The eagerly awaited Media Guardian 100, which is Montage’s A to Z of the media network, has arrived to a fanfare this year. This year’s headline news is that new media has arrived. In fact, new media seems to have taken over. The Organ Grinder blog even goes so far as to state that new media is not “new” any more, as everyone is at it, and I have to agree!



The starkest proof of new media dominance is that Google has taken the top spot from the media-overlord Rupert Murdoch (Newscorp). This was even withstanding the fact that Newscorp bought Intermix Media, owner of Myspace.com, for a “bargain” $580m (£332.85m) in 2005.



How has Google wrestled top spot in media-land? Well, money certainly talks and with revenues over $3 billion dollars and with a 110% profit increase last financial year, Google really is king. Google’s buying muscle was flexed in the purchase of You Tube for a massive $1.65 billion in 2006.



Significant casualties from the top 100 are Radio 4 controller Mark Damazer and Daily Express editor Peter Hill and in comes the vanguard of the social networking revolution: YouTube founders Chad Hurley and Steven Chen, MySpace chief executive Chris DeWolfe, and Bebo’s Michael Birch.



Facebook, the social networking site of the moment, was awarded 100th place as it muscled its way in after only being set up in 2004. Blogger Guido Faulkes has made his way in to the top 100 on the media influence scale, by being on the pulse of Westminster village’s plots and conspiracies. Guido has been able to break stories that traditional media have been prevented from doing, through the press complaints commission code of conduct. (See Hannah Robert’s blog regarding the Press complaints commission and the blogsphere and why he gets away with it!)



I personally think that the spread of the Murdoch Family influence really depends on his son James Murdoch (Head of Sky) and daughter Elizabeth Murdoch. Murdoch Snr so far has shown all the guile and his trademark shrewdness to make him top of the old school media pile. However, Richard Branson made a huge leap this year in the PR stakes as he claimed top spot for column inches in the media 100 and this surely means that Murdoch faces a fight. Or does it? There has been an approach by Virgin to buy Virgin Radio formerly owned by radio and TV presenter Chris Evans.



My top tip for head of the media pile next year? Well Richard Branson at number 6 is now considering selling Virgin Media for a reported $5.5bn to the US based Carlisle Group. If he goes ahead with the deal, will he be hunting for a slice of the new media pie? Perhaps the fact that iTunes is now the dominant player in the music market, a sector that he already has significant interest in, may mean that iTunes and smaller players like BEBO bands might make targets for Branson? Watch this space!