Mediaite’s Most Influential in News Media 2024
25. Rachel Maddow
Rachel Maddow remains the face of MSNBC even after rolling back her schedule to helming her eponymous show only on Monday evenings. With the network bringing her in for key coverage of events like presidential debates, party conventions, and election night, she is the single most important commentator for the liberal MSNBC audience.
So it’s hardly surprising that The Rachel Maddow Show landed exclusive interviews with the marquee names at the center of the year’s biggest political stories, including both E. Jean Carroll and Stormy Daniels regarding their accusations against Trump. In March, she was one of the most prominent voices at MSNBC objecting to the hiring of ex-RNC chair Ronna McDaniel in a blistering monologue that eviscerated her own network for the “inexplicable” hire and urging network brass to “reverse their decision” — which they did the very next day, with NBCU chief Cesar Conde sending a company-wide email personally apologizing. Few hosts have the clout to take such a stand.
Maddow is a core part of MSNBC’s plans for the future, so much so that as everyone in the industry takes a massive pay cut, Maddow’s new deal saw her package shrink only from $30 million to $25 million – an eye-watering number for a once-a-week show and one that proves her enduring value. The “M” in MSNBC might as well stand for “Maddow” — the network would be lost without her.
24. Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Alyssa Farah-Griffin, Sara Haines, Ana Navarro and Sunny Hostin
The View made waves in 2024, thanks in no small part to a cast of co-hosts who know how to make news and headlines each in her own way: Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, Alyssa Farah Griffin, and Ana Navarro. When it comes to daytime chat shows that tackle thorny political and cultural issues, The View has long been the only game that matters. The mix of celebrity interviews, grillings (some hotter than others) of major political figures, and unscripted moments make for a unique, buzzy show – and the kind of program that spits out viral moments like pumpkin seeds. The table has been lighter on conflict since the departure of Meghan McCain and the addition of Griffin, a star commentator for both ABC and CNN whose insights on Trump and his movement keep the show plugged into what the rest of the country is thinking. But the ABC show still yielded arguably the most consequential media moment of the 2024 election: Hostin’s question to Harris on what she would do differently from Biden. Harris botched her answer, making for a moment that will go down in infamy after she lost the election to Trump.
23. Scott Jennings
If cable news produced a single breakout star in 2024, one could easily make the argument it was Scott Jennings. The Republican commentator has been a true standout. Throw him on a CNN panel anytime day or night, you’ve got yourself an entertaining skirmish. Doesn’t matter if it’s one-on-one, two-on-one or even three-on-one or more, Jennings can hold his own in the most lopsided of debates. Nowhere is this dynamic more at play than in the thunderdome that is CNN NewsNight. Night after night, Jennings does battle with ideological foes — often without any allies in sight. But even if he’s badly outnumbered, it never seems like he’s outmatched. Jennings manages to get under the skin of many of his opponents while rarely losing his cool. And his uncanny ability to get liberals to short circuit makes him the driving force behind the show that is inarguably CNN’s hottest right now. But he’s made his presence felt across the lineup. As one of the few pro-Trump CNN contributors to survive an election cycle, he makes every show he appears on a must-watch. You want to see what he’ll say next, what he’ll do next, and who he’ll stymie next. His prominence on CNN attracted the attention of controversial Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, who tapped Jennings to serve on his paper’s editorial board post-election. Conservatives love him. Liberals love to hate him. Either way, they’re watching.
22. Nate Silver
During the 2024 election cycle it was hard to have a conversation about the race without uttering the name Nate Silver. Like it or not, Silver is the single most important polling analyst in America. And he is still ahead of the curve. In his first full year after leaving FiveThirtyEight, Silver started sounding the alarm over Democrats’ chances in the presidential election long before most, warning in February that Biden was “losing” with “no plan” for climbing out of the hole he had dug himself into.
Even before Biden’s disastrous performance in his only debate with Trump, Silver floated the idea of replacing Biden on the ticket and endured no shortage of abuse from liberals online for doing so. In hindsight, Democrats might wish they had heeded Silver’s appeals.
