Newsmax Media started in 1998 when, 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 Investors, Ruddy founded Newsmax Media. 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."