Just wow.
grantcart (40,941 posts) Fri Jan 10, 2014, 12:03 AM
5 Reasons Rachel Maddow is the best news personality on TV now.
1) Story Selection.
Even if you like other anchors (and there are few too choose from) they inevitably are answering stories already in the mix. I am always interested in what Lawrence O'Donnell and Chris Hayes have to say but they are, more often than not, responding to items already in the media. When you watch Rachel you can watch an entire show that is either of completely fresh material or an angle on a big story that is so refreshingly different that it takes on new life.
It is no accident that Rachel was the one that took what seemed like a lame local story and made it into a national story. She is the most intellectually ambitious the entire bunch.
2) Story Framing
Perhaps her strongest suit is that she frames the story with meticulous detail and fairness. The bridge story is a classic example and at every point she didn't raise the volume beyond the facts, always saying "This may be nothing but . . .".
She also makes sure that the story has the maximum presentation of relevant facts possible. What is known is reported and what is trivial is mentioned in passing.
Yes, because discussing guns while using VPC statistics and propaganda, for example, is completely fair.
3) She is fair
At every point she welcomes the people involved to come on the air and set her straight, and a couple of times they have taken her up on it. The reason that people don't come on her show isn't because she isn't courteous (please see #4) but because she is so well informed and know they can't snowball her. She doesn't pick out one fact out of context and over animate it.
I thought she didn't "take requests".
4) She is personable
When she has guests on she engages them. If they are diametrically opposed to her obvious position she still treats them with courtesy and respect. It would be hard pressed to find anyone who is more civil in the most aggravating circumstances and she always is willing to put herself on the line by inviting the most disagreeable people on her show.
5) She loves her job
Sometimes she is going over very wonky statistical material with tedious policy implications, and yet she loves doing what she does. If you aren't taken in by the story you simply cannot resist the allure of a smart confident woman who is not only competent but also completely engaged and enjoying her life.
You just have to love Rachel and the work she does, she is just irresistible.
Most who can lie and mislead their viewers with impunity love their jobs, no question..
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024307171Rah rah rah...blah blah blah...
