Top Five Most Influential Media Execs

(MoneyWatch)  Every year, trade industry pub Mediaweek acts as kingmaker, nominating the top 50 "most indispensable executives shaping the future of media." The purpose is to highlight those unsung heroes who lurk in the shadows of the Zuckers and Moonveses. These so-called media "superheroes" are selected based on their impacts on the industry, the value of the deals they've cut or partnerships forged, audience growth, ad revenue, along with a host of other metrics.

Without further ado, here's who made it to the top of the 2008 list:

1. David Levy President, Turner Advertising Sales, Turner Sports Why: Successfully positioned Turner's cable channels as a viable alternative to pricey and underperforming broadcast programming, nailing down average CPM increases of 10 percent and boosting volume by about 20 percent.

2. Alan Wurtzel President, R&D, NBCU Why: Gave the industry a new way of measuring the way viewers consume media across all platforms, including online, video-on-demand, and mobile.

3. John Nesvig Sales President, Fox Broadcasting Why: Bagged Fox a record $1.9 billion in prime-time upfront ad revenue by selling ad spots with more visibility (and less clutter) for a premium price.

4. Rich Ross President, Disney Channel Worldwide Why: Convinced Disney to get back into the star-making business, promoting high-grossing tween pop phenomena like "Lizzie McGuire" and "Hannah Montana."

5. Tim Armstrong President, Ad/Commerce, Google Why: True, Armstrong and Co. lose points for not yet putting out a killer ad product for YouTube, but the search giant's clout in all other aspects of online advertising pretty much trump everyone else.

To see more details on these winners or the full list of the top 50, head over to Mediaweek.

What do you think? Do these guys deserve their spots on the list? If not, tell me who does in the comments.