JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – At first brush, Saul Anuzis doesn’t object to his recently launched news aggregator – www.saulsnewsstand.com – being compared to the Drudge Report.
But the Michigan political insider says the comparison only works up to a point.
“Basically it is a Drudge-like alternative for political news,” Anuzis said Monday. “But we’re not going to have the pop culture stuff, the movie stars, the stuff like that. This is a place for people to go for a broad-range of political stories to read and follow – but it’s all politics.”
And his site is unabashedly conservative. According to Anuzis, the site, which is accompanied by a mobile app, is meant for conservative Republican and Libertarian readers. The site launched at the end of May and is already tracking several thousand viewers a day, something that Anuzis hopes to watch grow.
“We’ve been getting some good feedback so far,” Anuzis said. “I’ve been getting some emails complimenting us about what we’ve done so far.”
A regular feature on the site will include his blog feed, “That’s Saul Folks” at the bottom of the link for breaking news, gossip and predictions. While stories that feature statewide stories may occasionally make the cut, Anuzis envisions his site as one mainly for nationally relevant political news.
The site is updated around the clock, Anuzis said, and with the assistance of two others, will link anywhere from 20 to 50 stories a day. Stories will be culled from across cyberspace, Anuzis said, whether they come from the New York Times, the Washington Post or the Hill.
Conservatism is something Anuzis has been passionate about all of his life. Anuzis, 57, is a political insider who lives in Lansing, Michigan. He was chairman of the Michigan Republican Party from 2005 to 2009 and was also a candidate for national chairman of the Republican National Committee in 2009 and 2011. While he mostly does consulting work for non-profits and corporations, he recently worked for Sen. Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign.
In 1980, Anuzis was elected the second youngest delegate to the Republican National Convention, held that year in Detroit. He also attended President Ronald Reagan’s first inaugural.
Anuzis has been aggregating political stories for some time already and also printed a newsletter. The new site is a culmination of everything he’s done so far – but all at one web site.
With the politically divisive nature of politics, Anuzis understands his site may not appeal to all – and he’s OK with that.
“It’s a niche site,” he said. “It’s not for everybody. It’s not going to get the millions and millions of unique views. That’s Drudge. But for people who want to get a big-picture perspective about what’s going on, I hope they will check us out and see what we’re about.”
