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Newsmax Makes Its Move

by Thomas Francison February 2, 2012

in PoliticsLeave a comment

http://saltyeggs.com/newsmax-makes-its-m


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By upside of inertia via

flickr.com/photos

Amid a Republican primary season rich with conflict, one skirmish has been largely overlooked: the one

between conservative news outlets for the rights to kingmaker status. Squarely in the thick of this battle is

a cynical, spam-belching, spin-happy website from West Palm Beach called Newsmax.

Newsmax is Americas fifth most-trafficked political website, with some 4.2 million unique monthly visitors.

Its rival Drudge Report is second, boasting 14 million. (HuffPo is No. 1 with some 54 million unique

readers.)

In this election cycle, Newsmax has placed its bets on Newt Gingrich. A January click on the website gave

readers a dozen articles with a dozen ideological reasons, but the main reason is that a Gingrich win

would be good for business.

Thats because Newsmaxs conservative rivals Drudge, as well as Fox News had already decidedthat Mitt Romney gave the Republican Party its best chance to knock off Obama, an editorial choice

subtly reflected in the stories that those media promoted on their sites.

The debates, however, gave the non-Romneys an opportunity to cast themselves as the

anti-establishment candidates, a storyline pounced upon by powerful talk radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh

who didnt trust Romney as a true believer in the conservative cause.



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A victory for a non-Romney and Gingrich became the most formidable among them would be an

indication that the old establishment was crumbling and that a new one was talking shape. Beginning in

early January, Newsmax shrewdly positioned itself on this fault line.

Shortly before the Iowa Caucuses, Newsmax rolled out a 30-minute hagiography ofGingrich, hosted by

Mike Reagan, eldest son of the sainted former president. That wasnt enough to produce a victory in Iowa,

or in New Hampshire, but with each debate, Newsmax heralded a Gingrich triumph.

That message was echoed by ultra-conservative talk radio, as well as by moderate and liberal

commentators hoping for a more interesting, combative primary season. Slowly, Gingrichs momentum

began to grow.

In South Carolina, the Evangelical voting bloc may have been tempted to vote Santorum, so Newsmax

rolled out a video of Rev. Tim LaHaye, the author of the Left Behindrapture books, giving a hearty

endorsement to Gingrich.

Gingrich crushed Romney by nearly 13 points in South Carolina, a win that surely rattled the nerves of the

Republican establishment. Florida, being a populous swing state, was lining up as the primarys decisive

battleground.

So Newsmax doubled down on its Gingrich investment, flooding its site with negative articles about

Romney and glowing ones about the former Speaker. Even when Gingrich stumbled during the Florida

debates, triggering a slide in the polls, Newsmax did its darndest to keep hope alive: a January 27 article

only quoted political experts who would say Gingrich won the last Florida debate, a conclusion at odds

with the other pundits and the polls, which had flipped in the week since South Carolina.



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Still, with nothing to lose and everything to gain, Newsmax made one last bet on Gingrich pulling an upset

in Florida. On the day when the states Republicans went to the polls, the Newsmax front page was

festooned with Gingrich propaganda.

One of the lead stories was a quote from Howard Fineman, of all people. The Huffington Postcolumnist

made a passing remark during an appearance on Hardball With Chris Matthews that Gingrich was

running for the soul of the GOP. It wasnt very newsworthy, but this was a phrase and a narrative

that Newsmax liked enough to promote it to their legions of readers.

Gingrich had been damaged the week before when he told voters on the Space Coast that he would build

a base on the moon by the end of his second presidential term. In damage-control mode, Newsmax put a

story on its front page under the headline, Experts say Gingrich moon base dreams not lunacy.

Only the article itself, from the Associated Press, doesnt quote a single expert who believed that

Gingrichs claim was grounded in reality. The experts didnt say the moon base was lunacy, but they

didnt say it was sane either.



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Another article quoted Limbaugh lambasting Romney, while yet another quoted Sarah Palin scolding

Romney for lying about Gingrichs falling out with President Reagan.

These reality-control efforts not withstanding, Newsmax stopped short of being completely delusional. As

a hedge against a Romney blowout, the Newsmax lead story was about Gingrich staying in the race no

matter what. It quoted Gingrichs campaign manager, then his daughter, Jackie Gingrich Cushman, a

Newsmax Insider columnist, who both emphasized the candidates toughness and resolve.

Romney cruised to 14.5-point victory, regaining his frontrunner status. Barring an epic scandal, he will win

the nomination.

There are already signs that Newsmax and conservative talk show hosts are resigning themselves to a

Romney candidacy, making small gestures of respect, such as the headline on Newsmaxs lead story

Wednesday morning that acknowledges a Romney romp in Florida before feebly noting that Gingrich will

Battle On.

Had Newsmax succeeded in convincing Republicans to pick Gingrich, then the site stood to gain currency

as a kingmaker, meaning more access to major politicians, more web traffic and thus more advertising

revenue. (As it is, Newsmax has annual revenue of between $35 and $50 million, astonishing numbers in

this media climate.)

The site will eventually come around to a tepid (for Newsmax) promotion of Romneys presidential bid

after all, hes not Obama. But if Romney gets annihilated in the general election, then the Fox and Drudge

brand of king-making will have been damaged. Radio talk show hosts and Newsmax will again team up to

tell the political right that Republicans must choose a True Conservative to be the presidential nominee in

2016.

This media coup hasnt been defeated. Just delayed.

Like

Barack Obama, Florida, Florida primary, Fox News, GOP, Left Behind, lunacy, Mitt Romney, moon base,

Newsmax, Newt Gingrich, Republican Party, Rush Limbaugh, Tim LaHaye

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