No One Can Find Matt Drudge | Bobby Burack
In 2015, The Hill asked the following: "Is Matt Drudge the second most influential man in America [behind the president]?"
Drudge's case was strong.
From the late 1990s to 2015, the Drudge Report was the de facto aggregator of political conversation.
Famously, Drudge reported in 1998 that Newsweek magazine was withholding information regarding an inappropriate relationship between "a White House intern" and President Bill Clinton.
The intern was Monica Lewinsky.
Newsweek published the full story in full following Drudge's report.
"For more than any individual in the media, Drudge dominates his competitors to the degree that he has no competitors, and determines what you watch on television, what you read in newspapers, what you hear on radio, and even what you read on the Internet about politics more than any single person in American history," accurately detailed Hill author Brent Budowsky.
"The New York Times may consider itself the finest newspaper in the world, but while one of the Times‘ political reporters is reduced to writing ditties complaining that Hillary Clinton does not answer her questions, one entry on the Drudge Report can trigger 100 questions to any politician in America. Network anchors come and go, but Drudge remains, the omnipresent force who is required reading for political editors, television producers and campaign managers from all parties."
Newsreaders under, say, 30 have likely heard of Matt Drudge but are hardly aware of his aura. Drudge, the man, is no longer visible.
At the time of The Hill article, Drudge had conducted an interview with Alex Jones, for which the media censured Drudge. His public footprints dissipated from there.
The Drudge Report is still active. Its patented low-quality interface remains. However, the site's editorial presence hardly resembles its former self.
Around 2015, readers noticed a peculiar change in tone: the site turned on Donald Trump without explanation.
Notice we say the site; not Drudge himself. It's well theorized that Drudge sold his site in a hush-hush deal to allow someone (or some entity) to run the site anonymously under his name.
It gets weirder.
A report claims Matt Drudge recently found a buyer for his reclusive home in South Florida, a location at which no one has claimed to see him in over a decade.
This is starting to read like the plot of a Harlan Coben novel, isn't it?
5/7/98.Hollywood, Matt Drudge famous for " The Drudge Report" on the internet and famous for being sued for $ 33 million dollars by a member of the Clinton administration
iHeart recently launched a podcast to find the answers that elude us, aptly titled "Finding Matt Drudge." The eight-episode series recently concluded. We encourage you to listen.
Political journalist Chris Moody, the host of the podcast, pleaded for Drudge to contact him. Moody traveled to Las Vegas, after receiving a tip that Drudge used to frequent a particular Vegas casino to play the slot machines.
And yet, Moody never found Drudge.
However, the Drudge Report did acknowledge his efforts before the finale of the show.
"I have some major news to announce today," Moody told podcast listeners. "Matt Drudge has responded to this podcast, and he did so in the most Matt Drudge way possible through the Drudge Report.
"Here's what I mean. I was recently a guest on the Megan Kelly Show alongside our podcast creator Jamie Weinstein. We talked to Megan about our search for Matt Drudge, why we started this show, why Matt Drudge turned on Trump, and where we think Matt Drudge is today."
Perhaps.
But we are skeptical.
If Drudge no longer controls his website, the nod to the podcast was likely a red herring.
Cyber-journaIist Matt Drudge (R) talks to Congressman Bob Barr, R-GA, on Capitol Hill 08 October 1998 after the US House of Representatives voted to proceed with the impeachment of US President Bill Clinton. Drudge was one of the first to publish the rumors that President Clinton was having an extra-marital affair. AFP PHOTO/Stephen JAFFE (Photo by STEPHEN JAFFE / AFP) (Photo by STEPHEN JAFFE/AFP via Getty Images)
Ultimately, there are three statements we can make about Matt Drudge following the podcast series – none of which include his whereabouts.
One, Matt Drudge does not want to be found. For whatever reason – whether he's fearful, learned too much, or simply burned out – Drudge does not want to be seen.
Two, something happened around 2015, when it became clear Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump would be the two presidential nominees.
Joseph Curl, who worked as an editor of the Drudge Report from 2010 to 2014, told Moody he noticed his former boss suffering from an increased case of paranoia.
According to Curl, Drudge feared the Clinton family was after him in the form of "payback" for his reporting.
"[Drudge] always leaves the country during election day or the election season — the weeks before the election — because he was afraid," Curl recalled.
"He said he was worried about the Clintons planting, you know, a bag of cocaine in his car, which he had parked in the parking lot there. So he would always take off and get out of the country around the election."
Three, a very eerie feeling surrounds the state of Matt Drudge.
Read it aloud:
The internet’s most enigmatic media mogul, described as the "second most influential man in America," who knows far more than any non-government official should, particularly about the Clintons, abruptly vanishes from public light while his site suspiciously turned on the face of the Republican Party.
Nearly a decade later, no one has seen him since.