Silver’s acerbic social media commentary and regular column tackling the weekly state of play in the election was – as is the case every four years – a needle in the arm of political junkies and amateur observers alike. The whining from liberals who wanted Silver to assuage their concerns about the race fortunately fell on deaf ears. Silver was the election analyst to watch in 2024, and if his hundreds of thousands subscribers on Substack are any indication, he will continue to be a major player even after the ballots are fully counted.
21. Kane
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It’s a testament to the power of the Drudge Report that it took two decades for a viable competitor to emerge. Now it’s here in the Citizen Free Press, a buzzy and fast-paced compendium of links that flanks Drudge from the right.
CFP has surged in recent years, building a large audience for those who want to read conservative friendly news from a wide range of sources – including legacy outlets like The New York Times and CNN. The site has become a traffic juggernaut, amassing a staggering 5.1 billion pageviews in 2024 — that’s 500% growth in just four years — and hopes to cross 6 billion pageviews in 2025. CFP is driving the intra-conservative conversation in a way few can even fathom (and Mediaite can attest to the fact that a CFP link is a huge traffic driver).
Kane, the mysterious proprietor of the site, is open about the fact that he sought to mimic the success of the Drudge Report. In an interview this year, Kane revealed Steve Bannon and other stars of Trumpworld helped grow CFP from a page read by a few thousand people to a behemoth being eyed by venture capitalists looking for the next fledgling media giant. Kane continues to run the site by himself, working 18-hour days to keep links fresh. That means it’s not just the site’s influence, but Kane’s choices for what to include that are often driving the national conversation.
20. George Stephanopoulos
List veteran George Stephanopoulos remained one of the most influential names in news in 2024, due to his perch on two of the most important news shows in the country: the longtime morning broadcast staple Good Morning America, and ABC’s Sunday morning news program This Week.
In addition to the usual mix of fascinating panel discussions and hard-hitting interviews on This Week, Stephanopoulos landed the definitive interview with Biden after his disastrous debate with Trump. Inasmuch as some called it Biden’s last chance to regain his party’s confidence, the sit-down may have been the turning point in Biden handing over the campaign to Harris.
Stephanopoulos faced controversy too, namely for a contentious interview with Republican Nancy Mace that sparked a defamation lawsuit from Trump, which ended in a settlement between ABC News and the incoming president. In a brighter spot, Stephanopoulos’s production unit at ABC was responsible for the prime time special Bruce Springsteen: Backstage and Backstreets, and he was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame this fall.
Good Morning America has remained a ratings powerhouse, achieving a 12th straight season as the number one morning newscast. And This Week is up in total viewers and adults 25-54 over last season. But what ratings don’t tell you is that Stephanopoulos – both personally and the shows he anchors – remains among the most-talked about, reacted to, and name-checked people in news, particularly by Trump and his incoming administration.
19. Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt, Brian Kilmeade and Lawrence Jones
More cable news viewers start their day watching Fox & Friends than any other show. A consequence of that popularity is its co-hosts and the stories they choose to highlight very often set the tone for conservative media throughout the day. Helmed by Steve Doocy, Brian Kilmeade and Ainsley Earhart, last year Fox made the decision to expand the cast to add Lawrence Jones to the curvy couch. At four seats it’s a bit of a crowd, but the ratings didn’t seem to suffer and the show remains entertaining.
The program is at its most compelling when there’s dissent from the fairly consistent support for Trump – that dissent comes almost exclusively from Doocy, who occasionally challenges his co-hosts and guests. For example, Doocy’s skepticism of the Republican impeachment inquiry of Biden, which ended up fizzling out, prompted Rep. James Comer (R-KY) to complain that he couldn’t go on Fox & Friends anymore. Whenever partisans are whining about your questions being too tough, you’re doing something right.
The show remains a key stop for stars in media and politics who want to see their books at the top of bestseller lists, as well as anyone who wants to reach the president-elect. Indeed, when Pete Hegseth’s mother wanted to clean up a New York Times report on a letter she wrote calling her son abusive towards women, she chose Fox & Friends to do so. It wasn’t just because Fox boasts millions of viewers. It’s because it boasts one very special viewer: Trump himself.
