Introducing: Finding Matt Drudge

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
In the late nineteen nineties and early two thousands, Matt
Drudge was one of the most famous names in news.
He helped break open the affair between President Bill Clinton
and Monica Lewinski Bard of the presidents alleged affair first
leaked out this week by way of the Internet, through
an increasingly familiar route, an Internet column written by Matt Drudge.
He got his own television show on Fox News, Matt

(00:21):
Drudge Here Somewhere at Mintown, Manhattan and Hold on to
Your Hats. He had his own radio show, This is Drudge,
It's Sunday Night. He even appeared on David Letterman.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Here he is multi media reporter, Matt Drudge Man. Come on.

Speaker 1 (00:37):
His website, The Drudge Report, made him a millionaire. Many
times over. Assignment editors at all the networks used his
site to dictate their coverage. Drudge had the ear of
presidential administrations. He was feded at parties across Washington.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
People wanted him on the shows, wanted him at their parties,
wanted him at their events.

Speaker 1 (00:55):
He was a star. But at some point in the
two thousands, even as his website remain as powerful as ever,
Matt Drudge withdrew from the spotlight. He gave up his
shows and stopped making public appearances. Drudge became a shadow,
a mystery, a voice behind a screen, speaking only through
his web page. In a way, he kind of just
disappeared and went to great lengths not to be found.

Speaker 2 (01:17):
Somebody once said to me that he had bought a
bunch of land did Miami, Dad, but kind of on
the outskirts, far from Miami, and had built a sort
of doomsday compound. But I asked about it, and he
became so emotional and burst into tears and started yelling
at me. And I was going to betray him and
tell people about his compound. And I suppose he was right,
because now I am. But here was a guy at

(01:40):
the center of the media business, at the top of it,
who didn't want any attention personally.

Speaker 1 (01:46):
My name is Chris Moody. I'm a political reporter who
has covered congress, presidential campaigns and politics for years for
a political reporter in the two thousands. Getting a story
he wrote on the Drudge Report was a huge accomplishment.
The thing is, though we don't really know much about
the man who shaped and continues to shape the media
narrative Matt's influence on every aspect of post internet media.

(02:11):
His footprint is huge, so like here's perhaps the most
powerful man in media, would argue, and no one knew
anything about it. For the past few years, Drudge has
hidden from public view. He hasn't given an interview in
over half a decade. His face hasn't been photographed in
more than ten years. Some of his biggest admirers think
the site has changed so much over the last several

(02:33):
years they're not even sure Matt Drudge even runs the
site that bears his name.

Speaker 2 (02:37):
I'm totally convinced he's not running that site.

Speaker 1 (02:40):
In this podcast, I'm going to travel far and wide
searching for Matt Drudge. Along the way, I'll talk to
people who have worked with him, dine with him, and
fought with him, taking listeners into private dinners and private conversations,
all in an attempt to get a better understanding of
who Drudge is and what motivates him. I will also
be chasing down tips from you, the listener, on a

(03:00):
special hotline. So if you know where Drudge is right now,
or have a great Drudge story that might help us
better understand the mysterious media mogul, please send it my way. Hopefully,
by the time this show ends, the man who knows
Drudge best, Matt Drudge himself, will break his silence and
sit down with us. Either way, we'll learn a lot
more about him and the controversies that surround him, like

(03:22):
why his sight turned on Donald Trump's twenty twenty reelection campaign.
Along the journey, so strap in, listen, and subscribe to
Finding Matt Drudge starting on January twenty fourth on the
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Do you know where Matt Drudge is? If you have
a great Matt Drudge story, they can shed insight into
the mysterious media mogul and help us on our search.

(03:43):
Call us and leave a voicemail three zero one two
zero zero two four one four and tell us about it.
This is Finding Matt Drudge.