Here's Matt Drudge on Michelle Malkin's Hot Air,

"Just ugh. The things I want to say right now. But we've got an FCC. The things I want to say. Maybe we'll do, uh, uh, a commentary on the Internet like Michelle Malkin. Maybe I'll stand in front of like a blue screen and hold a banana and start talking into the Internets. (Sneering tone) ‘This is Matt Drudge reporting on Hot Air.' Agggh. You know. It's ridiculous. Looks like, you know, Captain Kangaroo time, Michelle. Get real."

Back when Matt Drudge got started, all those curmudgeonly mainstream media newshounds looked down their noses at him. Their attitude was, Drudge, a journalist? Ha! He's nothing but a gossip monger, who spreads inaccurate rumors on the internet. It's faintly ridiculous to imagine that any serious person would go to an amateur like Matt Drudge for news instead of going to the professionals at a newspaper or the big 3 networks.

Then, Drudge broke the Monica Lewinsky story, among others, and he took off. Now, he may be the most powerful man in the media. That's not just because he can serve up 15 million impressions in 24 hours, it's because so many other media outlets, cable news shows, bloggers, and talk radio hosts take their cues from Drudge. If it's at the top of the Drudge Report, it's hot.

But, in the process of becoming a big star, Drudge forgot where he came from. Remember those curmudgeonly mainstream media newshounds that looked down on Drudge? Well, now Drudge IS the curmudgeonly mainstream media newshound who has nothing but disdain for the people who are where he was less than a decade ago.