Business Insider releases its top 50 people and pubs in media this year. The list published today includes everyone from Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange (#1) to Apple CEO Steve Jobs (#2) FNC’s Glenn Beck (#4) and Jon Stewart (#5). Those in Washington or with strong ties here include HuffPost Editor-in-Chief Arianna Huffington (#8), Drudge Report (#9) and Politico (#15).

The writeup on Politico is worth a look with a variety of shout-outs:

There have been many, many moments in the last two years where more than one person has wondered whether Politico is the tail wagging Presidential dog, so successful has the site been at “winning the morning” and driving the national political news cycle. No story is too small! Mike Allen, Ben Smith, Jonathan Martin, Patrick Gavin, John Harris… now go name five Washington Post reporters off the top of your head.

Others on the list: The Atlantic (#19), Jake Tapper (#21), Andrew Sullivan (#29), Howie Kurtz (#37) and NPR’s David Folkenflik (#48).

National Journal’s Matt Cooper hides from the paparazzi behind one of Arianna’s book-themed pillows. 

Arianna Huffington made a splash last night at the home of Tammy Haddad.  Guests such as actress Geena Davis, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Rep. Dennis Kucnich and wife Elizabeth, Richard Wolffe, Morning Joe’s Mika Brzezinski, White House Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett, Hilary Rosen and  MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan flooded Haddad’s Foxhall backyard to toast Huffington’s new book, “Third World America: How Our Politicians Are Abandoning The Middle Class and Betraying The American Dream.” 

The event, which Huffington joked was like an “Obama backyard party” played host to hundreds of the city’s political and media set who mingled over cocktails in the brisk fall weather.  One of the most popular topics of conversation was Howie Kurtz‘s recent announcement that he will leave the Washington Post for a new gig at the Daily Beast.  Several guests agreed that Yahoo’s Michael Calderone seemed like the only viable option to replace WaPo’s longtime media beat writer. 

We caught up with Calderone who admitted that he wouldn’t spill to Fishbowl if he was in talks with the Post but joked that, “Marcus [Brauchli] hasn’t even returned my calls about Kurtz leaving so it’s safe to assume that he hasn’t pursued me to replace him.” 

Also spotted at the backyard book bash were HuffPost’s Peter Cherukuri, Sam Stein and Mario Ruiz, Qorvis’ Kelley McCormick, SKDKnickerbocker’s Emily Lenzner, National Journal’s Matt Cooper and Taylor West, Janet Donovan, Tim Burger, Bloomberg’s Ha Chan, Politico’s Kiki Ryan, NYT’s Jeff Zeleny, Daily Beast’s Kirsten Powers and Dr. Marty Makary, Pamela’s Punch blogger Pamela Sorensen, ABC’sPolson Kanneth, Jim Courtovich, CBS’s Christine Delargy and The Hill’s Emily Goodin.

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and Arianna Huffington. 

Geena Davis, Michael Calderone and more after the jump. 

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Key words/phrases: Superhuman, straight-shooter, endless well, and indispensable authority. At the end of the letter they discuss qualities his replacement ought to have…

The memo to staff:

It’s with great sadness that we announce Howie Kurtz is leaving The
Washington Post to head the Washington bureau of The Daily Beast.
Throughout his 29 years at The Post, Howie has taught us all how the medium
is the message, marshalling [sic] fresh evidence not just daily but hourly about
the powerhouses, personalities and opinion-shapers of the media world.
Applying  intelligence, creativity and an endless well of sources,  Howie
single-handedly has defined this huge sector, whether he was communicating
in newsprint, in books, online or on television. His Media Notes franchise
has become the indispensable authority on the players and companies in the
center, by definition, of the national debate.

“Coverage” does not quite capture what he has delivered for the Washington
Post and its readers. Like the best reporters ever to have owned a beat,
Howie has treated the subject matter expansively. He covered not just
journalists but the folks in the political sphere who try to steer the
conversation–White House press secretaries, campaign strategists, gossip
bloggers, late-night talk-show hosts. All the while, he has become known as
a straight-shooter by every anchor and editor and reporter who has been on
the other end of his inquiries. He bravely covered the very organization he
has called home and won the respect and independence that can only come
with consistently solid and fair reporting. His energy is beyond
exemplary–it’s superhuman.

With Howie’s departure we will begin searching for his replacement ,
looking for someone who can be a commanding authority on the media. We’re
seeking alively [sic], nuanced writer with drive and enthusiasm, and the
ability to keep ahead of the changing media world and its impact on
politics.

Ned Martel    Marcus Brauchli            Liz Spayd

WaPo‘s resident journo pimp Howie Kurtz, host of CNN’s “Reliable Sources” (as if we needed to tell you), went off the wagon this weekend.

He had 10 tweets regarding his show, some of which were his retweets of readers praising him – one said his was the “only” balanced show on FNC, MSNBC and CNN. More than one tweet revealed the names of his guests. In recent weeks he has been down to a reasonable one to three messages.

We bestow on him this tiger print fur-encrusted suit from the “Sugar Daddy” collection. We’ve already given him the tiger print heeled shoes, but this should take his look up a few notches.

