NIGHTLINE BLOWBACK: In his breathless,

NIGHTLINE BLOWBACK: In his breathless, all-caps style, Matt Drudge writes:

‘NIGHTLINE’ RATINGS DOWN IN MAJOR CITIES WITH DEATH LIST; LOSES AUDIENCE FROM PREVIOUS FRIDAY WITH READING OF IRAQ WAR CASUALTIES… DEVELOPING… ABCNEWS SPECIAL HITS 9 SHARE IN NYC [FLAT FROM PREVIOUS WEEK]; 14 SHARE IN L.A.; 11 SHARE CHICAGO [DOWN FROM 15 SHARE PREVIOUS FRIDAY ]; 8 SHARE IN PHILLY [OFF FROM 11 SHARE]…

Michael Graham adds, “No doubt the Nightline spinners will say “See, this proves were weren’t doing this during sweeps for the ratings!” I think the more honest answer is, thanks to the publicity, it didn’t work”.

UPDATE (5/4/04): Or…maybe it did. Graham posts today that Nightline’s ratings on Friday were 22 percent higher than the week before. No wonder Drudge took the report down fairly quickly.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Welcome Moderate Voice and Dean Esmay readers!