Christopher Ruddy
Encyclopedia
Christopher Ruddy is an American conservative journalist. He is currently the CEO of Newsmax Media
which publishes Newsmax.com, one of the top ranked websites for conservative political news in the United States. In April 2010, Folio Magazine
, a small literary magazine based at the United Methodist Church
-sponsored, American University
, named Ruddy to its "FOLIO 40" - described as "Our annual list of magazine industry influencers and innovators".
, New York
, where his father was a police officer in Nassau County
. He graduated from Chaminade High School
in Mineola, NY before graduating summa cum laude with a degree in history from the Roman Catholic, St. John's University
in Queens, NY in 1987. He then earned a master's degree in public policy from the London School of Economics
and also studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
. He worked briefly as a high school teacher.
Early in his career, Ruddy was editor-in-chief of a conservative monthly periodical known as the New York Guardian
. While with the Guardian, Ruddy gained notice for debunking a story in the PBS documentary Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War II
that an all-black army unit had liberated the Buchenwald and Dachau concentration camps. He called the documentary an example of "how the media can manipulate facts and narratives to create a revised history both believable and untrue." PBS subsequently withdrew its support for the documentary, following an independent investigation by the American Jewish Committee
. Ruddy then moved into more mainstream journalism with the New York Post
, which he joined as an investigative reporter late in the summer of 1993. After initially writing about abuse of Social Security disability benefits, he focused on the Vincent Foster case, the subject of an ongoing investigation after Foster had died earlier that year.
Since 1996, Ruddy has been Media Fellow at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace at Stanford University
. Ruddy serves on the Board of Directors of the Financial Publishers Association, an industry trade group representing the nation's financial media. Ruddy also served as a representative on the U.S. delegation headed by Senators Joseph Lieberman and Lindsey Graham
to the NATO 44th Munich Security Conference.
In 2009, Ruddy was elected to the board of directors of the American Swiss Foundation, a non-profit organization that fosters relations between the two countries. The group represents Switzerland's leading banks, insurance and multinational corporations.
In January 2010, Britain's Telegraph ranked Ruddy as one of the "100 Most Influential Conservatives" in the U.S. The paper said: "Chris Ruddy is an increasingly powerful and influential player in the conservative media and beyond."
Ruddy has been a "Sustaining Donor" to the Wikimedia Foundation
.
, work which was described by Former FBI Director William S. Sessions
as "serious and compelling."
New York Post editor Eric Breindel
recommended Ruddy for a job at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
owned by Richard Mellon Scaife
. In November 1994, Ruddy was hired to investigate the story full-time by the Tribune-Review. In between Ruddy's departure from the Post and joining the Tribune-Review, he put out a report through the Western Journalism Center
criticizing the Fiske investigation as inadequate. With the help of Scaife, the Center took out full-page ads in major newspapers to promote the report (Scaife gave $330,000 to the Center in 1994-95 before ending his support).
Ruddy claimed that Park Police had staged the scene of Foster's death as described in their reports. One of the officers named by Ruddy sued him along with the Western Journalism Center, seeking $2 million in damages for libel. The suit was dismissed because Ruddy had said nothing libelous "of and concerning the officer".
Ruddy later built on his work on the Foster case for his book The Strange Death of Vincent Foster
. In reviewing the book, Richard Brookhiser of the National Review
called it "the St. Mark version of the gospel of the Foster cover-up: a plain narrative of the perceived failings of the official investigation, with minimal speculation." Shortly after the book came out, Fiske's successor as independent counsel, Kenneth Starr
, released his report from the third investigation into Foster's death. Starr also concluded that Foster had committed suicide.
's death. Brown had been killed in a plane crash in Croatia
in 1996. Citing the opinion of a medical examiner who was involved in the investigation, but did not actually examine Brown's body, Ruddy raised the possibility that Brown had received a head wound from a gunshot. This notion was rejected by the medical examiner who did examine the corpse, who concluded that Brown died of blunt force injuries from the crash. An Air Force statement said there was no exit wound and explained that apparent "bullet fragments" were caused by defective x-ray film.
