Speaking of Mediaite, it just published its "Top 50 Innovators and Influencers."
Number One, interestingly enough, was Roger Ailes, the Pharaoh of Fox News:
To say that Roger Ailes had an incredible year is both an understatement and incorrect. He’s had an incredible decade, its just that 2009 is the culmination of 10 hard years of work in building Fox News, the wildly popular, oft-criticized news network that didn’t just dominated the ratings, though that they did. Nor is it that their opinion programming shaped debate over political issues that effected actual policy. Its that Fox News is no longer solely synonymous with opinion program — they are now the leading news network, regularly defeating their cable news competition when big news breaks (see the Ft. Hood crisis or House Health Care Debate).
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Fox News is enjoying their best financial year ever — which is even more remarkable considering the economic climate. But Ailes impact goes way beyond net revenue. Ailes has, for better or worse, changed the way that we consider journalism and media in general. Perhaps more than anything else, he is continually committed to improving Fox News (and its baby sister network Fox Business). Just think — could Glenn Beck have had the year he had without the support and vision of Roger Ailes? Absolutely not. So how does Roger Ailes come ahead of Rupert Murdoch, given that Murdoch could theoretically fire Ailes any time he wanted? Ailes simply has too much influence and power. Plus, sources close to News Corp. and Fox News agree — the domination and influence of Fox News is an Ailes project. Finally, on a day-to-day basis, nobody as more impact on the political discourse than Ailes. Which is why he deserves to be number one on the Mediaite 50.
It's quite an interesting list: #2 on the list, for example, is Biz Stone, the founder of Twitter, followed by #3 Brian Roberts CEO of Comcast (and soon, NBC-U), #4 Harvey Levin of TMZ, and #5, Arianna Huffington of, well, you know.
Other Fox-related figures on the list were Glenn Beck, #6 Rupert Murdoch, #9, and Bill O'Reilly, #20.
