My column in the Financial Times this week addresses the debate over media bias in the US presidential election and why the Drudge Report has lost its past dominance of the media agenda.

Last Thursday afternoon, Matt Drudge broke out the red capital letters for the lead headline on his internet site, the Drudge Report.

“SHOCK: MCCAIN VOLUNTEER ATTACKED AND MUTILATED IN PITTSBURGH,” the headline read, with a strapline: “ ‘B’ CARVED INTO 20-YEAR-OLD WOMAN’S FACE . . . DEVELOPING.”

It was a shocker in the tradition of Mr Drudge’s scare stories and hyped-up trivia about Democratic candidates in US presidential campaigns, to go with past items about John Edwards’ $400 haircut and John Kerry’s windsurfing. This time, however, it was not merely tendentious but false.

By Saturday, the Drudge Report carried a smaller headline reading: “SHE MADE IT ALL UP!” beside a photograph of Ashley Todd, the Texan student in question. Far from being attacked by a tall black man and told she ought to vote for Barack Obama, she had injured herself.

The Ashley Todd affair was the latest in a series of failures by Mr Drudge to recapture the magic of the past, when the Drudge Report had an unrivalled grip on the media agenda. He has spent the past month blatantly cherry-picking poll results that favour John McCain, to the loud derision of Obama-supporting blogs.

Although there has been some narrowing in the national polls this week, Mr Drudge has cried wolf so often in recent weeks that he can hardly claim credit when the wolf finally shows up.

You can read the rest of the column here and comment below

October 29, 2008 10:07pm in Media | Comment