Mediaite’s Most Influential in News Media 2025
55. The Bulwark
One might think that a Trump-hating media entity whose roster is packed with ex-Republicans would have trouble garnering a large audience. The Bulwark has quickly disproven that by creating a podcasting and social media powerhouse.
Founded in 2019 by publisher Sarah Longwell (along with the Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol and Charlie Sykes), the merry band of never-Trumpers has never been more popular. The Bulwark now boasts over 1.5 million YouTube subscribers, on top of the hundreds of thousands of paid subscribers who have unfettered access to additional podcasts hosted by Tim Miller and content written by managing editor Sam Stein, Will Sommer, and Jonathan V. Last.
Their clips are also widely circulated throughout social media. Looking for your Trump-bashing fix with a touch of humor, intellect and some old school conservative bona fides? There might be only one option that is thriving.
54. Lawrence O’Donnell
Lawrence O’Donnell began 2025 as the host of MSNBC’s The Last Word — awaiting the beginning of President Trump’s second term with dread. He ended it as a key tentpole for MS NOW, the newly rebranded network that basks in its opposition to the president’s excesses.
O’Donnell has long been a strident critic of Trump, and has the distinction of being among the hosts who have a unique ability to truly get under his skin. The president has repeatedly attacked O’Donnell by name over the years, and the host digs into his subject with that audience of one in mind.
The host begins just about every episode with a marathon commentary that invariably features a detailed evisceration of Trump on a laundry list of topics. The Epstein Files and the accompanying portrayal of Trump as a sex creep were among the regular topics. But O’Donnell also brought his education and credentials to bear with scathing dissections of Trump legal appointees like Lindsey Halligan and his feud with Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
But it wasn’t just O’Donnell’s blistering commentaries that showcased his influence. One newsmaking interview on his show actually inspired legislators to pursue what eventually became an enormously consequential Epstein document dump.
O’Donnell’s unyielding rants, often invoking Trump’s mental fitness and media failures not only amplified progressive outrage, they also cemented his position as a key second-term voice that lives rent-free in Trump’s head.
53. James Carville
James Carville has long been a fiery, unfiltered voice of frustration and advice for Democrats, but Trump’s victory in 2024 opened up a seller’s market for his brand of tough love, “woke”-punching punditry. His Politics War Room podcast and his frequent media appearances have kept the Ragin’ Cajun surging through the political bloodstream in 2025.
The braintrust behind the rise of former President Bill Clinton has long leaned into pragmatism, and after Trump parlayed anti-trans messaging into a broader play for alienated voters, Carville leapt to slam “pronoun” and “identity” politics.
But Carville wasn’t just about bashing progressives — he also kept up a colorful and provocative stream of patter about President Donald Trump and his allies that positioned them on the wrong end of World War II-era comparisons. He also consistently sounded the alarm about Trump “rigging” elections.
Carville’s willingness to swim upstream against the progressive tide has served him well in the wake of Trump’s victory, but as resistance to Trump builds and progressives like New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani rise, will demand for Carville increase in 2026? Perhaps as an antidote to that wave as the midterms approach, and as a reliable source of quotable analysis.
52. Kara Swisher & Scott Galloway
In 2025, tech journalists Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway solidified their status as the cool kids in the media bubble on a range of topics from politics to media to finance through their acclaimed Pivot podcast. As co-hosts, they delivered unfiltered takedowns and bold forecasts that reverberated across headlines, challenging power structures amid a turbulent year marked by President Donald Trump’s second term and economic volatility.
This duo’s influence grew this year thanks, in no small part, to the presence of billionaire Elon Musk in Trump’s orbit and the Trump family’s involvement in crypto. Galloway kicked off the year by eviscerating the Trump crypto ventures as a “scam” preying on ordinary investors, while Swisher dove right in on Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), calling its members “arrogant little pricks” right from the jump. But the difference between them and many other outspoken liberal commentators is that they have the ears, and often the respect of, the richest people in the world.
Swisher played nice in her role as a CNN contributor but wasn’t shy about ripping them on her show for platforming “drama queen” pundit Scott Jennings. Her willingness to boldly critique Trump in a venue listened to by many billionaires and tech moguls makes her, and their influence that much more sweeping.
The ascent of Artificial Intelligence — embodied by the controversial Time “Person of the Year” award — also helped fuel the Swisher-Galloway influence, positioning them for an even more dominating 2026. The popularity of their podcast tells the tale of a success that is only beginning.
51. Mehdi Hasan
2025 demonstrated Mehdi Hasan is bigger than his former role at MSNBC allowed him to be. When Hasan was ousted by MSNBC in 2024 amid the escalating Israel-Hamas war, he turned it into an opportunity by launching Zeteo, a newsletter-based independent media venture with a distinct left-wing brand. Following in the footsteps of legacy outlets like Al Jazeera, Zeteo combined pro-Palestine foreign policy reporting with a progressive look at domestic politics. With an email list reportedly of around half a million, and over 50,000 paid subscribers, Zeteo’s growth speaks for itself. And there is perhaps no greater testament to the loyalty of his fanbase that Zeteo was able to sell tickets for numerous live events across the country.
But Hasan’s reach extends beyond Zeteo. His knack for creating buzz-worthy moments in provocative appearances on shows like Piers Morgan: Uncensored and other cable news outlets as well. Even if you disagree or even dislike Mehdi, no one takes him for a fool and he is one of the best debaters out there. Expect plenty more where that came from in 2026.
