Newsmax

Newsmax or Newsmax.com, previously styled NewsMax, is an American news and opinion website founded by Christopher Ruddy and operated by Newsmax Media. The website is divided into four main sections: Newsmax, Newsmax Health, Newsmax Finance, and Newsmax World, each divided into various subsections. Newsmax Media also operates a print magazine called Newsmax as well as the cable news channel Newsmax TV.

This article is about a far right wing news website originated in the United States. For the television channel, see Newsmax TV. For other ventures, see Newsmax Media.
Newsmax
Newsmax's logo
Type of site
News and opinion
Available inEnglish
OwnerNewsmax Media
Created byChristopher Ruddy
EditorChristopher Ruddy
Key peopleChristopher Ruddy (CEO)
David J. Perel (Director)
Kenneth Chandler (Editor)
URLwww.newsmax.com
Alexa rank 6,622 (June 2020)[1]
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional, but is required to comment
LaunchedSeptember 16, 1998 (1998-09-16)
Current statusActive

The website has been described as influential in American far right conservative[2] circles.[3]

History
Main article: Newsmax Media

Ruddy started Newsmax.com on September 16, 1998, supported by a group of investors, including the family of the late Central Intelligence Agency Director William J. Casey. Later, Richard Mellon Scaife, Ruddy's former employer at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, invested in the fledgling company.[4] One of the initial board members was author James Dale Davidson who edited a financial newsletter. Davidson's co-editor, Lord Rees-Mogg, former editor of The Times and Vice Chair of the BBC, later became chairman of Newsmax.[5] Ruddy previously promoted conspiracy theories around the suicide of Vince Foster.[6]

Other news figures who later joined the Newsmax board included Arnaud de Borchgrave, the longtime Newsweek chief correspondent who also serves as editor-at-large of United Press International (UPI) and Jeff Cunningham, former publisher of Forbes. Admiral Thomas Moorer, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Chief of Naval Operations during the Vietnam War, also served as one of the company's founding board members. Former United States Secretary of State and Nixon and Ford administration Chief of Staff, General Alexander M. Haig, Jr. served as special adviser to NewsMax.[7]

In a 2009 Forbes.com interview, Internet expert Nathan Richardson, a founder of Yahoo Finance, was asked to identify the "smartest thing on the web" today. Richardson identified Newsmax, among several websites, citing its success "monetizing the web."[8]

In March 2009, Forbes ran a feature on Newsmax describing it as a "media empire" and the "great right hope" of the Republican Party. Forbes noted that after just a decade of operations it had become a "media powerhouse" and had surpassed such well-known sites as the Drudge Report in Web visitors. According to the magazine, Newsmax draws 3.8 million unique visitors monthly. Political analyst Dick Morris was quoted as saying that Newsmax had become the "most influential Republican-leaning media outlet" in the nation.[9]

In a January 2010 profile on the company, the Financial Times reported that the "rise of Newsmax" had defied the media trend and said that the Newsmax website was "one of the strongest conservative voices online". The paper said Newsmax had witnessed 40 percent growth rates per annum over the past decade, closing 2009 with $35 million revenues, up from $25 million the year before.[10]

An April 2010 cover story for Talkers Magazine featured Newsmax as a model of future media companies called "Media Stations" that offer their audience audio, video, digital, and even print content.[11]

A 2010 New York Post story reported that the paper's long-time former editor, Kenneth Chandler, was tapped as Newsmax Magazine's editor-in-chief. CEO Ruddy also told the Post the company expected annual 2010 revenues to exceed $50 million.[12]

Starting in April 2013, Newsmax.com and its affiliated sites drew 14.4 million unique visitors, leading comScore's News/Politics category over such sites as The Huffington Post Politics, Fox News Politics, CNN Politics, NBCNews.com Politics, and Politico.com in monthly viewership for two consecutive months.[13]

Newsmax contributors include Nancy Brinker, George Will, John Gizzi, Lanny Davis, Alan Dershowitz, Christopher W. Ruddy, David Limbaugh, Ben Stein, Susan Estrich, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, Michael Reagan[14] and Dr. Mehmet Oz.

As of May 2018, the Qatari government has been seeking to acquire a major stake in Newsmax in order to "to win friends and clout in the United States as it struggle[s] to respond to a Trump-endorsed blockade by its Arab neighbors."[15] Since Qatar has moved to invest in Newsmax, the publication has softened its tone on Qatar. While Newsmax had been "among the conservative outlets that led the charge in portraying Qatar as a major state sponsor of terror," when the Emir of Qatar visited the U.S. in April the outlet "cheered the visit and said it was 'widely praised.'"[16]

During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Newsmax sent an email to its subscriber list asserting that "the WORST thing you could do is get a vaccine when it becomes available" because "vaccines are one of the biggest health scares of our lifetime—a scam perpetuated among the American people." The email encouraged recipients to instead do something "far more effective" by subscribing to a health newsletter for $39.95 per year. Once recipients signed up for the newsletter, they received a sales pitch to purchase a dietary supplement with "an advanced formula targeted to support your immune system health."[17]

In 2019 and 2020, Newsmax published several op-eds by Raphael Badani, a fake persona who was part of a broader network pushing propaganda for the United Arab Emirates and against Qatar, Turkey and Iran.[18] Newsmax listed him as an "Insider", and included a fake bio and photo of the persona.[18]

Reach and influence

In 2010, Nielsen Online said Newsmax was the most trafficked conservative website with approximately 4 million unique visitors monthly.[11] In their study, Newsmax.com was the number one site for conservatives in the U.S., making it one of the most influential conservative news sites in the nation.[19] Alexa Internet statistics for Newsmax.com indicate that the readership consists mainly of Internet users over the age of 45, which aligns itself to the average age of Republican leaning voters, as gathered by The Pew Research Center.[20][21]

