"The Internet feeds off the main press, and the main press feeds off the Internet. They're working in tandem"
About this Quote
Drudge’s line is a backhanded obituary for the old fantasy that “the media” comes in neat tiers: sober newspapers on top, chaotic web gossip below. He’s describing a closed-loop ecosystem where each side pretends it’s merely reacting, while both quietly depend on the other to set the agenda. “Feeds off” is the tell. It’s not “learns from” or “checks”; it’s predatory, metabolic. Attention becomes the nutrient, and outrage the most efficient calorie.
The specific intent is both boast and warning. Coming from the founder of the Drudge Report - a proto-viral clearinghouse that helped break the Clinton-Lewinsky story - the claim doubles as self-legitimation. If legacy outlets dismiss the Internet as rumor, Drudge reminds them that they’re already taking its leads, laundering its scoops into institutional credibility, then handing that prestige back to the web as shareable proof. The tandem isn’t collaboration; it’s mutual exploitation.
The subtext is cynical but accurate: competition has been replaced by co-dependence. The main press needs the Internet’s speed, frictionless distribution, and audience data. The Internet needs the main press’s branding, fact-checking labor, and legal ballast. In a 24/7 cycle, “tandem” reads less like teamwork than a bike with no brakes: once a narrative starts moving, each wheel accelerates the other.
Context matters here because Drudge emerged right at the hinge point when gatekeeping collapsed into aggregation. His quote isn’t nostalgia; it’s a field report from someone who helped build the machine - and knows exactly what it runs on.
The specific intent is both boast and warning. Coming from the founder of the Drudge Report - a proto-viral clearinghouse that helped break the Clinton-Lewinsky story - the claim doubles as self-legitimation. If legacy outlets dismiss the Internet as rumor, Drudge reminds them that they’re already taking its leads, laundering its scoops into institutional credibility, then handing that prestige back to the web as shareable proof. The tandem isn’t collaboration; it’s mutual exploitation.
The subtext is cynical but accurate: competition has been replaced by co-dependence. The main press needs the Internet’s speed, frictionless distribution, and audience data. The Internet needs the main press’s branding, fact-checking labor, and legal ballast. In a 24/7 cycle, “tandem” reads less like teamwork than a bike with no brakes: once a narrative starts moving, each wheel accelerates the other.
Context matters here because Drudge emerged right at the hinge point when gatekeeping collapsed into aggregation. His quote isn’t nostalgia; it’s a field report from someone who helped build the machine - and knows exactly what it runs on.
Quote Details
| Topic | Internet |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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