Top 10 US Political Pundits
Monday May 5, 2008
The UK Telegraph has published its list of the top 10 US political pundits: (10) Mark Halperin of ABC's The Note; (9) David Brooks, NYT columnist and regular on PBS NewsHour; (8) Jon Stewart, Comedy Central's most enduring political satirist; (7) Tim Russert, Meet The Press; (6) Matt Drudge, master of 'publish first, fact check later' "journalism"; (5) John Harris & Jim VandeHei, exiles from the WaPost who started Politico.com; (4) Rush Limbaugh, king of "talk" radio; (3) Sean Hannity, FOX News and radio (second to Limbaugh); (2) Chris Matthews, MSNBC Hardball; and (1) Karl Rove, FOX News, Newsweek and the Wall Street Journal (the newest kid on this "journalistic" block).
What's interesting to me? They're all male (51% of the US voting population is female); they're all white (8-in-10 Americans are white); eight represent TV and radio -- media known more for soundbites and emotion than reasoned argument; five might be better classified as "shouting heads"; and the newest kid is ranked as the most powerful.
Who is missing? Who should not be here?