The Telegraph reported today that prominent internet personality Matt Drudge is the world's most powerful journalist. This comes in the wake of his picture of Obama in Muslim garb and his leak of Prince Harry's tour of duty in Afghanistan.

While some may challenge his journalistic credentials - his former employers include McDonalds and 7-Eleven - he is the epitome of the power and influence achievable through the internet and social media. TIME Magazine, in 1996, described the Drudge Report as: "A ludicrous combination of gossip, political intrigue and extreme weather reports ... still put together mostly by the guy who started out as a convenience-store clerk."

Of course, that didn't stop TIME reporting on Drudge's revelation last week, even name-checking the "ludicrous ... convenience store clerk". 

And the circle of influence between CGM and mainstream media continues.