Mediaite’s Most Influential in News Media 2020
35. Anderson Cooper
All of us have felt exasperation during this incredibly trying year. The CNN anchor channeled his exasperation into a pair of marathon interviews which rank among the most memorable cable news segments of 2020. On April 22, Anderson Cooper spoke with Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, who — in the early days of the pandemic — unfathomably argued that Sin City should be fully open because “we’ve had viruses for years that have been here.” Then on August 18, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell peddled a completely unproven coronavirus therapeutic. Cooper’s thorough evisceration of both guests turned those interviews into viral gold. And segments like those have helped fuel a strong ratings run for the 8 p.m. anchor. Cooper has also made an impact outside of his regularly scheduled window. His coronavirus forums with Dr. Sanjay Gupta have been must-watches for anyone who wants to stay informed about the pandemic. And in a bit of covid-necessitated ingenuity, Cooper hosted a drive-in town hall with Joe Biden on September 17. That night, he deftly adapted to unique circumstances — as he has throughout the year.
34. Noah Oppenheim, James Golston and Susan Zirinsky
Tommaso Boddi, Bennett Raglin, Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images
Cable news viewership surged in 2020, with each network breaking ratings records. But those audiences paled in comparison to the reach big three broadcast networks — ABC, NBC and CBS — whose nightly programs saw their highest numbers in years. David Muir, Lester Holt and Norah O’Donnell all have their own places on this list, as do many of the daytime network anchors. They may not be loud as their cable news counterparts, but their audiences are bigger, and their story selection makes them as influential as any pundit. The top three networks are run by a triumvirante of news veterans: James Goldston, the president of ABC News since 2014, Noah Oppenheim, elevated to president of NBC News in 2017, and Susan Zirinsky, who nabbed the top job at CBS News in 2019 after a striking 46-year career at the network. 2020 was a remarkable year to manage an entity as sprawling and important as a news network, between a pandemic that shut down news headquarters, protests against racial injustice that raised tough questions about the diversity of newsrooms, and a president that used the election to try and undermine the very concept of truth. Goldston, Oppenheim and Zirinsky successfully steered their networks through all those challenges.
33. Lesley Stahl
CBS News veteran Lesley Stahl found herself both reporting on the year’s top stories and being a part of them herself. Back in May, Stahl shared her personal battle with Covid-19, suffering through weeks of pneumonia and other symptoms that temporarily hospitalized her. Her heartfelt story, broadcast on 60 Minutes, featured her profound gratitude for the medical professionals — “this valiant army in scrubs and masks” — who treated her. Stahl’s October 60 Minutes interview with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence created lots of buzz, coming mere days before the election and featuring Trump walking out of the interview in frustration after tough questions. Trump released his own video from the interview in an effort to undercut CBS’ ratings for the episode, and loudly criticized Stahl in tweets and comments at his campaign rallies. Stahl kept her cool throughout the presidential temper tantrums and even confronted Pence about Trump’s walk out. It was a big year for this news icon.
32. Jesse Watters, Juan Williams, Greg Gutfeld and Dana Perino of The Five
There are other daytime chat shows, but none of them are as stridently political, nor as big of a ratings juggernaut, as Fox News’ The Five. In 2020, however, the show was impacted more than most by the coronavirus. Co-host (and liberal foil) Juan Williams announced in December that he had contracted Covid-19, forcing the show to revert back to an all-remote production after having just returned to the studio weeks earlier. And during the spring, The Five saw its broadcast consistently pre-empted by the president’s daily coronavirus briefings, breaking up the show’s snarky, and often wacky, weekly rhythm. But once those White House interruptions ended, the show regained its place as one of the most pro-Trump platforms in the cable news firmament, with co-hosts Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld rarely missing an opportunity to mock the left and/or the press for their latest transgressions against Trump. Mediaite covers the show day in and day out for a reason, the hosts make news. No need for guests.
31. Brian Stelter
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
The importance of media criticism grew exponentially in the Trump era, and even more so in 2020. Through Sunday show Reliable Sources and a must read nightly media newsletter, CNN’s Brian Stelter has carved out a position as the most prolific and influential media critic in the business. Stelter produced After Truth, an HBO documentary out in March that focused on disinformation — a subject Stelter has tackled week after week on his show, from the coronavirus pandemic to the election aftermath. Stelter has repeatedly called out the competition at Fox News — he even wrote a book about the network, Hoax, that dropped over the summer — to the point where he’s become as big a foil for the network as Jeff Zucker. CNN senior media reporter Oliver Darcy had a huge year as well, making news with scoops and Twitter commentary. Perhaps one of the biggest media stories of the year (that didn’t involve the 2020 election) was a stunning report by Darcy about Tucker Carlson’s top writer, which resulted in the writer’s ouster from the network.
