Mediaite’s Most Influential in News Media 2023
45. Dylan Byers
No media reporter dominated the CNN beat in 2023 quite like Dylan Byers, a founding partner and senior correspondent at Puck. Byers, who is tasked with covering the business of entertainment and news media at Puck, wrote so many pieces peeling back the curtain of Chris Licht’s chaotic reign at CNN that Pucksters even make jokes about it on their daily podcast The Powers That Be. Yet his reporting was devoured by those very same media insiders who scoff at its frequency. Byers, a former CNN journalist, offered invaluable insight into the internal turmoil inside the network and was one of the key reporters to detail the revolt within CNN against Licht’s leadership. Byers is even credited, alongside Atlantic writer Tim Alberta (author of that devastating Licht profile) of helping to take down Licht. That distinction earned Byers some media criticism from Tatiana Siegel over at Variety (the charge was that Byers was biased towards Licht’s predecessor, his former boss Jeff Zucker), an idea that was shot down by Puck founder John Kelly in a statement at the time. “Dylan Byers singlehandedly elevated the CNN story into the popular culture through his extraordinary and relentless reporting, which was always fair and unbiased and based, frankly, on virtually innumerable sources,” Kelly said. As avid readers of that reporting here at Mediaite, it’s hard to disagree with him.
44. Jen Psaki
Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was arguably one of the most influential in media long before the debut edition of her MSNBC show Inside With Jen Psaki in March of this year. As President Joe Biden’s first chief White House spokesperson, Psaki and her razor-sharp exchanges with reporters like Fox’s Peter Doocy turned daily briefings into Must-See TV. But those expecting #PsakiBomb fireworks from her show would be sorely disappointed. The interviews consisted mainly of friendly Democratic figures (including heavy-hitters like Eric Holder, Gavin Newsom, and Hillary Clinton), resistors like George Conway, cordial interviews with normie non-Trump Republicans like Chris Sununu, and newsmakers like Cassidy Hutchinson. Where Psaki’s show has begun to excel is in the host’s commentaries, which mix pragmatic Dem politics and scathing takedowns with insights that carry the authority of an experienced senior executive branch hand who is still very much an insider. The show ain’t called “Inside” for nothing. The result has been strong ratings and a show that was strong enough to be expanded to a second night — replacing Chris Hayes on Mondays and leading into Rachel Maddow’s show, establishing the first night of the week as the flagship evening on MSNBC.
43. Chris Wallace
Chris Wallace is on the upswing after a rough 2022 that saw him dramatically departing Fox News to become the high-priced tentpole for CNN’s new — and doomed — streaming platform CNN+. The veteran journalist remained an elder statesman onscreen during CNN’s political coverage, and the re-launched Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace has emerged as an exemplar of eclectic interview storytelling. This season’s interviews mixed political newsmakers with sports, entertainment, and other figures who produced surprising moments that make for great television — like the guest who revealed he’s never knowingly eaten a vegetable. That show was scaled back to a single episode per week later in the year, as Wallace made his return to the regular news rotation with the launch of The Chris Wallace Show on Saturday mornings. A panel program that affords the host a chance to weigh in on the issues of the day with a regular set of journalists with varying points of view. Like everything else on CNN, the ratings struggle for the new show is real. But Wallace seems at home in this new format, and as the old saying goes, if you get a lot of Mediaite headlines, you are a success (ok no not really, err… if you do good buzzy content, the audience will come.) CNN clearly loves Wallace and it’s easy to understand why.
42. Joy Reid
Joy Reid continues to be one of the most influential women in news media and even more so within the all too small club of Black women in news — and the success of her MSNBC program The ReidOut shows why. The show, which remains controversial, has beaten CNN in its time slot for 14 straight quarters, meaning progressives are opting for The ReidOut in droves. Reid delivers news and commentary with an unsparing and provocative voice that continues to incense her critics as thoroughly as it pleases her admirers. Her unapologetically progressive views and social justice-conscious commentary continued to pull no punches. Reid’s Floridian background gave her additional insight as her home state’s governor led the GOP (minus Trump) field for most of the year, while her Trump Resistor toolbox got a workout as well. Joy Reid’s mix of news and commentary from the left is the perfect table-setter for a primetime lineup that serves up four courses of progressive programming every night of the week.
41. David Muir, Lester Holt, and Norah O’Donnell
While Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN receive the most publicity for their opinionated hosts and colorful cable news coverage, the nightly news programs still dominated the ratings in 2023. David Muir at ABC, Lester Holt at NBC, and Norah O’Donnell at CBS had a combined average viewership of more than 16 million viewers. ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir took the top spot among the three, averaging 8.1 million viewers with 1.29 million in the coveted 25-54 adult demographic. Meanwhile, Fox News, the cable news ratings king, usually averages around 3 million viewers on its most-watched show, The Five. Holt brought in around 6.74 million viewers per evening broadcast, followed by O’Donnell at 4.83 million.
That ratings domination of Muir, Holt, and O’Donnell indicates straightforward reporting and critical news coverage still has a big audience. Some of the most important political interviews of the year occurred on their nightly broadcasts, with Muir pressing President Joe Biden over his handling of classified documents and whether his age will play a factor in the 2024 race. For the 2024 GOP race, Holt was one of the leading moderators for the third Republican presidential primary debate in Miami, Florida, back in November. Also, O’Donnell brought accolades to CBS News when she interviewed former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley and asked about Trump accusing him of treason and claiming his punishment should be death. Predictions of the demise of network news programs continue to be made… and they continue to be wrong.
