A Fresh Face on Cable, Rachel Maddow Produces a Sharp Rise in Ratings

[nam78_two]

Yay Rachel! I have always liked and respected her-this is great to see :) :yourock:.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/21/arts/television/21madd.html?em

Rachel Maddow, a woman who does not own a television set, has done something that is virtually unheard of: she has doubled the audience for a cable news channel’s 9 p.m. hour in a matter of days. More important for her bosses at MSNBC is that “The Rachel Maddow Show,” her left-leaning news and commentary program, has averaged a higher rating among 25- to 54-year-olds than “Larry King Live” on CNN for 13 of the 25 nights she has been host. While the average total audience of her program remains slightly smaller than that of Mr. King’s, Ms. Maddow, 35, has made MSNBC competitive in that time slot for the first time in a decade. The channel at that hour has an average viewership of 1.7 million since she started on Sept. 8, compared with 800,000 before.

Given that advertising dollars — and the reputations of networks — rise and fall on prime-time ratings, Ms. Maddow’s rise has been closely watched by media executives.

“I’m pinching myself,” said Phil Griffin, the president of MSNBC, who used to caution that it “takes two or three years for a show to find its audience.” That was certainly true for Keith Olbermann, whose five-year-old “Countdown” program at 8 p.m. (which leads into Ms. Maddow’s program) now beats CNN in the 25-to-54-year-old demographic segment every evening.

Mr. Griffin said that Ms. Maddow’s advantages included her regular appearances on “Countdown” and her popularity on the Internet, where, he said, “word spread like wildfire” about her new show. Ms. Maddow, a former AIDS activist, was also presumably helped by her four years on the Air America radio network.

More at the link....

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Excellent article.

[John Q. Citizen]

2. Her fresh face doesn't hurt but it's her sharp brain that draws people in.

[nam78_two]

11. Exactly

Isn't it nice to see another analyst on tv with brains and integrity? Major props to KO here for helping this along!

[Demi_Babe]

3. AWESOME

[Ichingcarpenter]

4. Sam Seder should get a show next .. Rachel is paving the way for progressives

thanks to Keith. That's amazing stats she is getting! Bravo Rachel!

[Norrin Radd]

8. Sam's online show with Marc Maron is really funny.

[Ichingcarpenter]

10. Yeah, I like Sam's online show, when AA marginalized him everyone was

screaming. I think Sam could make the jump into TV though.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

5. Her challenge is to cover stories that are not thoroughly covered by Tweety or Keith

So far, I would say she's done an excellent job keeping the show intelligent and entertaining, and with a touch of novelty. I think the fact that she follows those two shows and yet manages to offer a different twist or angle that wasn't covered is a great achievement in itself.

[Overseas]

6. K&R -- So glad Rachel is boosting ratings.

The Republicans are boycotting appearing on her show.

So glad ratings rise in spite of that !!

YAAAAAY!!

[myrna minx]

7. Fresh face and a brilliant mind. I love Rachel. n/t

:loveya:

[SKKY]

9. I love saying I told you so, especially when I actually did!!!!

I called this several months ago..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x7678840

[Top Cat]

12. Nice article but she needs to kick Pat off her show before he hurts her ratings

[alison]

13. I love Rachel Maddow!

Between Keith at 8 and Rachel at 9 (or 10 and 11, respectively!), it's by far the most entertaining 2 hours on television.

[nam78_two]

14. Welcome to DU

:hi: :toast:

[damndude]

15. when she had david sirota

on i was wishing he had his own show as well. maybe an obama election could signal a return actual journalism and fair punditry. msnbc could lead the charge.