Bill Clinton, Drudged Through the Mud

On January 6, 1999, Internet blogger Matt Drudge, a conservative "journalist," broke a story over his blog that then President Bill Clinton had fathered an illegitimate Arkansas boy. Hot off the heels of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Clinton was being attacked in the conservative press as a sexual deviant, and Drudge's story only served as gasoline on a burning fire. While Drudge has run one of the Internet's longest and most successful blogs, he has received criticism because his "news" is clearly biased and often fabricated. I believe this story is no different, and I will explain why.

To begin, Drudge claims that there is a video "confession" that only he and Star Magazine have seen of Clinton's purported offspring. Drudge writes, "What becomes immediately obvious to the viewer watching the videotaped confession is that this clearly not gossip, rumor or anonymous charges being maliciously directed at a politician." This explanation is so ludicrous that it discredits everything Drudge had previously said earlier in the article. Drudge is showing neither objectivity or transparency, as there are no links to this "video." Rather, he is just another cook stirring a pot of Washington political soup that is hard to swallow and bitter to taste.

Another thing I truly don't like about Matt Drudge's blog is that it prides itself on breaking untrue news stories. While these stories often prove to be nothing, they nevertheless have an effect on the media because Drudge himself is a very powerful media member. As one of the first successful bloggers, Drudge owns a very special place in the media. He is the conservative home page for millions who want their "news" delivered in a visually unappealing, hard to verify way. He is a blogger who straddles the line between blogging and journalistic reporting. And for that he has affected news forever.

God help us all...