Mediaite’s Most Influential in News Media 2021
65. Savannah Guthrie
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Don’t be fooled by the natural conviviality with which she hosts NBC’s Today Show. In 2021 Savannah Guthrie continued to score interviews with some of the world’s most prominent figures, from world leaders to the biggest names in Hollywood. She was the first to sit down with Ellen DeGeneres after she announced the end of her talk show. The NBC host quickly addressed allegations that Ellen employees alleged racism and other discriminatory actions at the hands of producers on the show. Guthrie came off a big 2020, thanks in part to her masterful town hall with then-President Donald Trump. She proved this year that she doesn’t just save the tough questions for those on the right. During an interview with Biden National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on the withdrawal from Afghanistan, Guthrie asked how the administration could explain “getting this so wrong.” On top of a year of impressive interviews, Guthrie even launched a new cooking show, Starting from Scratch.
64. John King
CNN’s John King represents the Platonic ideal for TV journalists in many ways. And we’re not just talking about that hair. As the host of Inside Politics, King has shown that he can navigate any news story that comes his way, and call out those who need their feet held to the fire. King rarely ventures into opinion commentary, but when he does, he knows how to make it count. King criticized Kevin McCarthy this year, accusing the House Minority Leader of cynically downplaying the Capitol riot. The bravest stand King took, however, was when he revealed he was immunocompromised with multiple sclerosis while extolling the collective virtue of getting vaccinated. It was a powerful moment, particularly when paired with his castigation of Fox News for using Colin Powell’s death to sow doubt about vaccines. “To lie about vaccines and make it worse, today and tomorrow, based on all we now know? It’s just reckless, and it pushed me across the line,” King said. He is one of the longest-running hosts on cable and that experience shows every day.
63. Richard Engel
In a year dominated by groundbreaking news abroad, NBC News’ chief foreign correspondent stood out from the pack. Richard Engel reported from Kabul while the Taliban took over the capital city, as the United States and its allies were withdrawing from Afghanistan after almost 20 years of war there following 9/11, describing the evacuations from Kabul as “a very dark period for the United States.” Engel used on the ground reporting to rebut President Joe Biden’s rosy analysis of whether Americans would be able to reach the airport in Kabul to evacuate. Engel did not hold back in his analysis in the aftermath of the withdrawal, lamenting that “we’re handing over the country back to the same enemy” and that “it is a moment of deep humility. The United States has been humbled today.” Months earlier, Engel reported from the West Bank as gunshots erupted during the war between Israel and Hamas. His intrepid reporting from war zones defines what a true journalist is, and should be.
62. Greg Kelly
If Fox News is too liberal for you and you have a really expansive basic cable package, you’re probably familiar with Newsmax, and Greg Kelly is probably your guy. We say that because Kelly, who hosts the 7 p.m. show Greg Kelly Reports, is the most-watched man on Newsmax. He regularly draws 400,000 viewers, which is nothing to sneeze at (it competes with some shows on CNN). He pulls in big interviews from that perch, including with former President Donald Trump. And at the network that draws the conspiratorial line at satanic glow-in-the-dark jellyfish vaccine ingredients, Kelly manages to push the envelope without running afoul of that very generous standard. He also meets the Newsmax condition of being an election conspiracist, and specializes in commentary that appeals to viewers for whom Trump is a North Star. But it is Kelly’s self-consciously daffy Twitter feed that really sets him apart. Dishing out id and self-parody in equal measure, the offbeat sensibility on display often bleeds into the on-air commentary and coverage of his eponymous show.
61. Jim Cramer
Jim Cramer is arguably the most recognizable financial journalist working in the media, and has been for a very long time. Not just a household name, Cramer’s high-energy presentation and the zany production flourishes on his Mad Money program have become oft-parodied fixtures in the pop culture canon. And plenty of critics have noted the amount of influence that Cramer — and really, all financial journalists — can exert on the subject they cover.
But 2021 saw Cramer achieve a new level with his focus on the confluence of the defining issues of the year: the coronavirus pandemic and the economy. Cramer has been a consistent evangelist for strict public health policies, a cheerleader for the recovery of the pandemic economy, and a vociferous commentator on economic bellwethers both positive and negative. Cramer was always a divisive figure with many in the financial world jealous of his outsized influence. This year, he became politically divisive as well, but one thing that didn’t change: when Cramer talked people listened — more than ever.