. The NewsMax.com website launched on September 16, 1998, with Ruddy serving as columnist and editor-in-chief. In addition to the web site, the company publishes a monthly magazine, also called Newsmax. After starting Newsmax, Ruddy was featured in a January 1999 Newsweek
cover story as one of twenty "Stars of the New News."
In an October 2008 profile on Ruddy and Newsmax, The Palm Beach Post
reported that Newsmax generates close to $25 million in revenues and is one of the most trafficked news websites in the U.S. In addition to its popular news portal, Newsmax.com, the company publishes Newsmax magazine and a host of health and financial newsletters.
A March 2009 profile of Ruddy and Newsmax on Forbes.com described his media company as the "great right hope" of the Republican Party
and said after just a decade of operations it had become a "media powerhouse." Political analyst Dick Morris
told Forbes
that Newsmax had become the "most influential Republican-leaning media outlet" in the nation.
Dow Jones Marketwatch.com's media critic Jon Friedman noted that Ruddy had become a "bigger internet star than Rush Limbaugh
" and that his web site ratings had surpassed that of the Drudgereport. Friedman suggested that Ruddy's success was due to a more balanced approach to news coverage and the GOP's worldview.
Folio magazine in its FOLIO 40 ranking identified Ruddy as a "C-Level Visionary" and notes that under his leadership Newsmax has flourished during the economic downturn "where success is really measured these days," continuing the Newsmax brand "ascendancy" both digitally and in print.
Though a conservative, Ruddy broke with the Bush Administration on the prosecution of the Iraq War, and was one of the first conservatives to do so. "I came out very strongly against the war in Iraq when it wasn't in vogue, back in 2004," Ruddy told The Palm Beach Post
. "I lost some subscribers. But we are close to spending a trillion dollars on the war and there is no exit strategy," he added. "Lots of Republicans and conservatives are not that gung-ho on the war anymore and I think we broke the ice."
The paper noted that Ruddy, disenchanted by the war and runaway federal spending under Bush, re-evaluated the Clinton years and offered a kinder view of the administration he once criticized.
Compared with his reporting during Bill Clinton
's presidency, Ruddy eventually took a more subdued view to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. He said she had moderated and no longer generated the same animosity among conservatives. Ruddy told The New York Times
he and Scaife had changed their views: "Both of us have had a rethinking. Clinton wasn't such a bad president. In fact, he was a pretty good president in a lot of ways, and Dick feels that way today." This got some attention in conservative circles where Ruddy and Scaife were criticized for their new found liking of the former president. David Horowitz
defended Ruddy in response, suggesting the comment referred to Clinton's domestic policies and arguing that Ruddy had not considered those objectionable even during the Clinton administration itself.
In the fall of 2007, Ruddy published a positive interview with former President Clinton on Newsmax.com, followed by a positive cover story in Newsmax magazine. The New York Times noted with reference to the event that politics had made "strange bedfellows
".
Newsweek reported that Ruddy praised Clinton for his Foundation's global work, and explained that the interview, as well as a private lunch he and Scaife had had with Clinton (which Ruddy says was orchestrated by Ed Koch
), were due to the shared view of himself and Scaife that Clinton was doing important work representing the U.S. globally while America was the target of criticism. He also said that he and Scaife had never suggested Clinton was involved in Foster's death, nor had they spread allegations about Bill Clinton's sex scandals, although their work may have encouraged others. Ruddy and Scaife again met Clinton for lunch at his office in September 2008. "We had a great time with him," Ruddy said of the meeting. He added, "We consider Bill Clinton a friend and he considers us friends." Forbes
indicated the relationship between Ruddy and Clinton has continued and described them as "lunch chums."
During a 2010 campaign swing through Florida, President Clinton departed from his schedule to make a visit to Newsmax's offices in West Palm Beach. After a private meeting with Ruddy, Clinton toured Newsmax's offices and met with its staff.
A May 2009 New York Times Sunday magazine profile on the former president, "The Mellowing of William Jefferson Clinton," offered more details of the relationship between Ruddy and Clinton. The Arkansas Times
said details about the friendship between Ruddy and Clinton in the New York Times profile was the "most amazing revelation" of their profile of the former president. Ruddy told the Times though he remained a "Reagan conservative," he had re-evaluated the Clinton presidency and suggested he had earned high marks as president for success in ending welfare, keeping government in check, and supporting free trade. Ruddy also noted that the Clinton Foundation was doing remarkable work globally.
