The Drudge Revolution: The Untold Story of How Talk Radio, Fox News, and a Gift Shop Clerk with an Internet Connection Took Down the Mainstream Media

By Matthew Lysiak

Matt Drudge has been labeled everything from "the Walter Cronkite of his era" to a "dangerous menace" and the "country's reigning mischief-maker." Political tastes aside, no one disputes Drudge's influence: a single link from his website, The Drudge Report, has the power to move news cycles, shape front pages, and send television producers into a desperate scramble. 

The internet blogger equipped with no more than a high school education has been credited for everything from the impeachment of President Bill Clinton to the death of print news and the election of President Donald Trump. Carl Bernstein went so far as to call Drudge an "influence unequaled" in American politics.

But nearly 20 years after first bursting into the mainstream of American consciousness with his groundbreaking role in the investigation of President Clinton, remarkably little remains known about the man behind the keyboard or the improbable rise that ushered in a new era of media.

In The Drudge Revolution, investigative journalist and author of Newtown: An American Tragedy Matthew Lysiak pulls back the curtain on the world's most powerful journalist, for the first time telling the inside story of how one man's visionary belief in the potential of the internet, coupled with the post–Fairness Doctrine growth of conservative talk radio and the rise of cable news and social media, created the perfect storm that seized the narrative from the mainstream media and ushered in the presidency of Donald Trump.

Never-before-seen details include:

   • Newly uncovered information about Matt's early life, including exclusive interviews with his friends.
   • Exclusive interviews with Joseph Curl, longtime friend and editor of the Drudge Report, who breaks his silence for the first time. 
   • Revealing details about Drudge's relationship with Andrew Breitbart, the creation of Breitbart.com, and a "pay-to-play" scheme employed by both the Drudge Report and Breitbart.
   • Emails from Matt to the Trump campaign, showing his close working hand in helping win the campaign of 2016, his role as advisor to the president, his relationship with Jared Kushner, and his role ousting Steve Bannon.
   • Personal information about how much longer Matt will continue at the helm of the world's most powerful web aggregator. 


Based on extensive research nearly 200 personal interviews, The Drudge Revolution is the definitive portrait of the most powerful man in media, and his outsized impact on our world today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Jul 28, 2020
• ISBN: 9781950665150

Matthew Lysiak

Matthew Lysiak is a staff writer for The Daily News (New York) who has received national recognition for his exclusive reporting on the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary and the Newtown killer Adam Lanza, the Aurora gunman James Holmes, the Tucson shooter Jared Loughner, the Fort Hood army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan, and more. Lysiak currently lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and three daughters.

Reviews for The Drudge Revolution

[1randal-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An interesting look into the phenomenon that is the Drudge Report. I remember the early days of the internet, and of the Drudge Report. How the proprietor of it, Matt Drudge, was always managing to "scoop" the major networks in breaking news. And of the unique format of his news page, that being no actual stories, but just links to other's reporting and stories. It was all quite fascinating, and seemed to be a radical step in news coverage.Then along came President Clinton, and the Monica Lewinsky story. Drudge seemed to be always in the know, and one step ahead of all the other media. One might even say that Drudge is responsible for the whole sordid affair being exposed. The author traces the background and history of both Matt Drudge and his Drudge Report. Although, after reading the book, you come to realize that both entities are really one and the same, and cannot be separated. Famously reclusive, Drudge does not participate at all in the book. In fact, you have to come to the conclusion that there is actually something rather off about Drudge. If not for his finding his niche in developing the news page, I can imagine him being one of those malcontents that you see on the park bench, raving at imaginary ghosts and demons. Even without his participation, the author does an amazing job of ferreting out information. You're left with a very good picture of Drudge, and of what makes him tick. Lysiak's reporting on the actual Report is also very good. He traces what it came from, how it got to where it is today, the people who had a hand in the Report daily, and of where it may be going in the future. The author also explains how Matt Drudge may be the main reason Trump was elected. How his teaming with Trump advisors tipped the scale in favor of Trump. Drudge was responsible for Breitbart, Bannon, Limbaugh (to a large extent), and even helping Fox News. And the author explains how Drudge may not even be that much of a conservative. His background and personality certainly don't seem to fit with the conservative movement. No, his overriding purpose in life seems to be poking people in the eye. And, in his eyes, who better than what he feels is the "long-standing" liberal stranglehold on information". An excellent book.