60. Kaitlan Collins
Kaitlan Collins guest-hosts CNN’s New Day alongside John Berman
Over the course of the Trump administration, Kaitlan Collins made a name for herself as a high-metabolism White House correspondent for CNN. While the new administration means Collins no longer finds herself in hand-to-hand combat with White House staff, she has continued to be a leader on the beat. Collins still asks the tough questions, whether she’s pressing Jen Psaki over Democrat missteps, or confronting President Joe Biden for his past compliments of Andrew Cuomo. In one remarkable moment this year, she rattled Biden with a question about his capacity to deal with Vladimir Putin. The president would eventually apologize for snapping at her, and media watchers agreed the blow-up only bolstered her reputation as a tough White House reporter. She proved she could do more than that in 2021, too, as she put in more airtime than ever anchoring on the network.
59. Gayle King
The co-host of CBS Mornings is one of the most influential and enduring faces in morning news. Gayle King began co-anchoring CBS This Morning alongside Charlie Rose in 2012. The show was given a revamp in September – it’s now CBS Mornings – and despite regularly landing in third place in the ratings, has made King a household name. A veteran of broadcast news, she juggles both softer stories and hard-hitting interviews on her morning show with ease. King became a go-to interview for Dr. Anthony Fauci and updates on the pandemic in 2021, often relating her personal approach to Covid-19 safety to her many viewers. King’s influence also reaches into print and radio, as she hosts a weekly radio show titled Gayle King in the House on SiriusXM and is an editor-at-large of Oprah Daily. Those many hats mean that much more influence.
58. Chris Cuomo
Chris Cuomo started 2021 covering news, but as the year went on he became news. In May, it was reported that the host of CNN’s Cuomo Prime Time had been advising his brother, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, on how to handle sexual misconduct allegations against him. That disclosure ushered in a firestorm of ethics questions, especially considering the host had interviewed his brother in a series of softball interviews after CNN waived its conflict-of-interest policy. The prime time host weathered the storm – for a time. In November, it was revealed as part of an investigation into Andrew that Chris was more involved than publicly known. The network suspended him indefinitely and he was terminated less than a week later. But that hardly closes the book on Cuomo and CNN. The jettisoned host is reportedly seeking the remaining money on his contract with the network, which is believed to be between $18 million and $20 million. Through it all, Chris Cuomo has remained one of the most talked-about hosts on cable news — controversy or not. And for what it’s worth, before leaving CNN he was the most-watched host on the network.
57. Nicolle Wallace
This “self-loathing former Republican,” as Nicolle Wallace once described herself, remains a staple of the MSNBC lineup. And since misery loves company, it’s no surprise viewers see a regular dose of anti-Trump former Republicans peppered throughout Deadline: White House for two hours each weekday. But Wallace is no ordinary ex-Republican like many of her guests. According to one NBC executive, she’s also “the most obvious in-house candidate” to replace Rachel Maddow, should the network’s highest-rated host decide to leave her coveted 9 p.m. timeslot. While Wallace’s show can often be a bit predictable, with the same cast attacking the same Republicans, cable news rewards comfort food and for that type of cable fare, Wallace is a master chef. Perhaps Wallace’s best moment of 2021 came during her interview with Chris Christie in November. During a media blitz promoting his book, Christie stopped by Deadline for what he almost certainly knew would be an adversarial interview. Wallace did not disappoint.
56. Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer
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Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer built on their reputation as scoop-hungry political reporters in 2021 as they expanded their horizons. Since leaving Politico, where they co-wrote the massively influential Playbook newsletter for years, the duo has continued to cover Capitol Hill. But they displayed more than a knack for courting sources and breaking big stories in Washington this year. Three days before he would take cover in the Capitol Building during the Jan. 6 riot, Sherman and Palmer showed their entrepreneurial side when they co-founded Punchbowl News. How influential is the fledgling newsletter? Punchbowl charges a premium for its quality reporting — $30 a month or $300 a year — and has managed to amass more than 100,000 subscribers, says Sherman. The newsletter is on track to generate a staggering $10 million in its first year, according to the Wall Street Journal. Now some of that may be thanks to its backer, the uber-connected media banker Aryeh Bourkoff. But who cares why. It’s working. Take that Politico.
