Is Matt Drudge a National Hero?
Over the weekend, you probably read something about Swine Flu, the new deadly porcine super-epidemic that’s going to kill us all. But, depending on where you get your news, you saw very different types of coverage. Let’s take two extreme examples: The Drudge Report vs. The New York Times. Say, you woke up Saturday morning and wanted to know the news… Here’s what greeted you over at Drudge: “OUTBREAK: NO PLAN TO CLOSE BORDERS.” And here’s what greeted you in the Times’ print edition: “” No, that’s not a typo. The Saturday New York Times’ front page had no mention of Swine Flu (by Sunday, they had a bottom-of-the-page story on it — below a story about Wall Street pay and a Pulitzer-bait feature on immigration). Drudge, meanwhile, had a banner headline, photo, and 13 this-is-super-panic-worthy, above-the-banner links. By Sunday night, he’s upgraded his headline to: PÁNICO One of these news outlets considers itself a good, responsible global citizen. One sees itself as the sensationalist v