This Sunday takes an entertaining twist on CNN.

Candy Crowley is scheduled to interview former Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) on “State of the Union” — we hope he’ll leave his dancing shoes home. And WaPo’s Howie Kurtz will interview ABC’s Barbara Walters on “Reliable Sources”. (We’re taking bets on whether or not Howie can make her tear up, or what kind of tree should be would be.)

Somehow dance photographs of DeLay never get old.

Shrinking budgets and spending freezes have forced everyone to kick in more around the office…but Lara Logan is answering the call of duty like no other.

Without hair & makeup on hand at CBS News, the network’s chief foreign affairs correspondent recently played substitute stylist when WaPo’s Howie Kurtz needed a helping hand to get camera-ready. Talk about a team player.

Howie Kurtz reports that the longstanding WaPo-LA Times News Service is no more. The 50/50 partners will now compete against one another to syndicate content to more than 600 global clients.

Kurtz say that details about the dissolved deal were not disclosed but it stems from the Tribune’s takeover of LAT in 2000.

See WaPo for more.

CNN’s Megan Grant, Edie Emery and Meryl Conant at the Washington Kastles game last night. Edie and Meghan meet “Slice” after the jump.

Good morning FishbowlDC!

Got a blind item, interesting link, funny note, comment, birthday, anniversary or anything of the sort for Morning Reading List? Drop us a line.

What we know and what we’re reading this Wednesday morning…

TV | RADIO | ONLINE | MAGAZINES | NEWS NOTES | JOBS

TV

MarketWatch’s Jon Friedman‘s review of MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan: he’s “still getting in your face.”

TVNewser asks Just How Dominant is Fox News? Also on TVNewser: Evening News Ratings.

Why does CNN’s John King have a shiner? Dana?? No, find out the real reason his eye is puffy on the CNN blog.

RADIO

FishbowlNY has four questions for NPR’s Andy Carvin on what’s next in citizen journalism.

ONLINE

HuffPost has launched what they’re calling the “Real Misery Index,” an online gauge of how Americans are affected by the economic times. According to the release, it will combine “a more accurate unemployment statistic (the U6 formulation), with the inflation rate for three essentials (food and beverages, gas, medical costs), and year-over-year percent increases in credit card delinquencies, housing prices, food stamp participation, and home equity loan deficiencies.” Check it out here.

MAGAZINES

NYO: The September ad page numbers are out for Conde Nast, and they are grim. The monthly magazines at the company, as a whole, are down 37 percent. Vogue tumbled to 427 pages total, down 36 percent from last September. W is down 53 percent; Allure and Gourmet are down 51 percent; and Vanity Fair dropped 36 percent.

NEWS NOTES

Craig Crawford‘s take on the CQ-Roll Call merger: “We might need to brush up on our British accents — The Economist Group is London based. (I’ll do that once I’ve mastered an American accent.)”

Newspaper readers vs. web surfers: who’s better informed? Check out Slate’s News Junkie Smackdown.

No bidders on the Watergate Hotel (AP).

How affluent is Howie Kurtz?

Co-founder of BET Sheila Johnson is crossing her party lines to endorse Republican Robert McDonnell for governor in Virginia (WaPo).

HAT TIPS: mediabistro, TVNewser, Politico

JOBS after the jump…

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What we almost missed today…

• The press has been panting after President Obama’s new puppy and hence a “Moment of Zen” for Daily Show‘s Jon Stewart. WaPo’s Howard Kurtz makes an appearance.

• WaPo has launched “Personality Pages” to “create an ecosystem around a writer/columnist with contextual information, links to content created by that person, and other features like RSS feeds,” according to a memo from managing editor Raju Narisetti. Politico reports “so far, 20 staffers were contacted about the program, with half responding: Joel Achenbach, Chris Cillizza, Marc Fisher, Dan Froomkin, Carolyn Hax, John Kelly, Howie Kurtz, Dana Milbank, Lisa de Moraes, and Rob Pegoraro.” Milbank’s up first and you can check out his prototype here.

• And finally today, TMZ has arrived in DC. First scoop, the pooch.

A few interesting items in Howie Kurtz‘s online WaPo chat yesterday, Critiquing the Press:

Washington, D.C.: When Walter Pincus revealed off-record discussions between Josh Block and three reporters, did he rat out any of his Post colleagues?

Intelligence Pick Blames ‘Israel Lobby’ For Withdrawal (Post, March 12)

If one reporter at the Post, sitting in his cubicle, promises a source confidentiality, and a reporter in an adjacent cubicle overhears the conversation and can figure out who the source is, can that second reporter write a story free of that privilege?

Howard Kurtz: Reporting on an overheard conversation would be flat-out unfair. But there are times when journalists have had to report on the confidential sources of other journalists, even in their own newsroom. I, for instance, had to question who Washington Post reporters had used as sources in the Valerie Plame affair (as well as those used by Bob Novak, Matt Cooper, Tim Russert, Judy Miller et al). I did not know who the sources were until that information emerged in the court proceedings and Bob Woodward eventually acknowledged the administration source who told him about Plame’s CIA role.

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