Murdoch tops Guardian media power list

The Guardian today published its fourth annual list of the 100 most powerful people in the media.

The list was compiled by a panel of nine media experts including Guardian Unlimited editor-in-chief Emily Bell and Jeff Randall, BBC business editor.

Top of the list is Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of News Corporation that controls one third of broadcaster BSkyB and owns News International, parent company of the Times, Sunday Times, the Sun and News of the World. News Corporation employs 35,000 staff globally and records annual revenues of $17.5 billion.

Trevor Kavanagh, the Sun's political editor, has risen to number eight in the list as the Sun is regarded as an increasingly influential element in the forthcoming UK general election.

Following dramatic events at the BBC, former director general Greg Dyke has fallen from number one in 2003 to number 89. The Hutton Report heavily criticised BBC management and editorial procedures and both Mr Dyke and chairman Gavyn Davies lost their jobs.

New BBC chairman Michael Grade is a new entry to the list at number two, with the panel describing him as "the only figure who could have put - almost at a stroke - a smile back on the public face of the BBC."

Mark Thompson, Greg Dyke's replacement as BBC director general, has moved from number 23 in 2003 to number six. In his first few weeks as director general, Mr Thompson announced a new journalism school for the BBC's 7,000 journalists and a 135-page manifesto outlining the future of the corporation.

"For all its travails over Hutton," says the Guardian, "the BBC remains an immensely powerful force, home to the most popular TV channel, a radio audience of more than 32 million listeners every week and a vast internet operation."

Larry Page and Sergey Brin, founders of Google, are a new entry at number 20. Both men are on the verge of becoming paper billionaires, says the Guardian, after developing the world's largest internet search engine.

Further new media figures include Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computers at 29, BBC director of new media Ashley Highfield at 33 and Crispin Davis, chief executive of publishing group Reed Elsevier at number 55 on the list.

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See also:
MediaGuardian Top 100: http://media.guardian.co.uk/top100
The Hutton Inquiry: http://www.the-hutton-inquiry.org.uk
BBC.co.uk: http://www.bbc.co.uk

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