30. Kristen Welker
Jim Bourg/Getty Images
If we were ranking most influential moments, the NBC White House correspondent would have a strong case for No. 1. Her work moderating the second presidential debate was nothing short of a journalistic triumph — earning raves from her peers, as well as partisans on both sides of the aisle. That powerhouse performance served as the capper for another terrific year for Kristen Welker. As she has throughout the Trump era, Welker served as one of the press secretary’s most effective interrogators — effectively walking the tightrope of asking tough questions without grandstanding. And if you need proof that nothing fazes the unflappable Welker, look no further than her Matrix-like dodging of a falling light during a standup back in an April segment that went viral. Heading into the Biden administration, Welker has established herself as one of the biggest stars in the briefing room.
29. Maria Bartiromo
Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images
Nearly four weeks passed after the election before President Trump participated in an interview with anyone. But when it finally came time to talk, the Fox Business anchor got the call. It was one of the signature interview scores of 2020 — a nearly hour-long phoner with the president. And yes, Maria Bartiromo’s interview — as well as her curious path from news anchor to indefatigable Trump booster — received harsh criticism. But at the end of the day, she landed the big fish. And that late November conversation was one of several times throughout the year when she scored a presidential interview. And when he wasn’t appearing on the program the commander-in-chief was a regular viewer as well — frequently tweeting out to his 88 million followers what he just saw on Mornings With Maria. No one this side of Lou Dobbs has been more vocal about subjects like the John Durham probe and Obamagate. Often, it seemed as though the president was taking his cue from Bartiromo on these topics, and not the other way around.
28. Philip Rucker, Ashley Parker and Josh Dawsey
What this trio of Washington Post reporters proved once again in 2020 is that they’re as well-sourced as anybody on the White House beat. The three have dominated two important facets of this administration: classic scoops and long-form explainers sprinkled with intricate details about Trump and his wild White House. Ashley Parker and Josh Dawsey have often collaborated, including for a revelatory November 7 piece about how Trump’s “erratic behavior” and response to Covid-19 doomed his re-election. And Philip Rucker’s bestselling book to start 2020, A Very Stable Genius, officially has a follow-up with Carol Leonnig chronicling Trump’s final year in office. Since the election concluded in early November, these three have teamed up to break news of Trump’s potential 2024 run, described the administration’s unwillingness to accept election results, and detailed the campaign’s “20 days of fantasy and failure” in an sprawling feat of reporting. Cable news often takes its cues from reporters like this triumvirate.
27. Laura Ingraham
Laura Ingraham has long been a strong advocate of President Trump, but she also emerged as a voice of reality toward the end of 2020. “You have known me for a long time now,” Ingraham told her viewers in November, adding that she would be “lying” to them if she suggested Trump still had a shot of reversing the results of the election. It may not have been a popular message with many of Ingraham’s viewers, but her ability to deliver it without losing her audience illustrates the impressive rapport she has managed to build with them. Chatter aside, that audience remains sizable. Ingraham crushed the competition in 2020, drawing an average of 3.8 million viewers in November, a 34 percent increase from 2019, making her the highest-rated female host on cable news for that month. On December 16, the network announced that it was signing her for a new “multi-year deal,” meaning she’ll be a mainstay for years to come.
26. Steve Kornacki
Steve Kornacki apparently doesn’t sleep — at least in early November he didn’t. A couple days into this year’s election week, Kornacki, MSNBC’s in-house election junkie, was removed from the building and given a “pillow, blankets and warm milk” — so joked his replacement Ali Velshi.
That well-earned break came after a legendary run of coverage that received universal praise. The long nights breaking down election results in real-time on MSNBC’s big board even earned Kornacki a weekly gig on NBC’s Sunday Night Football for the NFL playoffs. A good measure of Kornacki’s influence: When he revealed his classic khakis are from the Gap, the clothing company saw a 90% increase in sales for the $60 pair of pants. Kornacki has embraced the nerdiness of polling, become a meme a couple times over and made People’s “sexiest man alive” list with unofficial nicknames like Chartthrob and KorSNACKi. Numbers were deemed sexy for a brief moment in November of 2020, and we have MSNBC’s elections guru to thank for it.
