Heir to Murdoch empire bypasses father in media power list

· Three members of dynasty feature in Guardian table
· Founders of Google return to top spot

Owen Gibson, media correspondent
The Guardian, Monday July 14 2008

It may cause some dispute at the next family dinner, but James Murdoch has overtaken his father, Rupert, for the first time in this year's MediaGuardian 100 power list.

For the first time since the list was introduced in 2001, James has leapfrogged the News Corp chairman after taking over as chief executive of the company's European and Asian operations, while retaining a role as chairman of BSkyB.

The list, which measures economic, cultural and political influence and is decided by a panel of industry experts, was topped by Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page in recognition of the all-pervasive impact of Google on the media.

Last year, they were replaced in the list by Google chief executive Eric Schmidt, but they returned to the top spot this year in recognition of their higher-profile role at the Silicon Valley search giant.

The 2007 list was a shakeup of the established order, with several high-profile new media players storming the top 10 and many established names dropping out.

That process has continued this year, with more players who have taken advantage of the opportunities for global distribution and instant interaction in the digital age represented. Apple's Steve Jobs and Microsoft's Steve Ballmer also make the top 10.

Elisabeth, chief executive of independent production giant Shine, was the third Murdoch to make the list and one of the biggest climbers after buying Life on Mars producer Kudos and Reveille, the makers of Ugly Betty, in an acquisition spree.

James bypassed his father, whom he is expected to succeed one day as head of the sprawling News Corp empire, partly because Rupert has been more focused on the US since buying the Wall Street Journal publisher, Dow Jones. The list is based on influence on the UK's media scene, where James now oversees the News International newspaper empire.

The Daily Mail's Paul Dacre is the best-placed newspaper editor, while BBC Fiction chief Jane Tranter is a new entry at 10, making her the second most important person at the BBC, according to the panel, after director general Mark Thompson.