TV News 10 Most Powerful; NBC News chief replaces Ailes at top of list

[DeepModem Mom]

TV News: April 13, 2008
TV News' 10 Most Powerful
By Michele Greppi

1. STEVE CAPUS
Title: NBC News president
Tenure: 2½ years
Rank last year: 2

Why he was chosen: The NBC News ship, which last year seemed to have sprung a few worrisome leaks, is once again sailing upright and steady as she used to go. “NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams” is edging out ABC’s “World News With Charles Gibson” with more regularity. The “Today” show is once again making it look easy to be No. 1, no longer letting ABC’s “Good Morning America” see it sweat as it did during close weeks last year when “Today” would find ways to eliminate some of its more vulnerable segments from the Nielsen ratings’ scrutiny. During the first quarter of this year, “Today” led by 1.2 million viewers. MSNBC.com is the leading television news organization Web site. Perhaps most tantalizing is the success NBC News has had in this long, dramatic and lucrative political season by making MSNBC “The Place for Politics.” The cable channel may finally have found its voice -— brash and brass ballsy at day’s end -— and a formula that makes it a valuable platform for (and not just a way of amortizing expenses of) NBC News.

Invaluable asset: His fellow MSNBC alumnus, Phil Griffin, the NBC News senior VP in charge of both “Today” and MSNBC. Mr. Griffin has been given a lot of (tight) rope with MSNBC, whose prime-time lineup tied CNN in the key news demo of 25- to 54-year-olds in March. Even when someone at MSNBC has to apologize, the incident gets a lot of ink and the names are spelled correctly. It’s not the only recent strategy that reads like a page out of a Fox News playbook -— even if the political points of view are poles apart.

Nitpicking: ....Sunday’s New York Times Magazine profile of Chris Matthews reveals a lot of sharp elbows, but makes clear that the man who once was a fresh face now is his own worst enemy.

2. ROGER AILES
Titles: Chairman and CEO of Fox News, Fox Business Network, Fox Television Station Group.
Tenure: Launched Fox News Channel in 1996
Rank last year: 1....

3. DAVID WESTIN
Title: ABC News president.
Tenure: 11 years
Rank last year: 4....

4. TIM RUSSERT
Titles: Managing editor/moderator of “Meet the Press” and senior VP/Washington bureau chief for NBC News
Tenure: Since 1991
Rank last year: 5....

5. JIM WALTON/JON KLEIN
Titles: CNN Worldwide president and CNN/U.S. president, respectively
Tenure: 5 years and 3½ years, respectively
Rank last year: 8

Why they were chosen: CNN/U.S. has revitalized itself by focusing on politics. Prime-time ratings, revenue, CNN.com traffic and morale are up. There will be the big test of avoiding precipitous ratings drops in between the election and the next big story, but for now, CNN can bask in the glow of having topped Fox News in the all-important news demographic of 25- to 54-year-old viewers in February for the first time in six years....

6. KEITH OLBERMANN
Title: Host of “Countdown With Keith Olbermann”
Tenure: Five years
Rank last year: 6

Why he was chosen: Two decades into his career, he’s become an overnight success as talk TV’s first break-out liberal voice. With about 1 million viewers per night, he is MSNBC’s Goliath and so he can gleefully play David to Bill O’Reilly’s Goliath.

Invaluable asset: After blithely burning oh, so many career bridges, Mr. Olbermann seems inclined not to screw up this opportunity, which is arguably his best ever, especially since it comes with fun assignments and exposure on NBC Sports’ Sunday Night Football bench.

Nitpicking: He remains an acquired taste.

7. BILL O'REILLY
Title: Host of “The O’Reilly Factor”
Tenure: 12 years
Rank last year: none....

8. SEAN MCMANUS
Titles: President of CBS News and CBS Sports
Tenure: 2½ years and 12 years, respectively
Rank last year: 7....

9. N.S. BIENSTOCK
Title: Agency
Tenure: More than three decades
Rank last year: 9....

10. AMY POEHLER, STEPHEN COLBERT and JON STEWART
Titles: Comedians who have affected the country’s political dialogue
Last year’s rank: Mr. Stewart 10; Ms. Poehler and Mr. Colbert, none

Why they were chosen: “Saturday Night Live’s” Amy Poehler touched a national nerve with her portrayal of New York Sen. Hillary Clinton. During a debate with her opponent Sen. Barack Obama, the real Ms. Clinton even cited the faux Sen. Clinton’s gripe that she was being manhandled by the press, which put on kid gloves for Sen. Obama. Mr. Stewart was muted by the writers strike and then his stint as host of a kiss-and-make-up Oscars ceremony was made possible by the settling of the writers strike. But there are months to go in one of the most exciting contests in presidential campaign history and his consistent ability to do unto politics and politicians and the real journalists who cover them -— Google “Tucker Carlson” and “Chris Matthews” and “Jon Stewart” and reminisce amongst yourselves -— is why this fake journalist is a veteran on this list of real journalists. And his Comedy Central spawn, Mr. Colbert, recently won a Peabody Award for his “Victor/Victoria”-like turn as a satirist playing a fake cable news icon who defines over the top.

Invaluable assets: They get it.

Nitpicking: We don’t see enough of them.

http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/04/tv_news_10_most_powerful.php