Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Some Thoughts on Rachel Maddow's New MSNBC Show

Big ratings and many rave reviews have greeted The Rachel Maddow Show which took over the 9 PM slot on MSNBC previously held by The Verdict with Dan Abrams. Sorry, but I'm not joining the raving throngs.

Her spot isn't bad, it's worse: boring. Whereas Verdict was lively and fresh, Ms. Maddow's plays like a televised radio show. (Or blog. Yikes.) She is certainly smart, eloquent, witty, with a firm grasp of the issues--and, of course, telegenic, which unfortunately matters in the business she's in--but I don't find myself drawn to her as I was when she would periodically fill in for Keith Olbermann on his Countdown. Admittedly, it might be too soon to criticize, and after all, she's getting good ratings, so I just may be one of the few not entirely in her show's corner. Yet.

STEPHEN A. SMITH: AN UTTER DISGRACE

From what I understand, ESPN has internal rules about anchors not discussing politics on the air, as well as not broaching the subject publi...