40. Jessica Tarlov
Over the last few years, the population of liberal voices on Fox News have dwindled. Gone are the days where Hannity and Colmes would spar on a nightly basis. But still, there’s one tradition the network has yet to retire: a liberal voice on top rated talk-show The Five. Enter Jessica Tarlov, one of the most formidable counterweights to ever grace the reliably conservative talk show. No disrespect to the late Bob Beckel, but he was no Tarlov. Tarlov has, over the years, turned sparring with the likes of Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld into a science. It’s a role she accomplishes with flair, calm, and confidence. In her appearances on The Five and other major opinion shows on Fox, Tarlov deftly uses her position to present the other side of things and, sometimes, cut through nonsense. It’s easy for someone with opposing viewpoints to be steamrolled while outnumbered, but Tarlov’s ability to make a clear argument with facts in hand has no doubt helped to ensure The Five remains the most watched show in all of cable news.
39. Elie Honig
Any time there was a major legal story this year, whether it involved a Supreme Court case or one of former President Trump’s many courtroom imbroglios, CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig was a go-to source for objective analysis to explain not just the legal development of the moment but also the broader implications for the future. What makes Honig different from any legal analyst on MSNBC, for example, is that he is willing to challenge liberal orthodoxies. The former prosecutor who racked up over 100 convictions of mafia members gets a lot of well-deserved praise for his clear, no-nonsense takes — even when it’s a harsh truth the audience might not want to hear. CNN has frequently had him on air to explain just how messy and complicated Trump’s legal situation is, but Honig hasn’t hesitated to point out weaknesses in the various prosecutions and civil cases against the ex-president either. When Fulton County DA Fani Willis brought her case against Trump in Georgia, Honig delivered a scathing indictment of her tendency to mix politics with justice. Nonpartisan analysis is a rarity in cable news, but Honig wields it like a superpower.
38. Jonathan Karl
ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl is simply one of the best connected, and most highly respected, reporters in D.C. Period. So it was wasn’t surprising that he provided Beltway insiders and political junkies with several juicy tidbits in his book, Tired of Winning: Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Old Party, which was published in November. As with most books about the inner workings of Trumpworld, the publication was grist for the cable news mill, but Karl’s audio recordings of his interviews with the former president added color – and proof that Trump could not deny. In one interview, Trump suggested to Karl he would somehow be reinstated as president after losing the 2020 election. It was a far cry from the topic of Karl’s first interview with Trump as a young reporter with The New York Post in 1994. That exchange centered on the honeymoon of Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley. Karl, who logged his 20th year of service with ABC in 2023, also continued co-hosting duties on the network’s Sunday show, This Week. When Karl has a book out, ABC allows him to promote it on other networks and during these windows there is good reason that everyone else lines up to have him on.
37. Kristen Welker
NBC News chief White House correspondent Kristen Welker started the year as a familiar presence in the press briefing room, regularly grilling White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on a variety of issues.Then, in June, it was announced that Welker would take over the Meet the Press moderator’s seat from Chuck Todd — one of the most coveted jobs in news. Her very first guest was explosively newsworthy — former President Trump himself. Welker’s one-on-one with Trump was pre-taped to allow the extensive fact-checking the ex-president’s penchant for prevarication requires, and hit wide-ranging topics that included if he’d pardon himself, Special Counsel Jack Smith’s criminal charges against him for destroying evidence, Hunter Biden, if he’d consider a woman as his running mate, and his age as he faces re-election. While the interview came under fire from the left for her failure to counter a blizzard of lies, Welker’s colleagues defended her and whatever you thought, it was a big splashy start to what will certainly be a long career. She closed out the fall with other hard-hitting interviews with RNC chair Ronna McDaniel, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Rep. James Clyburn, Rep. Matt Gaetz, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — plus a turn moderating one of the GOP debates. NBC clearly has a lot of faith in Welker and that means she will be a familiar face for many years to come.
36. Kara Swisher
Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP
Veteran tech reporter Kara Swisher is one of the busiest people in news (Ben Smith recently revealed she “has a coffee before bed every night”). In 2023 she put even more on her plate. In addition to Pivot, the twice-weekly podcast Swisher hosts with NYU marketing professor and confident opinion-haver Scott Galloway, this year she launched On With Kara Swisher, another twice-weekly podcast she helms solo. With her old subject-turned-foe Elon Musk dominating the headlines in 2023, Swisher remained a go-to voice on cable news and across media for hot-takes on the latest crisis at X. Swisher has covered Musk since the 1990s, when she emerged as an indomitable chronicler of the tech boom. This year she also wrote a memoir — Burn Book — slated for publication in early 2024. Now, Swisher’s influence isn’t confined to the insular world of Silicon Valley. Her podcasts are both chart-toppers, and the guest-list for On reads like a who’s who of tech, media, and politics heavyweights. In 2023, Swisher interviewed everyone from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, Jake Tapper to Conan O’Brien. It was a big year for the most talked-about journalist in tech.
