Drudge Goes Underground

Conservative media pile on Gingrich

(NEWSER) - The conservative media have apparently figured out that Newt Gingrich could actually win the Republican nomination, and they are responding with a breathtaking collective attack on the candidate. Politico rounds up the highlights, noting that "this is just a sampling of what's hitting Newt."

• In the National Review, Elliott Abrams writes that Gingrich often undermined Ronald Reagan, in what Politico calls "a devastating takedown." In another recent National Review piece being circulated by conservatives, the editors ramp up their opposition to Gingrich and urge conservatives not to support him.
• R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. of the American Spectator compares Gingrich to Bill Clinton, calling them both "1960s generation narcissists" and noting that, for "girl hopping" Gingrich, "there are private encounters with the fair sex that doubtless will come out."
• On her website, Ann Coulter minces no words: "Re-elect Obama, Vote Newt!" Her column blasts Gingrich's "hotheaded arrogance."

Site will end up with more participants than Iowa

(NEWSER) - Iowans aren't the only ones picking a presidential candidate today. Drudgians, too. The Drudge Report is conducting its own GOP "caucuses" online, and Ron Paul's Internet-friendly supporters aren't letting him down. He leads the pack as of this afternoon with 29%, ahead of Mitt Romney (25%) and Rick Santorum (18%). Inconsequential? Sure. But 200,000 people had voted as of 3:25pm, compared to the approximately 120,000 people who participated in Iowa's 2008 caucuses, notes Fast Company . Click here for a guide to the goings-on in Iowa. More»

Gawker, Huffington Post, Perez Hilton in the top 10

(USER SUBMITTED) - 24/7 Wall St. is out with its fourth annual ranking of the 25 most valuable blogs in America, with the caveat that valuation is as much an art as it is a science. A number of blogs have increased in value since last year, not only because they have improved their readership, but also because the economic conditions have encouraged healthier advertising revenue. The top five are: 1. Gawker Properties: $240 million; 2, Huffington Post: $150 million; 3, Drudge Report: $50 million; 4, PopSugar: $40 million; 5, MacRumors: $37 million. More»

David Weigel, ousted for bashing Matt Drudge, speaks out

(NEWSER) - When he got the call asking him to comment on yet more emails he had written—this time bashing Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich—David Weigel knew he was screwed. The Washington Post blogger had already apologized for leaked emails in which he said Matt Drudge ought to light himself on fire. Now he was being asked if he hated conservatives. It had “a physical impact,” Weigel writes for Esquire . “I instantly realized that I was no longer a reporter—and had become an Embattled Reporter.” More»

David Weigel steps down after leak of off-the-record remarks

(NEWSER) - Washington Post blogger David Weigel resigned today after some too-candid off-the-record comments he made about conservatives showed up on the FishbowlDC blog, reports Politico . He had issued an apology to readers earlier. It all began when Weigel, frustrated with the hate mail he was getting after an unflattering link posted on the Drudge Report, unloaded on “JournoList,” a supposedly private listserv for journalists. More»