A profile on Newsmax in The New York Times described the company as a "potent force" in U.S. politics and noted the company's headquarters had become a must stop for Republican candidates seeking the party's 2012 nomination.[22]

The company has increasingly attracted national and international leaders to its West Palm Beach, Florida headquarters. Former President Bill Clinton, who describes Newsmax's CEO Ruddy as a friend, made headlines when he visited Newsmax's offices during the summer of 2010.[23] When Sarah Palin stopped by the office for an interview, US News and World Report suggested the move was the clearest indication yet she was planning to run for President.[24] According to the magazine, Newsmax is a major player in GOP politics, as seen during the 2012 primaries.[24] Visitors have also included Rep. Michele Bachmann, Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Sen. John Thune, Gov. Haley Barbour, Sen. Mitt Romney, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and former Sen. Rick Santorum, among others.[24]

In 2009, Forbes magazine said regular readers included Newt Gingrich and John Templeton, Jr.[9]

MarketWatch's media critic Jon Friedman attributed Newsmax's business success to a focus on its bottom line as a business rather than pushing a political ideology.[25]

In March 2014, Newsmax was profiled in Bloomberg Businessweek by correspondent Karl Taro Greenfeld. The story detailed Newsmax's successful business model of targeting higher-incomed Baby boomers. The average age of a Newsmax online reader is 54.7 years of age. The profile detailed Newsmax's plans to launch a linear and Over-the-top (OTT) content cable channel, and suggested their revenue model which sells "a smorgasbord of political, health, and financial information, self-help books, and even vitamin supplements" could make the company uniquely competitive in this arena.[26]

The Washington Post described the relationship Ruddy, though not a registered Republican, has with President Donald Trump as a significant influence, "...with his dual role as a newsman and a close friend."[27]

Additional outlets
Main articles: Newsmax Media and Newsmax TV

In addition to Newsmax.com, Newsmax Media publishes Newsmax magazine, which the company describes as one of the nation's largest independent monthlies "with a conservative perspective." During 2019 the company reported a monthly readership of 300,000.

In 2014, Newsmax Media announced they would be starting a new television news channel. It was marketed to compete with Fox News Channel.[28] The channel, later named Newsmax TV, was launched in June 2014.

Notes
  1. "newsmax.com Competitive Analysis, Marketing Mix and Traffic - Alexa". alexa.com. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  2. "Nielsen: Newsmax #1 Conservative Site in the Nation". Newsmax. January 17, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  3. Peters, Jeremy W. (July 11, 2011). "A Compass for Conservative Politics". The New York Times. p. B1. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  4. Poe, pp. 171–172.
  5. Poe, p. 100.
  6. A Compass for Conservative Politics, New York Times, Jeremy W. Peters, July 10, 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  7. "General Alexander M. Haig, Jr. joins NewsMax.com advisory board", PR Newswire
  8. Smilie, Dirk, "Nathan Richardson's Modest Proposal" Forbes.com article, February 3, 2009.
  9. Smillie, Dirk."A Great Right Hope", Forbes.com, March 6, 2009.
  10. Edgecliffe-Johnson, Andrew (January 10, 2010). "Rise of Newsmax defies media trend". Financial Times. Archived from the original on February 17, 2011. Retrieved August 9, 2020.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  11. Santaniello, Beverly."The Rise of Newsmax" Talkers magazine, April 2010.
  12. Kelly, Keith J."Newsweek Post Yet to be Filled" New York Post, November 4, 2010.
  13. comScore.“Newsmax Reports #1 Online Reading Status”, Talkers.com, June 5, 2013.
  14. NewsMax Blogs, NewsMax.com, accessed April 4, 2010.
  15. "Qatar eyes stake in Newsmax". Politico. May 8, 2018.
  16. "Is Qatar Trying to Invest in Conservative Media to Curry Favor With Trump?". Slate. May 9, 2018.
  17. "Newsmax is telling its older-leaning audience to avoid a future coronavirus vaccine and instead give it money for something "far more effective"".
  18. Rawnsley, Adam (July 6, 2020). "Right-Wing Media Outlets Duped by a Middle East Propaganda Campaign". The Daily Beast. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  19. Meyers, Jim.Nielsen: Newsmax #1 Conservative Site in the Nation, Newsmax.com, January 17, 2010.
  20. "Independents Take Center Stage in Obama Era". Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. May 21, 2009. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  21. "newsmax.com Site Overview". alexa.com. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  22. Peters, Jeremy W.A Compass for Conservative Politics,The New York Times, July 10, 2011.
  23. Lambiet, Jose.Bill Clinton's Surprise Visit to Conservative Newsmax Archived October 18, 2010, at Archive.today, Page 2 Live, August 16, 2010.
  24. Bedard, Paul.Sarah Palin Takes A Big Step Toward 2012 Run for President,US News and World Report, October 7, 2010.
  25. Friedman, Jon (March 13, 2009). "Chris Ruddy: Conservatives'Great Online Ally". MarketWatch.
  26. Greenfeld, Karl Taro.The Next Ailes: Newsmax's Chris Ruddy Preps TV Rival to Fox News, Bloomberg Business, March 6, 2014.
  27. Christopher Ruddy, the Trump whisperer: 'I’m honest with him', Washington Post, Derek Hawkins, June 15, 2017.
  28. "Newsmax To Launch Channel with DirecTV". Politico. May 29, 2014. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
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