"The first step in good reporting is good snooping"
About this Quote
Drudge’s line is a wink and a warning: journalism doesn’t begin with objectivity, it begins with curiosity sharp enough to trespass. “Good reporting” is the respectable suit; “good snooping” is the messy engine underneath. The phrasing forces an uncomfortable admission that many readers prefer to deny: information is often obtained not through pristine access but through persistence, opportunism, and the willingness to look where you’re not invited.
The intent is defensive and provocative at once. Coming from Matt Drudge, whose brand was forged in the late-90s collision of scandal, speed, and the early web’s anything-goes ethos, “snooping” reframes what critics call intrusion as a necessary craft skill. It’s also a cultural jab at establishment media norms that sanctify “sources” and “process” while quietly relying on the same impulses: cultivating leaks, knocking on doors, working angles, scanning public records for private truths.
Subtext: the real divide isn’t ethics versus sensationalism; it’s who gets to label the hunt. “Snooping” usually describes behavior when you don’t like the outcome. Drudge turns the insult into a credential, implying that the public interest is rarely served by waiting politely for a press release.
Why it works is the blunt hierarchy embedded in “first step.” It suggests reporting is downstream of detection. Before narrative, before balance, before writing clean copy, there’s the primal act of finding out. In an attention economy where access is curated and institutions manage the message, the quote argues that the journalist’s job is not to be welcomed but to be curious enough to be inconvenient.
The intent is defensive and provocative at once. Coming from Matt Drudge, whose brand was forged in the late-90s collision of scandal, speed, and the early web’s anything-goes ethos, “snooping” reframes what critics call intrusion as a necessary craft skill. It’s also a cultural jab at establishment media norms that sanctify “sources” and “process” while quietly relying on the same impulses: cultivating leaks, knocking on doors, working angles, scanning public records for private truths.
Subtext: the real divide isn’t ethics versus sensationalism; it’s who gets to label the hunt. “Snooping” usually describes behavior when you don’t like the outcome. Drudge turns the insult into a credential, implying that the public interest is rarely served by waiting politely for a press release.
Why it works is the blunt hierarchy embedded in “first step.” It suggests reporting is downstream of detection. Before narrative, before balance, before writing clean copy, there’s the primal act of finding out. In an attention economy where access is curated and institutions manage the message, the quote argues that the journalist’s job is not to be welcomed but to be curious enough to be inconvenient.
Quote Details
| Topic | Writing |
|---|
More Quotes by Matt
Add to List
