It has been a roller coaster ride in media this year.
A jaw-dropping trip of high highs, low lows, and twists and turns that left many people feeling like they'd been turned entirely upside down — sometimes all in less than a week.
The year began with Steve Jobs' introduction of the iPad, a device which increasingly looks to be to print what the iPod was to music, and ended with...well, where to begin: Julian Assange, Sarah Palin, and rallies, rallies, rallies.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
With that in mind The Wire has put together a list of the 50 most influential people in media.
They may not all be getting the biggest ratings, or possess the most recognizable faces, but in a quickly changing media world they are exerting an unmistakable influence on how, where, and when we consume information.
Click Through The Wire 50 >
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Acknowledgements:
We would like to thank the many readers who took the time to send us nominations. We would also like to thank intern Joseph Alexiou for his extensive work on this list. Also involved in the selection or creation of The Wire 50: Henry Blodget, Glynnis MacNicol, Nicholas Carlson, Ujala Sehgal, Jessica Liebman, and Gabrien Symons.
1. Julian Assange
Co-founder, Wikileaks
Is Julian Assange the future of journalism or the end of it?
It likely depends on who you talk to. But all signs points tentatively to the former, and anyway, predicting the end of journalism is so 2008.
In less than a year Assange has managed to change forever the idea of transparency and accountability as it pertains to governments and war and national security. At the same time, he reinforced the importance of journalistic institutions as arbiters of information, and managed to set embarrassed government officials scrambling to boot.
2. Steve Jobs
CEO, Apple
Just two years ago the media was consumed with writing its own memorial service.
With the invention of the iPad — speculation of its failure now the faintest wisps of near-forgotten memories — Steve Jobs has literally placed in the hands of both consumers and creators a tangible confluence of technology and media. The iPad would like to be to print what the iPod was to CD's, both a neutralizer and a revitalizer.
3. Sarah Palin
Former vice-presidential candidate, pundit, reality TV star, Twitterer, media obsession
Is there any one else on the planet who can dominate days-long media cycles, and alter entire political platforms, with the posting of a single Tweet? No.
Sarah Palin has had the media by the puppet strings since she walked onstage at the 2008 RNC convention. In 2010 she proved the more she yanks, the more the media dances.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider