Drudge is a pretty good case study in minimalistic design. By most metrics it's ugly and even baroque but it's brilliant because it is easy to parse and gets to the meat of the narrative that Matt is trying to sell to his audience.
I've always been extremely impressed with Drudge's design.
It's quick, easy to maintain, and has been completely mobile optimized since the flip-phone days.
It is built around showing you information, instead of information being an excuse to show you ads. Matt understands what he is providing and that insemination of information is more valuable than any extreme monetization strategies.
It doesn't have a confusing landscape of sections, icon fonts, ad videos and promotional content that prevent newcomers from understanding the flow. It takes but a few clicks before you are intimate with the interface.
It is the quintessential "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"
I just wish there were more publications of this style that weren't hyper-conservative and biased.
For another example of a beautifully designed site that puts information first, look at Cryptome.
