Media Person of the Year

Other (See write-in votes below.) Martha Stewart made headlines with insider-trading charges and could even be forced to step down as CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Bonnie Fuller revived Us Weekly, which the Wall Street Journal called the "hot magazine of the moment," and was named Editor of the Year by Advertising Age. Rosie O'Donnell pulled the plug on Rosie magazine, an event that may make publishers more wary of launching celebrity-branded magazines in the future. Roger Ailes guided Fox News to become the top-rated cable news channel and was revealed to have offered advice to President Bush, calling his objectivity into question. Arthur Sulzberger Jr. set out to transform the New York Times into a global media brand by buying out the Washington Post's stake in the International Herald Tribune. Ted Turner reportedly mobilized AOL Time Warner's directors to oust CEO Gerald Levin and is said to have a key role in deciding on a possible CNN-ABC News merger. Barry Diller became interim co-chairman and CEO of Universal Entertainment, a move suggesting that he could one day helm a possible Vivendi spin-off of Universal. Jean-Marie Messier was ousted as CEO of Vivendi Universal after running up billions of euros in debt by investing in and acquiring properties promising "convergence." Michael Powell marked his first year as head of the FCC with an eye on loosening media ownership limits, which could fundamentally alter the U.S. media landscape. Tina Brown saw her high-profile Talk magazine shut down, but maintained her buzz by resurfacing with a must-read column in the Times of London. Sumner Redstone patched his rift with Viacom colleague Mel Karmazin (and was named Media Person of the Year at Cannes' International Advertising Festival). Rupert Murdoch is believed to have helped block a rival's acquisition of DirecTV and will reinforce his position as the world's pay-TV king if the firm ends up in his pocket. Richard Parsons took over as CEO of AOL Time Warner and put his famous diplomatic skills into overdrive to appease unhappy shareholders and employees. Brian Roberts became a media titan when his Comcast acquired AT&T Broadband, creating a cable giant with unprecedented influence over both television and the Internet. Gerald Levin stepped down as CEO after engineering the rocky AOL-Time Warner merger, which his company's own Fortune magazine described as a "great train wreck." Michael Ramsay may not be a household name, but the co-founder/CEO of TiVo has prompted television execs to warn that his product could wreck industry fundamentals. Michael Eisner survived sparring matches with Disney directors who were unhappy with the company's dismal performance, but still has to turn around the stumbling ABC. Susan Lyne has the Herculean task of resuscitating ABC, which slipped to a distant No. 3 behind NBC and CBS and lost nearly one-fifth of its viewers last season. Steve Case became a lightning rod for shareholder and employee discontent at AOL Time Warner, with critics calling for him to follow Gerald Levin out the door. William Dean Singleton was known for slashing newspaper jobs, but reportedly became a journalism booster and vowed to make his Denver Post a top U.S. newspaper.