In July 2010, Newsmax made an unsuccessful bid for Newsweek. Though the newsweekly was purchased by another group, Ruddy said that if he had purchased the newsweekly he would not have changed its editorial direction, focusing instead on its business model. He claimed that within 18 months he would have brought the publication to profitability.
Other
NewsMax Media
Newsmax Media is a conservative American news media organization founded by Christopher W. Ruddy and based in West Palm Beach, Florida. It operates the news website Newsmax.com and publishes Newsmax Magazine.Christopher W...
which publishes Newsmax.com, one of the top ranked websites for conservative political news in the United States. In April 2010, Folio Magazine
Folio (magazine)
Folio is a literary magazine founded in 1984 and based at American University in Washington, D.C. It publishes fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction twice each year. Folio is also known for interviews with prominent writers, most recently Ann Beattie, Alice Fulton, Leslie Pietrzyk, Gregory Orr,...
, a small literary magazine based at the United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
-sponsored, American University
American University
American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...
, named Ruddy to its "FOLIO 40" - described as "Our annual list of magazine industry influencers and innovators".
Background
Ruddy grew up on Long IslandLong Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where his father was a police officer in Nassau County
Nassau County, New York
Nassau County is a suburban county on Long Island, east of New York City in the U.S. state of New York, within the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,339,532...
. He graduated from Chaminade High School
Chaminade High School
Chaminade High School is a Roman Catholic college preparatory high school for young men. Located in Mineola, New York, the school was founded in 1930 by the Society of Mary , an international Roman Catholic teaching order of priests and religious Brothers. The school is named for Father William...
in Mineola, NY before graduating summa cum laude with a degree in history from the Roman Catholic, St. John's University
St. John's University (New York City)
St. John's University is a private, Roman Catholic, coeducational university located in New York City, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission in 1870, the school was originally located in the borough of Brooklyn in the neighborhood of Bedford–Stuyvesant...
in Queens, NY in 1987. He then earned a master's degree in public policy from the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
and also studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
. He worked briefly as a high school teacher.
Early in his career, Ruddy was editor-in-chief of a conservative monthly periodical known as the New York Guardian
New York Guardian
The New York Guardian was a monthly periodical published by Herbert London, a professor at New York University and the 1990 Conservative Party candidate for governor of New York State. The paper's editor-in-chief was Christopher W. Ruddy, who went on to work as an investigative reporter at the New...
. While with the Guardian, Ruddy gained notice for debunking a story in the PBS documentary Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War II
Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War II
Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War II is a 1992 documentary film directed by Bill Miles. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature....
that an all-black army unit had liberated the Buchenwald and Dachau concentration camps. He called the documentary an example of "how the media can manipulate facts and narratives to create a revised history both believable and untrue." PBS subsequently withdrew its support for the documentary, following an independent investigation by the American Jewish Committee
American Jewish Committee
The American Jewish Committee was "founded in 1906 with the aim of rallying all sections of American Jewry to defend the rights of Jews all over the world...
. Ruddy then moved into more mainstream journalism with the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
, which he joined as an investigative reporter late in the summer of 1993. After initially writing about abuse of Social Security disability benefits, he focused on the Vincent Foster case, the subject of an ongoing investigation after Foster had died earlier that year.
Since 1996, Ruddy has been Media Fellow at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. Ruddy serves on the Board of Directors of the Financial Publishers Association, an industry trade group representing the nation's financial media. Ruddy also served as a representative on the U.S. delegation headed by Senators Joseph Lieberman and Lindsey Graham
Lindsey Graham
Lindsey Olin Graham is the senior U.S. Senator from South Carolina and a member of the Republican Party. Previously he served as the U.S. Representative for .-Early life, education and career:...
to the NATO 44th Munich Security Conference.
In 2009, Ruddy was elected to the board of directors of the American Swiss Foundation, a non-profit organization that fosters relations between the two countries. The group represents Switzerland's leading banks, insurance and multinational corporations.