50. Steve Bannon
(Jose Luis Magana/AP photo)
While many MAGA influencers command a big audience, few have any actual influence over what the Trump White House does and does not do – something that cannot be said for Steve Bannon. Bannon was central in creating Trump 1.0 and remains a key player in Trump’s second term, even as his role has become more tied to rallying the base through his hours on-air streaming each day than actually advising the president in the West Wing.
Bannon’s War Room podcast is an extensive operation — broadcasting some four hours a day, six days a week from studios on Capitol Hill. It regularly lands in the Top 10 on Apple’s political podcast chart and airs live on Real America’s Voice across cable and other TV streaming platforms. Bannon and his cohort of co-hosts also regularly do live shows from major GOP-aligned events, like CPAC or Turning Point events.
Bannon flexed his muscle and influence over the Trump administration early on this year during his spat with Elon Musk and by going “fixed bayonet” to push through some of Trump’s most-controversial cabinet picks. Bannon rallied his so-called “posse” to light up the phones of Senate Republicans on the fence about confirming the likes of Pete Hegseth, RFK Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, and Kash Patel. It’s distinctly possible none of the four would have been confirmed without Bannon dialing up the pressure on reluctant GOP senators.
While sparring with Musk, Bannon claimed two substantial victories this year, he got his pick in Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and led the charge against H-1B visas, which resulted in Trump slapping a new $100,000 fee on them.
49. Anderson Cooper
Anderson Cooper remains one of the most famous and yes, trusted, people in America. There is a reason he is a tentpole on CNN, and CBS, with CBS recently trying to elevate his role even further. In a collapsing cable ecosystem, where trust is fragmented and CNN itself has lurched through confused leadership churn and strategic uncertainty, Cooper remains the anchor in every sense. He is also one of the few anchors who can still shape a national conversation when he chooses to engage.
His nightly audience at 8 p.m. is smaller and aging, but it is also unusually elite and decision-maker–heavy, giving Cooper influence that ratings cannot measure.
The clearest signal of Cooper’s future-facing influence may be All There Is, the grief-focused podcast. It is not a side project; it is strategy. Cooper is quietly constructing a post-institutional identity rooted in personal credibility rather than network authority. This is not diversification. It is preparation, built while he still has the massive institutional power to leverage it. In a new fractured world where few news people would have numerous options, Cooper is one of the few who could still “shop around” and be courted by many. That is influence.
48. Margaret Brennan
When Margaret Brennan confronted Marco Rubio in March over Congress’s willingness to defer foreign policy authority to the executive branch, she did not let him retreat into abstractions. Pressed repeatedly on whether lawmakers were actively reclaiming oversight or merely promising to do so, Rubio ultimately conceded that Congress had “not yet” asserted itself in any meaningful way.
The exchange immediately drove follow-up questions across cable news, forcing Republican leaders to publicly clarify their posture on war powers and executive authority. It was a familiar Brennan outcome in 2025: a tough Sunday interview that reshaped the week’s political conversation. She knows how to make news.
As moderator of CBS News’ Face the Nation, Brennan has made the show one of the few remaining venues where accountability or at least a valiant effort at it, still reliably occurs. The broadcast regularly attracts well over two million viewers, placing it on par with, and at times ahead of, legacy competitors despite CBS’s smaller overall news footprint.
Brennan has adapted old-school rigor to modern distribution with precision. She prepares relentlessly, asks the question that matters, and refuses to accept evasion as an answer. In an era dominated by performative partisanship, that approach has made Face the Nation not just interesting but highly influential.
47. Elie Honig
CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig has been a fixture on this list for several years — thanks not just to his straightforward and articulate legal commentary, but also his unwavering commitment to calling balls and strikes. He doesn’t shy away from criticizing President Donald Trump, but when he analyzes the many legal cases involving the president or his administration, his take is based on where the facts and law are likely to lead, not how many left-leaning CNN viewers would prefer the case to go.
Honig has a sharp way of breaking down convoluted legal doctrines and complex court opinions so they’re understandable to the layman; it’s a no-brainer to clip his CNN segments or his New York magazine columns when we’re looking for a smart commentary on the legal news of the day. His background as a former federal prosecutor was especially helpful this year — with the Trump DOJ taking up so many controversial positions and cases.
This year, Honig also published his latest bestseller, When You Come at the King: Inside DOJ’s Pursuit of the President, From Nixon to Trump – an especially relevant subject as Trump has transitioned from being the one investigated and prosecuted to orchestrating the investigation and prosecution of his political opponents.
As ABC News Chief Legal Analyst and Mediaite founder Dan Abrams said on his SiriusXM radio show (where Honig is a regular fill-in host) “When Elie talks, I turn up the volume.” He isn’t alone.
46. Tucker Carlson
(Ross D. Franklin/AP photo)
Tucker Carlson had plenty of success when he was at Fox News — but without the backing of that juggernaut, he’s managed to remain part of the national conversation.
Carlson has more than five million subscribers on YouTube and his own independent subscription service. He’s also fresh off a September live tour that included everyone from Alex Jones to Donald Trump Jr.
While Carlson’s influence has grown, so has his divisiveness. The former Fox News host has thrown down publicly with conservative figures like Mark Levin and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) — the latter of whom sat down with Carlson for nearly two hours back in June for what turned out to be one of the most heated interviews in all of news in 2025.
Critics have attacked Carlson for entertaining conspiracy theories and platforming open white supremacists like Nick Fuentes. But there’s no arguing that interview made a splash. The Fuentes video has racked up well over six million views, and the subsequent backlash highlights major questions about a post-Trump world and the direction of the Republican Party and MAGA. Without question, Tucker Carlson will have a major say in what that direction ultimately is.
NEXT PAGE: See who made the cut for our #45-36 selections!
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