Anyone who cut their teeth in the conservative new media blogosphere likely spent hours every day weeding through hundreds of independent sources online, to get even a semblance of honest news coverage. And it sometimes seemed that the only way to avoid all of that laborious trawling was with the advent of a trustworthy, right-of-center aggregation site called Drudge Report.
But sadly, in recent years, we’ve witnessed the degradation of the once-unparalleled news aggregator founded by Matt Drudge. And as many readers know, it was that site — along with the progressive-left mainstay Huffington Post — which the late, happy warrior Andrew Breitbart was instrumental in aiding to grow into their own, prosperous platforms before creating his right-leaning group blog, dubbed “the Bigs” (which eventually became the behemoth Breitbart News).
These days, though, if you decide to stop by Drudge Report (I won’t link to it), you’re most likely to see headlines like this one (screenshot of Drudge’s front page at the time of this writing: Tuesday, 5:30 p.m. EDT):
Of course, this is the same incarnation of the site which also seemed to take acute pleasure in pushing anti-Donald Trump coverage in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election. But it was a different story back in 2016. Why? The Wrap reported in 2016 their strategy was a boon for Drudge Report, “record[ing] 1.47 billion page views in July, the highest traffic in the conservative aggegation [sic] site’s 21-year history.” Though, as The NH Independent blog wrote recently, the site has since suffered a massive traffic tumble — down more than 45 percent — following Orange Man Bad’s exit from the White House. It’s much akin to fellow, lefty media platform CNN’s demise, as RedState has reported.
Now, there’s some awesome news for any conservative who misses what the Drudge Report used to be, with the announcement of an “alternative” aggregator site by a conservative, former editor, via our sister site PJ Media:
Even a former editor of the Drudge Report, Joseph Curl, has stepped up to resurrect the Drudge spirit. On Tuesday, Curl announced the launch of Off The Press, a conservative-oriented aggregator that he says will have a “fearless attitude” toward covering “everything for those who devour news all day,” Just the News reported.
Curl intends for Off The Press to be a premier, 24/7 news aggregator that consumers can trust. He said the Drudge Report has become just another echo chamber for the legacy media.
“Now more than ever, keeping up with the most important stories is a battle,” Curl told Just the News. “With social media deluging everyone with endless posts on their news feeds, the internet needs an editor to cull the very best stories and present them on a single site. That will be the sole mission of Off The Press.”
Another welcome presence at the shared helm with Curl, according to Just The News: Paul Bedard, proprietor of Washington Examiner’s no-holds-barred “Washington Secrets” column. It bodes well for anyone looking for no compromise or worry over hurting the wrong politicians’ egos or activist groups’ feelings — unlike what’s spewed across Drudge today.
The new site’s press release gives more details on the aggregator’s projected, daily workflow:
Interactivity will be another key feature of the new aggregator. Off The Press will have a tip box for readers to contribute ideas for stories they think deserve coverage. Curl vows that “all the editors will be reading those tips every day” to ensure they’re breaking the most up-to-the-minute items from all angles
Let’s just say whatever happens with this venture for Curl and Bedard, the fact that people are provide a mechanism for “more voices, not less” should be welcome news for everyone — wherever you find yourself on the political spectrum.
Editor’s note: the content was edited after publication to correct an error (Drudge went full, anti-Trump during the 2020, not 2016, election).
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