The Mediaite 50: Innovators And Influencers Who Shook Up 2009

by Mediaite | 8:20 am, December 24th, 2009

» 11 comments

Mediaite50 The year 2009 had many media bright spots, break-out stars, dominating networks and game-changing technologies. The Mediaite 50 collects the finest, most exemplary innovators and influencers of the year, defining a media moment in time and setting the agenda as we move forward.

There were many significant and ongoing narratives in the mediascape this year. The continued explosion of online media dovetailed with the continued collapse of print — Condé Nast ushered in the McKinsey executors while Gawker Media posted huge profits. Meanwhile, Newsweek tried to reinvent itself, the New York Times suffered another round of layoffs and a host of shuttered papers and magazines stopped cold. Online we saw huge acquisitions and gains, but not without growing pains: the net had its fair share of job cuts, too, as advertising slumped across the board. But as media critic David Carr put it, there’s an underlying wave of youth and optimism.

This year we also saw opinion media dominate traditional journalism in ways that no one would ever have expected. Fox News pulled further ahead of the competition with the continued success of Bill O’Reilly and a breakout year from Glenn Beck, not to mention the network’s similar domination of straight news blocks. The Huffington Post kept momentum from the kickstart of the 2008 election, while the right feasted on a first year president.

Pop culture had its moments, too — not all of them pretty, in fact, most pretty ugly — from Balloon Boy and Kanye “Jackass” West to Rihanna and the death of Michael Jackson. As a result, gossip blogs had another stellar year and TMZ led the pack. Then came MTV’s latest gem.

It often seemed like a rough year — maybe a fitting end to a tough decade — but that doesn’t mean there weren’t bright spots. We saw innovation, redemption and reconciliation, and the tactful and savvy rose to the top of the media heap. Those are the names that make up The Mediaite 50.

(Note – the rankings of these individuals are purely opposed to the rankings in the Mediaite Power Grid)

>>>NEXT: The first 5 in the Mediaite 50 include a crew from Seaside Heights and a young man you might just Digg…

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TfT

Keith is going to be very mad at you; expect to be named WPITW again!
Pat Doherty

Someone has to explain to me the infatuation with Rachel Maddow. It has to be at least partly informed by political correctness. She seems like a pleasant person, and is obviously exceptionally well-educated, but I don’t find her charismatic in the least. I loathe Keith Olbermann, but I understand he’s a talented broadcaster/performer. Said lack of charisma, especially when you consider the lack of newsmakers and pedestrian ratings her show attracts, doesn’t seem to jive with the drumbeat of gushing “RACHEL MADDOW IS CHANGING CABLE NEWS!” profiles one reads in the New York Times, Newsweek, and Mediate.

P.S. Given the fact the biggest superstar in the conservative media firmament (sorry Glenn) increased his ratings, was the target of a White House-coordinated media blitz in March, and his attempt to buy a football team in October inspired weeks of intense coverage, shouldn’t Rush Limbaugh be somewhere in the Top 50?
http://www.sailrabbits.com Magister

Good post. Though I might not agree with every inclusion or individual ranking and if pressed, I might want to put a couple of others into the mix. I feel that all together this is a good, well-reasoned product.

Now, if we could just get a last page index keyed to some name tags… (ask Rex)
adamac

Well, I would like to say that every individual has got his own views and I think that it is not necessary that the list you have created match every individual tally. I would like to shuffle some of the personalities in your list. That’s it otherwise your list is perfect.
the visionary

interesting to note that 4 of the 8 conservatives on the list had some kind of caveat like “for better or worse” or “love em or hate em” in their description… roger ailes, glenn beck, sarah palin, michelle malkin. dont see that on the libs…

otherwise the list wasn’t bad
ireenawagner

I think the single serving coffee makers with the disposable cartridges are an Unnovation. They may enhance convenience while adding a flavored coffee product line to its portfolio in conjunction to the machine, but the end result means more unnecessary production and waste in the value chain, when compared to the traditional coffee making experience. That is unsustainable and should be frowned upon.
Robert Quigley

@ireenawagner: thanks.
SimJim

Linked here from BigGovernment.com. I won’t be back. It has already been noted by someone else, but in reading through the Top 15 it stuck out like a sore thumb that every conservative notable had a disclaimer of some sort.

Yes, leftists hate conservatives. We already know this and we don’t need it repeated every time Palin, Beck, Limbaugh, Murdock and other conservatives are mentioned. The quickest way to identify a liberal bias is to see how they describe conservatives.

Oh, well, lots of websites to choose from…good-bye.
Sunnyr

Roger Ailes is a genius and Glenn Beck is a Rock Star. Love them both! Sarah is super and O’Reilly is ………
uh……….hmmmm…………er…………..well, he’s ok. Love Jack Tapper too. I think your list of the top 6 is great except for Arianna…..double ugh!
puck30

Well, I could debate this all day long with you but. I don’t see Olby or Pawn Vannity’s name in the mix so were cool!
Calvin

The Left’s War on the Kochs H/T Hot Air