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Penguin chairman and chief executive John Makinson has been ranked as http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jul/14/john-makinson-mediaguardian-... target="_blank">76th most important person in the media, in MediaGuardian's annual take on the top 100.
This is the first time Makinson has charted. The paper is counting down to the top 50, which will appear in print next Monday. No other book publisher has appeared so far.
MediaGuardian said: "Penguin reinvented publishing in the 1930s with the invention of the quality paperback. Now its chairman and chief executive, John Makinson, wants to do the same with the ebook in the digital age. 'The definition of the book itself is up for grabs,' he has said.
"Makinson has promised a new definition of books providing 'interactive learning experiences', with 'book applications' for the Apple's iPad and Amazon's Kindle reader that include embedded audio, video and streaming content."
It is unusual for the Media Guardian to acknowledge book publishers, though in the past Pearson chief executive Marjorie Scardino, Random House chairman and chief executivive Gail Rebuck and Reed Elsevier's former c.e.o. Sir Crispin Davis have appeared in the list.