In January 2010, Britain's Telegraph ranked Ruddy as one of the "100 Most Influential Conservatives" in the U.S. The paper said: "Chris Ruddy is an increasingly powerful and influential player in the conservative media and beyond."
Ruddy has been a "Sustaining Donor" to the Wikimedia Foundation
Wikimedia Foundation
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. is an American non-profit charitable organization headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States, and organized under the laws of the state of Florida, where it was initially based...
.
Vincent Foster case
Ruddy is one of (and perhaps the most prominent among) several individuals who have discussed questions regarding the death of White House counsel Vince FosterVince Foster
Vincent Walker Foster, Jr. was a Deputy White House Counsel during the first few months of President Bill Clinton's administration, and also a law partner and friend of Hillary Rodham Clinton...
, work which was described by Former FBI Director William S. Sessions
William S. Sessions
William Steele Sessions is a civil servant who served as a judge and 4th Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation...
as "serious and compelling."
New York Post editor Eric Breindel
Eric Breindel
Eric M. Breindel was a neoconservative writer and former editorial page editor of the New York Post.He died of liver failure, having suffered from health problems throughout adulthood, as a result of AIDS, according to Michael Wolff in his book The Man Who Owns The News: Inside The Secret World Of...
recommended Ruddy for a job at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, also known as "the Trib," is the second largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
owned by Richard Mellon Scaife
Richard Mellon Scaife
Richard Mellon Scaife is an American newspaper publisher and billionaire. Scaife owns and publishes the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. With $1.2 billion, Scaife, a principal heir to the Mellon banking, oil, and aluminum fortune, is No...
. In November 1994, Ruddy was hired to investigate the story full-time by the Tribune-Review. In between Ruddy's departure from the Post and joining the Tribune-Review, he put out a report through the Western Journalism Center
Western Journalism Center
The Western Journalism Center was founded in 1991 by Joseph Farah and James H. Smith. It is based in Sacramento, California.-Projects:...
criticizing the Fiske investigation as inadequate. With the help of Scaife, the Center took out full-page ads in major newspapers to promote the report (Scaife gave $330,000 to the Center in 1994-95 before ending his support).
Ruddy claimed that Park Police had staged the scene of Foster's death as described in their reports. One of the officers named by Ruddy sued him along with the Western Journalism Center, seeking $2 million in damages for libel. The suit was dismissed because Ruddy had said nothing libelous "of and concerning the officer".
Ruddy later built on his work on the Foster case for his book The Strange Death of Vincent Foster
The Strange Death of Vincent Foster
The Strange Death of Vincent Foster: An Investigation is a book written by journalist Christopher W. Ruddy. Ruddy first wrote about the Foster story while reporting for The New York Post and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, owned by the millionaire Richard Scaife. The book is about a conspiracy...
. In reviewing the book, Richard Brookhiser of the National Review
National Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
called it "the St. Mark version of the gospel of the Foster cover-up: a plain narrative of the perceived failings of the official investigation, with minimal speculation." Shortly after the book came out, Fiske's successor as independent counsel, Kenneth Starr
Kenneth Starr
Kenneth Winston "Ken" Starr is an American lawyer and educational administrator who has also been a federal judge. He is best known for his investigation of figures during the Clinton administration....
, released his report from the third investigation into Foster's death. Starr also concluded that Foster had committed suicide.
Ron Brown investigation
Ruddy followed up his book with an investigation of the circumstances surrounding Commerce Secretary Ron BrownRon Brown (U.S. politician)
Ronald Harmon "Ron" Brown was the United States Secretary of Commerce, serving during the first term of President Bill Clinton. He was the first African American to hold this position...
's death. Brown had been killed in a plane crash in Croatia
1996 Croatia USAF CT-43 crash
On April 3, 1996, a United States Air Force CT-43A crashed on approach to Dubrovnik, Croatia while on an official trade mission. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-253 built as a T-43 navigation trainer, was carrying United States Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown and 34 other people, including The New York...
in 1996. Citing the opinion of a medical examiner who was involved in the investigation, but did not actually examine Brown's body, Ruddy raised the possibility that Brown had received a head wound from a gunshot. This notion was rejected by the medical examiner who did examine the corpse, who concluded that Brown died of blunt force injuries from the crash. An Air Force statement said there was no exit wound and explained that apparent "bullet fragments" were caused by defective x-ray film.
