own biased view of the world, even if they are a collection of other people’s stories.
Surprisingly, many friends ask me “how can you read that?” My standard answer is “read what?” The only commentary on the page is in the titles of his links. The real story is on the other side of the link.
Your right, the selectiveness of the links is a sort of commentary.
I can probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve visited Drudge. And believe it or not, I never owned the Thriller album, either. (Most of my embarrassing albums involve mid-80’s hair bands…)
Also, I don’t think whether or not one engages in commentary determines whether or not one is a journalist. A beat reporter isn’t supposed to engage in commentary — just to report the facts — and beat reporters are without doubt journalists.
Not saying Drudge is a journalist, of course. But it’s important to understand the underlying terms.
Oh I never meant to imply that reporters weren’t journalists.