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May 23, 2013

Jon Stewart Most Influential of 49 Influential Men

by Bob Sassone, posted Oct 27th 2010 3:45PM
Stewart and ColbertThere are lots of ways a person can be influential. Maybe it's money or power or style or just massive name-recognition.

AskMen.com polled readers and staff to find out who the 49 Most Influential Men are. There are several TV people on the list, including the person in the No. 1 slot, 'Daily Show' host Jon Stewart. Another talk show host, Conan O'Brien, also made the list at No. 12, even though his 'Tonight Show' failed and his new show has started yet. He has certainly been talked about a lot this past year though. Stephen Colbert is No. 11.

And yet another late night talk show host, CBS' David Letterman, is on the list at No. 39. Even though he's my favorite host, I can't figure out why he would make the list this year.

I guess what this list shows is that being a male late night talk show host is the most important thing in the world.

Matthew WeinerOther TV people who made the list include Old Spice pitchman Isaiah Mustafa at No. 30, 'Mad Men' creator Matthew Weiner at No. 20 (beating the President of the United States, who came in at No. 21), and James Franco, who is in the No. 7 slot. Yeah, he's more of a movie guy, but he did have a stint on 'General Hospital' recently.

Jet Blue quitter/escape slide enthusiast Steven Slater, who was interviewed last night by Larry King and seems destined for a reality show of some sort, is No. 48 on this list. That's either a production error or they mean he's influential in a cautionary, oh-my-god-don't-do-this sort of way. He beat out Russell Brand, but something tells me that Slater will never be on this list again.

Old Spice adBut which TV males are missing from this list? While people like Stewart and Colbert and Weiner and Conan clearly have influence and buzz, I can think of a few guys who should be on this list in place of some who don't deserve to be on it.

How about CBS President Les Moonves or head of Fox News Roger Ailes? Both have driven their networks to big ratings. Maybe J.J. Abrams, who seems to have a new TV show (or two) every fall? Gordon Ramsay, who seems to have taken over the Fox schedule? Or maybe 'How I Met Your Mother' star Neil Patrick Harris, who is everywhere these days and doing everything: TV shows, hosting gigs, singing, ads, you name it.

Last year, a fictional character was in the number one slot, Don Draper. And if fictional men can be on the list then maybe Draper should have made the list again, along with '30 Rock's' Jack Donaghy, 'Dexter's' Dexter, and Charlie Harper from 'Two and a Half Men.'

Oh, if you're wondering about me, for the fifth in a row I came in at number 50 and just missed making the list.

What TV guy would you put on this list?

[Follow Bob on Twitter.]

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