Newsmax
In 1998, impressed with the way news of the Clinton impeachment circulated on the Internet, Ruddy decided to start an Internet news company. With financial support from Scaife and other investors, Ruddy founded Newsmax MediaNewsMax Media
Newsmax Media is a conservative American news media organization founded by Christopher W. Ruddy and based in West Palm Beach, Florida. It operates the news website Newsmax.com and publishes Newsmax Magazine.Christopher W...
. The NewsMax.com website launched on September 16, 1998, with Ruddy serving as columnist and editor-in-chief. In addition to the web site, the company publishes a monthly magazine, also called Newsmax. After starting Newsmax, Ruddy was featured in a January 1999 Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
cover story as one of twenty "Stars of the New News."
In an October 2008 profile on Ruddy and Newsmax, The Palm Beach Post
The Palm Beach Post
The Palm Beach Post is a major daily newspaper in Florida, serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and the Treasure Coast area. It is the 72nd largest daily newspaper in the United States and the sixth largest in Florida.-History:...
reported that Newsmax generates close to $25 million in revenues and is one of the most trafficked news websites in the U.S. In addition to its popular news portal, Newsmax.com, the company publishes Newsmax magazine and a host of health and financial newsletters.
A March 2009 profile of Ruddy and Newsmax on Forbes.com described his media company as the "great right hope" of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
and said after just a decade of operations it had become a "media powerhouse." Political analyst Dick Morris
Dick Morris
Dick Morris is an American political author and commentator who previously worked as a pollster, political campaign consultant, and general political consultant....
told Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
that Newsmax had become the "most influential Republican-leaning media outlet" in the nation.
Dow Jones Marketwatch.com's media critic Jon Friedman noted that Ruddy had become a "bigger internet star than Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
" and that his web site ratings had surpassed that of the Drudgereport. Friedman suggested that Ruddy's success was due to a more balanced approach to news coverage and the GOP's worldview.
Folio magazine in its FOLIO 40 ranking identified Ruddy as a "C-Level Visionary" and notes that under his leadership Newsmax has flourished during the economic downturn "where success is really measured these days," continuing the Newsmax brand "ascendancy" both digitally and in print.
Though a conservative, Ruddy broke with the Bush Administration on the prosecution of the Iraq War, and was one of the first conservatives to do so. "I came out very strongly against the war in Iraq when it wasn't in vogue, back in 2004," Ruddy told The Palm Beach Post
The Palm Beach Post
The Palm Beach Post is a major daily newspaper in Florida, serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and the Treasure Coast area. It is the 72nd largest daily newspaper in the United States and the sixth largest in Florida.-History:...
. "I lost some subscribers. But we are close to spending a trillion dollars on the war and there is no exit strategy," he added. "Lots of Republicans and conservatives are not that gung-ho on the war anymore and I think we broke the ice."
The paper noted that Ruddy, disenchanted by the war and runaway federal spending under Bush, re-evaluated the Clinton years and offered a kinder view of the administration he once criticized.
Compared with his reporting during Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
's presidency, Ruddy eventually took a more subdued view to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. He said she had moderated and no longer generated the same animosity among conservatives. Ruddy told The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
he and Scaife had changed their views: "Both of us have had a rethinking. Clinton wasn't such a bad president. In fact, he was a pretty good president in a lot of ways, and Dick feels that way today." This got some attention in conservative circles where Ruddy and Scaife were criticized for their new found liking of the former president. David Horowitz
David Horowitz
David Joel Horowitz is an American conservative writer and policy advocate. Horowitz was raised by parents who were both members of the American Communist Party. Between 1956 and 1975, Horowitz was an outspoken adherent of the New Left before rejecting Marxism completely...
defended Ruddy in response, suggesting the comment referred to Clinton's domestic policies and arguing that Ruddy had not considered those objectionable even during the Clinton administration itself.
