Evaluating The Daily Beast’s List of Top 25 Right-Wing Journalists

by Frances Martel | 5:52 pm, February 11th, 2010

» 12 comments

The Daily Beast took a stab at one of the harder sciences of the media world last night, publishing a list of the top 25 most influential right-wing journalists in America. It is a pretty comprehensive list, with all the usual suspects - Matt Drudge, George Will, almost everyone on Fox News prime time – making appearances, and both conservative and libertarian columnists taken into consideration. “What unites them all, broadly,” writes columnist Tunku Varadarajan, “is their influence on the public debate, and their place on the political spectrum—which is somewhere to the right of center.”

“Journalist” is quite a tricky word in the post-objectivity media world, especially when trying to rank journalists by their political inclinations. The list only has two main rules on who is excluded: media moguls like Rupert Murdoch and recent converts to punditry like Sarah Palin. This means that any public personality right-of-center who appears in some form of news media counts as a journalist, whether or not they engage in journalistic investigation and exposure of stories or merely comment on other people’s journalistic work. The result is a more complete picture of the right-wing media scene, but it does lead to some apples-and-oranges comparisons that rank people who actually break stories (like Drudge Andrew Breitbart, ranked #10 and #11, respectively) lower than commentators who depend on the Drudges and Breitbarts of the world for their material (like Rush Limbaugh, ranked #3).

Whether the list is accurate in its depiction of journalist thus depends more on the reader’s personal definition of the word than anything inherent in the list’s structure. As for accuracy in terms of influence within the right wing, here’s how the top five rank in comparison to their place on Mediaite’s Power Grid:

Bill O’Reilly clocks in at #5 for being “reliably—and relentlessly—omniscient” (which O’Reilly will likely be happy to hear). While this keeps him in the same position as he in among TV hosts in the Power Grid, it puts him behind two people he is well ahead of there crossing categories. The two exceptions are the radio hosts– Beck and Limbaugh. Peggy Noonan takes the #4 ranking on the Daily Beast list, while her top ranking on the Power Grid is #26 (in the columnists category). Beck and Limbaugh, numbers 2 and 3 respectively, are regularly swapping the #1 position among radio hosts in the Power Grid, while the surprising top right-wing journalist in the Daily Beast list, Paul Gigot of The Wall Street Journal, ranks at #30 as an online editor. Gigot takes the prize for his column being “the only editorial column that actually sells newspapers.” It seems counterintuitive compared to ubiquitous characters like O’Reilly, Beck, Limbaugh, and to some extent Noonan, but being the most prone to finding and airing new stories instead of simply his take on what is already out there, Gigot deserves the prize by definition only. What’s more, while the others may be more universally and publicly influential, Gigot goes about his work more privately, and by focusing on his newspaper has a wider influence among right-wingers than some of the more multimedia types on the list. This would explain his higher ranking among conservatives than using the universal metric of the Power Grid.

The list is a good effort, although in attempting to be as inclusive as possible it ends up a little scatter-brained. It will be interesting to see how the list evolves if the Beast chooses to reevaluate it in a year, after the midterm elections.

http://www.abramsresearch.com/ Dan Abrams

I am not sure how much it matters but would the same list on the left refer to “left wing” journalists?
PureFreedom

That is the great thing about being American. You have views of both sides and we try to meet in the middle. Let debate ideas,
Why would we want a one party country? that is called a dictatorship.
felixw

A smart article from The Daily Beast. And with no obvious bias. How did this slip through the thought police censors? (To my surprise) they didn’t try to tilt it by inserting unflattering photos of each person on the list, or take cheap shots in the text. The choice of Paul Gigot in the top spot will surprise many, but is quite astute. The editorial page of the WSJ is the source of the most consistently substantive and serious conservative thinking found anywhere, even in the age of Beck and Limbaugh. I could gripe about a few choices. Ms. Malkin is a lightweight, for example, and the absence of Ann Coulter and Hugh Hewitt are surprising. However, this is an intelligent article, and can be taken seriously, unlike so much effluvia from the belly of the Beast.
stevelaw

Yes, you are right. It is quite unfortunate that the media so frequently glamorizes celebrities parading around with the latest greatest accessory….a baby without a daddy. Unfortunately, most of the young Americans’ emulating this behavior will not end up on their own reality shows, but will much more likely end up on welfare.

