And the recall winner is...

Among media heads, the big winner in the first phase was Dan Weintraub, the Sacramento Bee columnist who began blogging his analysis and opinions in April. He picked up on the recall early, his favorable takes and recurring mentions of the Republican blogs like Calblog made him popular in that world, and Kausfiles helped alert the national media to his presence. Now he's on TV all the time and does a regular stint for Hewitt on his syndicated radio show. This week's winner is Jill Stewart, who's been getting the Kausfiles boost too (they are pals). Riordan's favorite L.A. opinion writer also had an op-ed piece in the New York Times last week, has become a frequent talking head on TV and does a regular recall show on KFI. Today she got a prominent mention on Romenesko for her appearance on CNN's Reliable Sources, over the other reporters. Not bad for a columnist whose largest print outlet (I think) is the Pasadena Weekly .