18. Kaitlan Collins
Last month, Kaitlan Collins earned a new appointment that on first blush sounded like it might be a demotion. It wasn’t. She was named CNN’s chief White House correspondent, a beat she was on before she was named the anchor of her own prime time show, The Source. Yet in addition to her new role as the face of CNN’s White House coverage, Collins is still retaining her coveted perch at 9 p.m.
With both jobs, Collins is poised to have even more of a presence in 2025 after an impressive run during this election year that saw her put last year’s somewhat disastrous town hall with Trump in her rearview. She moderated a well-received town hall with Florida Governor and then-presidential candidate Ron DeSantis and interviewed a series of high-profile politicians, including Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), making big news along the way.
Collins has been in demand as a commentator too, racking up appearances on Bill Maher and Stephen Colbert, among other major programs. Saturday Night Live regularly selected Kaitlan Collins (played by Chloe Fineman) as its anchor for sketches on the major news of the week.
Yet what makes Collins truly influential is her reporting. As one of the best-sourced reporters in American politics, she regularly churned out bombshell scoops on the White House and the Trump campaign. With Trump returning to the White House, for a second run of an administration that made Collins a star the first time around, it’s no surprise that CNN wanted her to lead its coverage of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. CNN had a tough year; Collins is a bright spot.
17. David Muir and Lester Holt
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More and more each year, new media powers emerge from non-traditional platforms such as podcasts. But every year, the faces of ABC and NBC News remind us that the old guard still has enormous might. David Muir and Lester Holt once again made their mark by consistently landing blockbuster interviews, and posting ratings few would have thought possible when their demise was being predicted ten years ago.
Muir led the way — as ABC’s World News Tonight capped off its eighth consecutive season as the most-watched newscast in America. To put a number on it: World News Tonight averages 7.8 million nightly viewers and more than 1 million in the advertiser-coveted 25-54 demo. On 24 out of 52 weeks, it was the most-watched show in all of television. And Holt’s NBC Nightly News wasn’t far off the pace — often landing in the top 5 across all of TV, and even besting Muir in the key demo during the all-important May sweeps. For comparison, their audiences triple even the mighty prime time hosts of Fox News.
With massive audiences like those, it’s no wonder major political figures wanted to sit down with the two anchors. When Biden needed to make a last-ditch effort to save his campaign, he turned to Holt. But the NBC anchor’s blunt questioning about his cognitive state proved to be the last straw for the president — who withdrew from the race just six days after the interview. Muir sat down with President Biden twice in 2024 — which was two more interviews than Biden granted The New York Times or many other major outlets. Each one made big news and created moments that were cited by many others for months to come. He also co-moderated the lone debate between Trump and Harris in September.
The likes of Joe Rogan and Alex Cooper may be media fixations, but in 2024, David Muir and Lester Holt proved that in both viewership and news-making, they remain in the driver’s seat.
16. Ben Shapiro
Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro remains one of the most authoritative figures in not just conservative media, but the conservative movement writ large. That’s why it was national news when he took on Tucker Carlson, and his then-colleague Candace Owens over her increasingly anti-Semitic rhetoric.
It was an even bigger deal when he endorsed and even campaigned for Donald Trump. A conservative crusader who drew a hard line on Trump back in 2016, Shapiro’s embrace of Trump after it became clear he was going to win the Republican nomination helped the party coalesce. And Trump’s decision to appear at an event alongside the podcast host – who boasts a staggering 7.2 million subscribers on YouTube – in October spoke volumes about the value of his support.
In a competitive environment, Shapiro has managed to straddle a difficult position, carving out an image as both a savvy opponent of the Crank Right and a conservative-in-good-standing who’s “on board” with the successful Trump restoration. His influence is bolstered by his continued affiliation with the Daily Wire, a growing media empire which says it will generate $200 million in revenue this year thanks to its stable of high-profile personalities. That’s not just cash but clout.