Huffington Post

Huffington Post
Arianna Huffington

Huffington Post excels in what founder Arianna Huffington describes as a "mix of up-to-the-second news and real-time opinion, delivered with attitude." The site rode the crest of news industry changes and launched a comedy page, new sections, plus New York and Denver editions.

The major narratives, says Huffington, have been Wall Street vs. Main Street, lobbying influences on health care reform, Candidate Obama vs. President Obama, and GOP power struggles—not to mention the 24/7 coverage of the Iran uprising ("a milestone for citizen-powered journalism"). Her puckish visions for 2010? A Million Debtors' March in D.C. ("credit card companies will want to charge a fee to attend"), and U.S. speed-skating gold at the Vancouver Winter Games, "emblazoned with the Colbert Nation logo." —KC

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Media Take Out

Media Take Out
Fred Mwangaguhunga

Black entertainment sites have sunk in their roots online, big time. No wonder Fred Mwangaguhunga turned his back on a lucrative law career to found the burgeoning Media Take Out. The site's biggest '09 story had to be the Kanye West-Taylor Swift blowout.

"Our readership has continuously grown since the beginning of the year," notes Mwangaguhunga, 35, from NYC. "The bigger stories for us tend to have crossover appeal. For that it was traditional urban readers, country readers, and news readers." Next year, Mwangaguhunga says, expect a spotlight on Rihanna's love life, whether Beyonce and Jay-Z will have a child together, Usher's newly single status, and prison entrances (Lil Wayne) and exits (T.I.)—"the transitions that people will make." —KC

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Perez Hilton

Perez Hilton
Perez Hilton

Self-described "Queen of All Media" Perez Hilton, né Mario Armando Lavandeira, kept it fierce on two fronts in ‘09: He plunged into the music biz by starting a label, Perezcious, and lent the branding power that lit Lady Gaga's fire to a pop tour. He also made a splash in the mainstream as a Miss USA 2009 pageant judge. His pointed questioning of Miss California Carrie Prejean revealed that she opposed gay marriage.

"She should thank me and give me tons of money from her book sales," declares the sassy, 31-year-old LA blogger. The biggest 2009 story in Perez's whirl?: Michael Jackson. 2010 hopes: "It's time for real celebrities to behave badly again, not these quasi-celebrities like Balloon Boy and Octomom." —KC

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Drudge Report

Drudge Report
Drudge Report

Able to launch an avalanche of comments and outraged emails with a single link, endowed with the ability to "swiftboat" Democratic presidential campaigns—the Drudge Report remains an iron fortress of aggregation, gossip-mongering, and breaking news with a conservative-libertarian spin. Matt Drudge, who famously broke big with the Monica Lewinsky scandal, has brought a bare-knuckles, no-gossip-is-too-microscopic approach to political coverage...all while fending off rumors about his own life.

In earlier days, Drudge made the media rounds. Now he's become a shadowy figure who prefers to administer street justice away from prying eyes. Others are eager to fill in the vacuum, but he was among the first and earned his place among Time's top influentials. —KC

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All HipHop

All HipHop
Greg Watkins and Chuck "Jigsaw" Creekmur

Dubbed "the CNN of hip-hop" by Essence, New Jersey-based AllHipHop has been keeping it real for almost a decade. Greg Watkins and Chuck "Jigsaw" Creekmur hew closely to the news, personalities, and wares surrounding the sounds that speak to the founders. In '09, Michael Jackson was the news, says Creekmur, as was the continuing relevance of Jay-Z and "anything beef-related."

Going into 2010, the hip-hop head says, "I'm eager to see who is going to step out of the shadows of Jay-Z and 50 Cent, artists that have dominated for so long. People are clamoring for something new, and in hip-hop, the crown is never given willingly." —KC

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Sherdog

Sherdog
Jeff Sherwood

Covering the world of mixed martial arts isn't pretty. Grappling with stiff competition, Sherdog has made its name as the one of the most massive MMA sites in the world. This year, Jeff Sherwood, 41, attacked the news of Affliction Entertainment's demise. "But I think the overall story is how huge UFC has gotten in the last year," says the founding editor from central California.

In '10, Sherwood is watching for athletes who've trained specifically in MMA enter the sport—and dealing with getting scooped by his own interview subjects. "Every fighter has a Twitter account now," he confesses. "A lot of times, these guys are breaking their own news." —KC

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Just Jared

Just Jared
Jared Eng

Feel-good stories might seem few and far between in the cutthroat blogosphere of celebrity gossip, but readers have found a reassuring outpost in Just Jared and its spinoff, Just Jared Jr.

"My approach is obviously a lot cleaner," confesses NYC founder/editor-in-chief Jared Eng, 27. "I think the rewards, for me, are that a lot of people in the industry are willing to work with me because I don't bash them."

Just Jared saw Kate Gosselin blow up in ‘09, especially "when she hit the beach in her bikini. A lot of people were like, ‘Wha--!' since she had her tummy tuck and her eight kids and marriage problems." In 2010, he believes "Glee" positivity will pop out—"that and vampires!" —KC

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