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. See the full list after the jump:

2009 was a remarkably troubled year for magazine publishing. But a few titles were able to eke out some positive attention and influence over the field — thanks, in part, to the vision and leadership of their editors. In our first end-of-year media poll, we ask our loyal, smart, and attractive users to share their thoughts on who had the biggest year in various media categories. Our first category: Magazine Editors.

“A mad reader is an engaged reader!” This we know. Everyone who has ever worked in media time-out-of-mind knows this. The blogosphere is built on this model. Cable News increasingly so. Still, knowing that didn’t stop me from being angry; angrier still that it had worked. And it does work. But why does it always seems to work best when women are shown at their marginalized worst? The answer: Sexism sells.

We’ve heard plenty about Mrs. Sarah Palin‘s plans three years from now — not to mention her potential running mates, including Glenn Beck. Now, Newsweek editor-in-chief Jon Meacham is utilizing his pot-stirring big spoon to serve up a new name: Dick Cheney in 2012. Is he serious or seriously “trolling for traffic,” as suggested by Salon’s Glenn Greenwald.

Sarah Palin is currently involved in a heated back-and-forth with Newsweek magazine (while Runner’s World ducks for cover) over their use of a sexy cover photo of her on their most recent issue. This whole thing sounded weirdly familiar to me. Newsweek magazine accused of sexist cover photo, headline calling her a problem? Sure enough, it looks like this is an annual event for Newsweek. There are a few key differences, though.

Back in October of 2008, Newsweek took fire from Palin supporters for a cover photo that was NOT sexy enough.

How to solve a problem like the coverage of Sarah Palin? According to Newsweek you take the low road. The weekly magazine apparently has decided that the best way to cover Sarah Palin’s reemergence on the national stage is with an old photo from Runner’s World (Palin is well known for running marathons). Were there no other photos available?

Last week, Jake Tapper‘s potential facial hair (and high profile interviews) made him a big gain on the Power Grid — all the way up to the #2 spot. Then, he spoke out about the government’s campaign against Fox News and he came out ahead. Plus: Erin Andrews and Ann Coulter!

Fox News’ new big star Glenn Beck appeared on the cover of Time magazine last month, in a story about his and Fox News’ influence, and now FNC is getting a focus from Time‘s competitor.

Newsweek‘s editor Jon Meacham takes on the White House feud with Fox News, and provides a historical context to the battle.

Like adept professors, Newsweek‘s Jon Meacham and Sam Tanenhaus of the New York Times covered the historical context for the current state of conservatism, and solicited opinions and observations from the engaged crowd. As they discussed the future directions of politics, it felt as though the pair was running an advanced level political science class.

According to Newsweek no one in their “right mind” thinks newspapers will or should survive in their current state. Saving print is the equivalent of saving horse drawn carriages or steam engines. It’s time for newspapers to die, says the magazine that just overhauled its print version at great expense.

It is a measure of the power the New York Times op-ed pages still possess — despite the financial struggles both the paper and the industry face — that Jon Meacham editor of Newsweek opted to take to them to advocate for the release of Newsweek journalist Maziar Bahari.

Welcome to the fun-filled world of a start-up! For the past four weeks, we’ve taken to comparing the site to a baby: Don’t leave it alone, don’t expect much sleep, you never know what it’ll burp up. (Wordpress! How you bedevil us!). Though it’s certainly forced us to stretch in ways we weren’t expecting, we’ve enjoyed the past month — enough to look forward to sticking around for a while (sorry, Brain Trust).

In October, 1991, James Fallows wrote a hilarious takedown of the Economist that ran in the Washington Post’s Outlook Section. The essay attempted to explain why perfectly intelligent people, like Harvard’s Robert Reich (who at the time was in the middle of a squabble with Newsweek’s Robert Samuelson), would say things like: “I, for one, [...]

The Magazine Editors category on the Power Grid has engendered some good debate here at Mediaite’s global headquarters. Summing up: should a Magazine Editor be rewarded more for the public profile of the title they oversee, or more for how they promote their own name.

It may come as a surprise to learn that Jon Meacham is the number one Magazine Editor given that Newsweek is going through a rather dramatic repositioning and redesign – an exercise not typically taken by a healthy magazine. So why is he number one?