In the fall of 2007, Ruddy published a positive interview with former President Clinton on Newsmax.com, followed by a positive cover story in Newsmax magazine. The New York Times noted with reference to the event that politics had made "strange bedfellows
Strange bedfellows
- Films :* Strange Bedfellows * The Strange Bedfellow, a 1986 Hong Kong film* Strange Bedfellows - TV episodes :* "Strange Bedfellows", an episode of Columbo...
".
Newsweek reported that Ruddy praised Clinton for his Foundation's global work, and explained that the interview, as well as a private lunch he and Scaife had had with Clinton (which Ruddy says was orchestrated by Ed Koch
Ed Koch
Edward Irving "Ed" Koch is an American lawyer, politician, and political commentator. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and three terms as mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989...
), were due to the shared view of himself and Scaife that Clinton was doing important work representing the U.S. globally while America was the target of criticism. He also said that he and Scaife had never suggested Clinton was involved in Foster's death, nor had they spread allegations about Bill Clinton's sex scandals, although their work may have encouraged others. Ruddy and Scaife again met Clinton for lunch at his office in September 2008. "We had a great time with him," Ruddy said of the meeting. He added, "We consider Bill Clinton a friend and he considers us friends." Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
indicated the relationship between Ruddy and Clinton has continued and described them as "lunch chums."
During a 2010 campaign swing through Florida, President Clinton departed from his schedule to make a visit to Newsmax's offices in West Palm Beach. After a private meeting with Ruddy, Clinton toured Newsmax's offices and met with its staff.
A May 2009 New York Times Sunday magazine profile on the former president, "The Mellowing of William Jefferson Clinton," offered more details of the relationship between Ruddy and Clinton. The Arkansas Times
Arkansas Times
Arkansas Times, a weekly alternative newspaper based in Little Rock, Arkansas, is a publication that has circulated for more than 35 years, originally as a magazine. Its current format stems from reaction to the Arkansas Democrat buyout of assets from Gannett's closure of the Arkansas Gazette in...
said details about the friendship between Ruddy and Clinton in the New York Times profile was the "most amazing revelation" of their profile of the former president. Ruddy told the Times though he remained a "Reagan conservative," he had re-evaluated the Clinton presidency and suggested he had earned high marks as president for success in ending welfare, keeping government in check, and supporting free trade. Ruddy also noted that the Clinton Foundation was doing remarkable work globally.
In July 2010, Newsmax made an unsuccessful bid for Newsweek. Though the newsweekly was purchased by another group, Ruddy said that if he had purchased the newsweekly he would not have changed its editorial direction, focusing instead on its business model. He claimed that within 18 months he would have brought the publication to profitability.
Publications
Books- Vincent Foster: The Ruddy Investigation (United Publishing Company, 1996)
- The Strange Death of Vincent Foster: An InvestigationThe Strange Death of Vincent FosterThe Strange Death of Vincent Foster: An Investigation is a book written by journalist Christopher W. Ruddy. Ruddy first wrote about the Foster story while reporting for The New York Post and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, owned by the millionaire Richard Scaife. The book is about a conspiracy...
(Free Press, Simon & Schuster, 1997. ISBN 0-684-83837-0.)- Bitter Legacy: NewsMax Reveals the Untold Story of the Clinton-Gore Years (NewsMax Media, 2002. ISBN 0-9716807-3-6.)
- Catastrophe: Clinton's Role in America's Worst Disaster (NewsMax Media, 2002. ISBN 0-9716807-5-2.)
Other
- "A special report on the Fiske investigation of the death of Vincent W. Foster, Jr." (Western Journalism CenterWestern Journalism CenterThe Western Journalism Center was founded in 1991 by Joseph Farah and James H. Smith. It is based in Sacramento, California.-Projects:...
, 1997.) - "Internet Vortex", an online newsletter (published from 1998 to 2000)
External links
- Corporate information for Newsmax Media, Inc., from the Florida Department of State.
- Ruddy's political donations at Newsmeat.com.
- Chris Ruddy: Conservatives' Great Online Ally by MarketWatch.com
- The New York Times Report: Christopher Ruddy and Bill Clinton Relationship