Posted on 10/20/2013 6:59:28 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar
New York Times magazine correspondent and author of the explosive book “This Town” Mark Leibovich detailed intricate internal workings of Washington and compared two of the most powerful men in news and politics, Mike Allen and Matt Drudge, in an exclusive interview with The Daily Caller.
Mike Allen’s morning ‘Playbook’ email has the power to shape the political discussion, he explained, because hundreds of decision makers in the political circuit read it every morning.
“These hundreds of people are TV bookers, and reporters, and hill staffers of both parties, and White House staffers, and lobbyists and a lot of people in some of the state capitals, too,” he said.
The power of Playbook stems from its ability to shape the news cycle.
“Mike basically has this knack for writing this email about things that people have missed over night, things that are central to the political discussion,” Leibovich said. ”What is striking about Mike, in addition to him being a very quirky, kind of eccentric, fascinating guy, is that he has this inordinate amount of power in that people read what he says, and then you can just see ten cable shows in a given day given over to what Mike says is important. You can see the front page of the next days newspapers. So he is what we would call now a ‘conversation driver.’”
Leibovich compares the reach that Allen has with that of Matt Drudge, the owner and operator of the hugely successful news aggregation website site, The Drudge Report.
“They are very distinct.” Leibovich said “I mean, they both have incredible amounts of power, incredible amounts of reach. I think Mike’s reach is more to insiders per say and it flowers out… Conservative media, liberal media will read him. I think Drudge is more of a headline. You literally have millions of people on there a day and it just goes directly to those news consumers and it is much more direct, frankly… Mike is a conversation starter. Drudge has a much more definitive conversation within his website which he is updating constantly. They are both wildly influential and I read both of them.”
I have never heard of Mike Allen.
This is a competition between an independent news source and a leftist mouthpiece?
Let’s be serious.
Drudge is a creative and an independent journalist.
The leftist mouthpiece is broadcasting the talking points that can be heard on every LSM site in the country. I wonder who pays him to spew elitist leftist tripe?
Mike Allen informs the elite, Drudge informs the masses.
I visit the Drudge site everyday. I have no idea who Mike Allen is.
Me either.....works for Politico.
Mike Allen??? Pure puff piece for someone nobody knows, like when they tried to push Ed Schultz as “the next Rush Limbaugh.”
Who in hell is “Mike”...??
Oh, so that’s who has been shaping the political discussion in this country. Let’s give him a big round of applause.
Next thing ya know this Mike will be swearing that he, TOO, used to be a gift-shop clerk.
OH SUUUUURE....!
(wink)
Just what I was thinking.
The politico was started by WaPo presstitutes so when THEY claim, “We’re prolly just as cool as Drudge, ya know...” then that is a HUUUUUGE passing of the barn, right there...
HUGE.
BATON not barn.
Mike Allen? Was he a football player?
“I have never heard of Mike Allen.”
And that’s the correct answer.
Oh, come on. We have to be real.
DRUDGE is now top flight for pushing Republican and conservative thinkers and writers, and puts up product that fairly scoffs at the Left.
I would agree that Polico’s Mike Allen is attached more directly to Democrat Party players than Drudge is attached to party, that we know of, that is.
Politico lives on Scarborough’s show. We can’t find Drudge anywhere, in public.
If Drudge had run the headline:
“No Polls Ask ‘Do you approve of shutting down the government to KEEP Obamacare’!”
Ah well...
Never heard of the Allen fellow. He certainly has nothing to boast of from the author’s description.
Who the he’ll is “Mike”...?
Just what I thought. Never heard of him till not
“Drudge is a creative and an independent journalist.”
I have yet to read anything Drudge has written other then changed headlines.
Go, Matt!
Though I’ll bet part of Mike’s appeal and influence is that he comes off as “exclusive.”
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