GQ has named Rupert Murdoch the fifth most powerful man in Britain, while scandal-hit former Telegraph Group chief Conrad Black has fallen six places but still comes in at 22nd.
The list of the 100 Most Powerful Men in Britain – heavily loaded with media personalities – appears inside the January issue of GQ magazine, out next week.
Several newspaper editors are also featured, with the Daily Mirror’s Piers Morgan leading the way in 18th. Paul Dacre (Daily Mail) is 24th, John Witherow (Sunday Times) is 38th, ahead of The Guardian’s Alan Rusbridger at 39. Roger Alton (Observer) is ranked at 43, Robert Thomson of The Times is 52nd and Dominic Lawson of The Sunday Telegraph is at 55, a whisker ahead of The Daily Telegraph’s Martin Newland at 56.
He is followed by Simon Kelner of The Independent in 59th place and Express Newspapers and Northern & Shell boss Richard Desmond at 62.
Tony O’Reilly, chief executive of Independent News & Media, is in 79th place while Press Complaints Commission chairman Sir Christopher Meyer at 90.
New entrants on the list include Private Eye editor Ian Hislop and Radio 4’s Today presenter John Humphrys, charting at 92 and 95 respectively.
GQ editor Dylan Jones said: “It’s like The Sunday Times’s Rich List. We have a small team at GQ working on it for the best part of six months and it’s drafted on influence and successes over the year.”
BBC director general Greg Dyke held strong in 12th place.
Despite appearing on the supplement cover, Tony Blair is beaten to the top spot by Gordon Brown.
By Ruth Addicott
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