Now the interesting thing is the Drudge Report isn't a blog. Matt Drudge is not writing his views in prose, although his views do seem to determine the many links that can be found by going to this website. Because of the site's popularity, for example, many folks leak stories to Drudge, hoping he will post a link to another place that also has the leaked story. Yes, occasionally there is original "reporting" of these leaks on Drudge, but for the most part what one gets by going there is several dozen links to other kinds of media.
I have observed there some interesting characteristics. The obvious is that Drudge in general favors the political Right. Everyone knows this. You can also expect that if he doesn't like the person the link is about, the picture (when there is one) on the Drudge site will be unflattering.
Another characteristic is the phrase that forms the words behind which stands the link. This phrase is often itself spin, and frequently does not exactly represent the true character of the story you will read if you go to the linked page. This phrase (we might call it the Drudge Report headline) will offer something exciting, and often not really deliver on that implied promise.
To sum up: the Drudge Report, in that it is political in nature, is quite subtly (and sometimes more obviously) biased toward the political Right.
But that is not why I go there.
Drudge also runs stories whose substance is more in the character of the bizarre. If there is a weirdness out there, Drudge will have a link to a story about it. Wife kills husband with cat, and so forth. How he gets these links is anyone's guess, but I think mostly the links get sent to him, and he has people working for him that process this material, and knowing his tastes then offer him choices. He probably makes the finally choices as to what to put up.
This, to me, is his genius, and that is why I call it: the Insanity Index. For example, today I read a headline link to a story about the white boys that were hurt in Jenna. They are suing the black boys that fought them, and the School Board. If you don't know this story, then put your blinders back on and go back to sleep.
Now I am not leaving politics out of the Insanity Index by the way. There is more social insanity there than other places. Most people take the stuff politicians say seriously, though. Me, I just shake my head, try not to puke or cry and watch them (the politicians) encourage the rest of us to burn down the world.
In November 2007, 455 million plus visits were logged for the Drudge Report. Now you know why I call my main website Shapes in the Fire.
