In Class Assignment 4/2

Both of these websites are news-based. In addition, both of these are not traditional news sites, because they are more biased and can influence the public because it is not sponsored by big media sites. Also, they both include links to stories and most stories are not first hand reporting. They both give opinion and news. The Huffington Post has a blog area while the Drudge Report did not, as far as I could see.
Based on the headlines, it seems that the Drudge Report has a more democratic/liberal leaning because some of the main links talk about Democratic candidates, for example, Hillary sets record for any Dem during a single primary quarter... ,Clinton Backs Public Funds for Campaigns... and the main headline at the top deals with global warming, generally a democratic issue. SUPREME COURT RULES: 'CLIMATE CHANGE IS SERIOUS'...
I think that the Huffington post is more republican/conservative because its main story was about Giuliani's wife. There are also postings near the top about republican candidates like John McCain and talked abouit positive outcomes of being in Iraq, which is generally a more conservative topic.
There is definitely a difference in criteria in choosing these headlines. Obviously there will be a bias in whichever the person in charge thinks is the most important. Huffington and Drudge both choose which is most important and put those on the top of their online publications.
One example of a headline that doesn't match up is one from the Huffington Post regarding positive change in Iraq. In reality, the headline doesn't say anything about that. I found another example from the Drudge Report. The link states that Hillary has set a record, however the actual website asks if it is a good or bad thing.
I think that these sites do have the power to influence the public. If someone does not like traditional media then they will definitely go to these sites. Also, these sites are popular because they are different and people might have more trust in average citizens than national media. People might also go to these sites because of their political leaning and their views on news in general.