The Mediaite 50: Innovators And Influencers Who Shook Up 2009

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

» 11 comments

20. Bill O’Reilly, Fox News

The most dominant and popular cable news host showed no signs of letting up in 2009, as The O’Reilly Factor enjoyed another year of enormous ratings. Glenn Beck may be getting on the cover of Time, but his colleague still out-rates him on a regular basis. And it’s not just TV –- O’Reilly’s “Bold Fresh” biography will end 2009 the same place it started the year: on the New York Times Bestsellers list. And that’s no spin. -SK

19. Jon Meacham, Newsweek

This wasn’t a good year for Newsweek, exactly — newsstand dropped precipitously, and a splashy redesign didn’t really change that. And maybe it won’t, but the magazine has done a helluva job at least trying. The new redesign? It’s better. Colbert on the cover, guest-editing an issue? Genius move — and a patriotic one, too. Their end-of-decade package? Frankly, the best one I’ve seen. They’ve even gotten props in the super-snooty new media-sphere for being the only mainstream news organization to have a proper, curated Tumblr (and it’s great). And whatever you think of the Sarah Palin cover, it was pretty damn buzzy (and Meacham is starting to show that he gets buzz, even if Cheney 2012 is a ludicrous idea). Are they still a slow old media company? Sure. But I have noticed, and admired, their willingness to try new things. Also, if anyone’s got God on their side, it’s Meacham. Hey, it doesn’t hurt. -RS

18. George Stephanopoulos, ABC News

From a 1990s political staple and President Clinton aide, George Stephanopoulos has become a household name. In late 2009, he started showing up in America’s houses early, landing a spot on Good Morning America that many see as a launching pad to an eventual role of anchoring World News. He had a solid run on Sunday morning’s This Week (a job he holds until the network names a replacement), but his ambition in the second half of this year could not be contained. Here at Mediaite, we tracked every rumor about his GMA transition, and implored him to accept the offer. And though he couldn’t catch up to Today in his first week’s ratings, the end of 2009 is just the beginning of a new George — he’s both patient and promising. -JC

17. David Letterman, CBS

It was an interesting year for Dave, to say the least. Jay Leno moved to 10PM, where he’s floundering, and Conan O’Brien has yet to find his footing hosting The Tonight Show. With his competition scrambling, Letterman hummed along, consistently beating O’Brien in ratings. But then things got interesting. During a seemingly normal monologue, Letterman dropped a bombshell: a CBS employee accused him of sleeping with an intern, and had attempted to extort him. The scandal dominated the news, making Dave number 3 both in news and blog buzz on the Power Grid, and giving his ratings a sizable bump. Since then, things have quieted down a smidge, with Dave able to joke about the scandal in light of Tiger Woods‘ troubles (“In case you haven’t heard, I’ve had some trouble of my own”). -DF

16. John Harris and Jim VandeHei, Politico

Almost immediately after its launch, Politico became the most influential paper in Washington without the word “Post” in its name — and a savvy, forward-looking web strategy ensured Politico an audience far beyond the Beltway. Recently, co-founder Jim VandeHei was elected to the Pulitzer Prize board, a remarkable honor that seemed to cement Politico’s prominent position in the new cosmos of journalism.

Founders John Harris and VandeHei have seen the paper leading opinion and breaking stories at a steady clip in 2009, though with a tendency towards Beltway gossip. Coming off of last year’s scoop on Sarah Palin’s $150K wardrobe expenses, Politico’s biggest scoop this year may be Roger Ailes‘ secret meeting with David Axelrod. Whatever they’re doing seems to be working: parent company Allbriton Communications has announced the launch of a new local news site in D.C. built on the Politico model. -RQ

>>>NEXT: Has Drudge’s number two taken the throne? Plus, the return of SNL!

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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