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Azarkhan

Most of the people on this list I had not heard of before. Others, like Rush Limbaugh, I don’t listen to but hear about when he makes some controversial statement (so actually quite often!). And one, Dav id Brooks, I don’t consider conservative at all. Nevertheless, I think there are some remarkable people on this list.

Matt Drudge- I use the Drudge Report for my home page. I think he is amazing. I mean, does the man ever write or say anything? Yet his is one of the most successful and influential websites ever. There was an interesting article rating his site as one of the best designed on the web. The writer stated:

“To clarify, my definition of design goes beyond aesthetic qualities and into areas of maintenance, cost, profitability, speed, and purpose. However, I still think that the Drudge Report is an aesthetic masterpiece even though I also consider it ugly. Can good design also be ugly? I think Drudge proves it can.”

He makes several interesting observations. The link is here: http://37signals.com/svn/posts/1407-why-the-drudge-report-is-one-of-the-best-designed-sites-on-the-web

Rush Limbaugh- I think he is utterly fearless, but what I really respect him for is that I believe he single-handedly revived AM radio. Before he came along, AM was dead. AM had died when FM, or “underground radio” as it was known at one time, came into vogue.

An interesting assessment was given in the LA Times by Robin Bertolucci, program director at a progressive radio station (and obviously no friend of Rush), speaking after the demise of Air America:

“The thing that makes any radio program successful is the entertainment value and the information value. What makes a compelling talk-show host is not limited to political ideology,” Bertolucci said, citing the example of KFI mainstay Rush Limbaugh. “He’s a wildly talented and entertaining broadcaster. If he was a communist, I think the show would be successful too — in a very different way.”

For over twenty years he has been a powerhouse on radio. And oh, btw, the man is deaf.

Bill O’Reilly- O’Reilly often turns me off because of his abrasive style. Still, 14 years on television is a long time. I think the reason he is so successful is that he understands the inherent contradiction between politics, a dreary topic for most people, and television, an entertainment medium.

So O’Reilly doesn’t allow his show to get stale. He often introduces new segments, or varies the routine. Many of the things he does seem odd for a political show, like having on a body language or word expert, giving a quiz on pop culture, or even reading the mail, but they become understandable if seen from an entertainment perspective. He also livens up the show by giving the opposition a voice, having on guests like Dr. Marc Hill or Sally Quinn. Furthermore, he is not afraid of competition. Glenn Beck is currently hot?-he’s a regular guest.

In the world of television, where shows and personalities come and go (anyone remember Aaron Brown?), O’Reilly is a survivor.
http://www.sailrabbits.com Magister

The people listed aren’t “journalists” and the list comes across as fluffy linkbait.
tjl

I second that Magister.
Andrew Tyndall

Glenn Beck on @katiecouric on September 22nd, 2009: “I am not a journalist. I am an opinion guy.”
The Real Royal King

David Brooks, I don’t consider conservative at all.

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I find this such an interesting comment. I know you are being thoroughly honest in your opinion/conclusion. Yet, it seems to me that Brooks is one of the few classical conservatives left in America. To a lesser extent, he is in the same club as George Will. I’m not at all sure we have a clear definition of “conservative” anymore. For some, like Brooks and Will, conservatism is about a certain fiscal policy which they see irrevocably linked to certain basic freedoms and which necessitates a smaller government. They have much to offer. For some, Sean Hannity and Phyliss Schlafely, for example, conservatism involves forcing a certain social policy on others, which then robs us of the freedoms Brooks and Will cherish. Then, we have another group which seems to think conservatism is simply an outlook on life, a mean-spiritedness, an exclusivity. This seems to be the (White) Tea Party conservatism. We probably need to use a more concrete word than “conservative” to describe these factions, these denominations of conservatism. Thank you for a though-provoking comment Azarkahn.
writer

Once again, Royal connects (White) race to politics. Ever see him stereotype any other (Race) like that?
J Baustian

That is a great list, and I can find only one tiny point on which to complain: the inclusion of Matt Drudge.

Of all the others one can say: I have read or heard the man’s (or woman’s) opinions and I agree/disagree with them. I go to Drudge’s website often, but I know nothing of his opinions.
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