The Drudge Report began as an email sent to friends by its creator Matt Drudge. The original issue’s were part gossip and part opinion and it was distributed as an email newsletter. From the start it could be seen as something both loved and hated alike by the public. In 1996, the Newsletter transitioned from entertainment gossip to political gossip. It also moved from its email format to using an actual website as its main form of distribution. In March 1995, the Drudge report had a mere 1,000 subscribers, but by 1997 this number had grown to a staggering 85,000. The reason for this massive jump in popularity can be put down to the fact that Drudge would simply beat the traditional media to breaking news stories. The most notable case, is undoubtedly when Drudge was the first outlet to break the news concerning the affair between President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, which later became known as the Monica Lewinsky Scandal.