TV News 10 Most Powerful People

[Emily]

It is time for the annual drumroll, tah-dah and to-do as TelevisionWeek unveils its list of the 10 Most Powerful People in TV News.

With the roster comes the annual asterisk signifying that while it is painstakingly assembled, the selection and ranking process is both earnest and admittedly unscientific.

To extensive research, add backstage drama and gossip that had us tinkering and rethinking until past deadline last week, thanks to a barrage of headlines about CBS News and Katie Couric and a dribble-down-the-chin-juicy New York Times Magazine profile of MSNBC’s tin-eared Chris Matthews, who has everyone talking about him—and not in a good way. You’ll see that we have taken advantage of the political Zeitgeist to add a little more shock value than usual at the end. While most of the news players listed here are very familiar, it’s some of their key players who are new to our spotlight.

1. Steve Capus
Title: NBC News president

2. Roger Ailes
Titles: Chairman and CEO of Fox News, Fox Business Network, Fox Television Station Group

3. David Westin
Title: ABC News president

4. Tim Russert
Titles: Managing editor/moderator of “Meet the Press” and senior VP/Washington bureau chief for NBC News

5. Jim Walton/Jon Klein
Titles: CNN Worldwide president and CNN/U.S. president, respectively

6. Keith Olbermann
Title: Host of “Countdown With Keith Olbermann”

7. Bill O’Reilly
Title: Host of “The O’Reilly Factor”

8. Sean McManus
Titles: President of CBS News and CBS Sports

9. N.S. Bienstock
Title: Agency

10. Amy Poehler, Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart
Titles: Comedians who have affected the country’s political dialogue