A new administration representing a change in political party usually yields a crop of new powerful women, states Washingtonian magazine, but, it added, “Not in 2017: The federal-government fields are largely fallow, with a lot of agency appointments still open. Most slots that have been filled have gone to men. On the other hand, women are thriving in business, academia, arts, and media. Our list of the most powerful women in Washington offers a refreshing group who have made their way to the top.” Those in media on the Washingtonian list – plus comments by Washingtonian -are:
Jackie Bradford, president and general manager, NBC4. Bradford, a master at talent-spotting, has brought in new stars such as meteorologist Doug Kammerer to keep Channel 4 the dominant local news station.
Carrie Budoff Brown, editor, Politico. Surprisingly, Brown has thrived in a newsroom that remains a boys’ club.
Elisabeth Bumiller, Washington bureau chief, New York Times. The bureau is regularly breaking news—for example, the President’s admission that he wouldn’t have appointed attorney general Jeff Sessions if he’d known he’d recuse himself from the Russia investigation.
Susan Goldberg, editorial director, National Geographic Partners, and editor in chief, National Geographic. Fox ownership hasn’t fazed Goldberg: She was executive editor for federal-, state-, and local-government coverage at Bloomberg in Washington and editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Laurene Powell Jobs, majority owner, the Atlantic. The magazine is a thought leader—look for its new owner to increase her presence here. The widow of Apple’s Steve Jobs has the deep pockets to preserve, and even expand, this DC institution.
Paula Kerger, CEO, PBS. Kerger is in a tough fight for funding amid administration threats to cut federal support for public broadcasting.
Andi McDaniel, senior director of content and news, WAMU. McDaniel has defined the public-radio station’s broadcast and digital products and spearheaded new content, including the podcast The Big Listen.
Kate Nocera, Washington bureau chief, BuzzFeed. Under her leadership, BuzzFeed has had important scoops, including a report on Sebastian Gorka’s wife, who remains in a power position at the White House after Gorka himself was ousted when it was revealed he had strong anti-Islam and anti-Semitic ties.
Julie Pace, Washington bureau chief, Associated Press. Named to her post in June (she previously covered the White House for the international news agency), Pace now has to maximize AP’s coverage of a capital city at an unusually news-intense moment.
Sharon Percy Rockefeller, CEO, WETA. Rockefeller continues to provide major content to PBS viewers nationally with Ken Burns’s The Vietnam War, for which WETA is a production partner, and a revamped Washington Week.
Janet Rodriguez, White House correspondent, Univision Network News. Rodriguez’s position was created in 2016 as immigration and other issues of special interest to Spanish speakers became critical.
Susan Swain, co-CEO, C-SPAN. At a moment when shouting and belligerence drive cable-news ratings, C-SPAN has stuck to its guns as a low-key chronicler of government that doesn’t chase the latest tweet.
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