The Mediaite 50: Innovators And Influencers Who Shook Up 2009

5. Arianna Huffington, The Huffington Post

In the months leading up to the 2008 election, The Huffington Post experienced a remarkable surge in traffic, becoming the most-read independent political blog. What goes up must go down, the pundits said, but HuffPo spent 2009 climbing higher and higher. Arianna Huffington‘s vision transformed The Huffington Post from a pure political blog int0 a one-stop shop: new verticals for sports, books, and technology have expanded the site’s footprint and made it a strong contender going into the new decade. This hasn’t totally been a good thing: opinion has, to an extent, faded away in favor of colorless aggregation. On the plus side, though, Huffington herself still finds time to write daring editorials that consistently shape the debate. Who else could get away with asking Joe Biden to resign? -RQ

4. Harvey Levin, TMZ

Whether or not 2009 was really the Year of the Celebrity Death, one of the main reasons it seemed that way was Harvey Levin. Well, not the man himself, but the ship he steers: the notorious TMZ. The celebrity gossip website, paparazzi army and nightly television program went from scum-sucking bottom feeders (in the eyes of journalism’s highest minded critics) to begrudged leader of the Hollywood beat, scooping tragedies like the deaths of Brittany Murphy and, of course, Michael Jackson. Apart from dead stars, TMZ had the infamous Rihanna pictures, and subsequently, web traffic through the roof. You don’t have to like it, but you have to tip your cap in a “good at what they do, as horrible as it may be” sort of way. Plus, they’re starting to teach these once reviled methods in journalism school, so Levin might just be your boss one day. -JC

3. Brian Roberts, Comcast

The Comcast CEO received some less-than-flattering press from CNN earlier this year, but he’s hoping his company’s recent purchase of NBC Universal from General Electric will revitalize the nation’s largest cable provider. Some met the deal with trepidation – and the Obama administration is expected to as well – but if Roberts got people talking. (Even some prominent voices at his prized new network weighed in extensively.) Also noticeable is a rather sudden increase in Comcast stock value after they announced the deal December 3, so he also got people buying. But if there is any question about the smarts that Roberts may or may not possess it was answered just recently when rumors leaked of a conservative leaning NBC channel that could compete with Fox News. Even thought that’s not likely to happen, the notion of an NBC-owned channel that is friendly to the right shakes up the binary economy of network bias claims that Fox News plays so well to their benefit. Kudos, Mr. Roberts. -GD

2. Biz Stone, Twitter

Many would say that pop culture in 2009 happened in 140 character bursts. Michael Jackson died and everyone knew; Martha Stewart plugged in; the president called a pop star a “jackass;” Ashton regained relevance. And floating along in the background (laughing all the way to the bank?) was Twitter co-founder Biz Stone. The startup arrived, then innovated and captured the thumbs of everyone along the way. As creative director, Stone is invested in the day-to-day operations, but has maintained a relatively low profile, which has its pluses and its minuses. On the downside (?), there’s no Justin Timberlake movie in the making about him and his meteoric rise. But on the flip side, his drunken pictures are still nowhere to be found. -JC

1. Roger Ailes, Fox News

To say that Roger Ailes had an incredible year is both an understatement and incorrect. He’s had an incredible decade, its just that 2009 is the culmination of 10 hard years of work in building Fox News, the wildly popular, oft-criticized news network that didn’t just dominated the ratings, though that they did. Nor is it that their opinion programming shaped debate over political issues that effected actual policy. Its that Fox News is no longer solely synonymous with opinion program — they are now the leading news network, regularly defeating their cable news competition when big news breaks (see the Ft. Hood crisis or House Health Care Debate).

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Fox News is enjoying their best financial year ever — which is even more remarkable considering the economic climate. But Ailes impact goes way beyond net revenue. Ailes has, for better or worse, changed the way that we consider journalism and media in general. Perhaps more than anything else, he is continually committed to improving Fox News (and its baby sister network Fox Business). Just think — could Glenn Beck have had the year he had without the support and vision of Roger Ailes? Absolutely not. So how does Roger Ailes come ahead of Rupert Murdoch,  given that Murdoch could theoretically fire Ailes any time he wanted? Ailes simply has too much influence and power. Plus, sources close to News Corp. and Fox News agree — the domination and influence of Fox News is an Ailes project. Finally, on a day-to-day basis, nobody as more impact on the political discourse than Ailes. Which is why he deserves to be number one on the Mediaite 50. -CH

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