5. Tim Russert
Managing editor and moderator of ‘Meet the Press’ and senior VP and Washington bureau chief for NBC News
Last year’s rank: 4
Why he was chosen: “If it’s Sunday, it’s ‘Meet the Press'” is not just Tim Russert’s sign-off. It underscores the nearly 60-year run the show has had as the premier Sunday newsmaker show, a record that today is being honored with induction into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
“Meet the Press” is No. 1 among Sunday newsmaker shows nationally, with more than 4.1 million viewers during the first quarter of this year. More telling, it is the most-watched newsmaker show in Washington, D.C., running 91 percent ahead of its nearest competitor, CBS’s “Face the Nation,” during the first quarter.
An award-winning perennial fixture on the power list, Mr. Russert casts a bigger shadow during presidential campaign seasons, and the current one already is taking on marathon status for its early and crowded start. He’s dusting off the white dry-erase board that attained iconic status on Election Night 2000.
Introduction: Top 10 Most Powerful People in TV News 2007
1. Roger Ailes, Chairman and CEO of Fox News
2. Steve Capus, President of NBC News
3. Charles Gibson, Anchor, ABC’s ‘World News’
4. David Westin, President of ABC News
6. Keith Olbermann, Host of MSNBC’s ‘Countdown With Keith Olbermann’
7. Sean McManus, President of CBS News
9. N.S. Bienstock, Talent agency
10. Jon Stewart, Anchor of Comedy Central’s ‘The Daily Show’