BREAKING: Rachel Maddow beats all cable, Fox and Tucker Carlson.

[kstewart33]

Politicus USA, posted about an hour ago:

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow’s special on the Trump/Russia scandal beat Fox News to be the most watched program on cable news regarding overall viewers and in the age 25-54 demographic for the 9 PM hour.

Maddow’s special beat every other program in its time slot and all shows on all cable networks for the rest of the night. The MSNBC program was watched by 2.904 million viewers compared to Fox News’s program hosted by Tucker Carlson that had 2.850 million viewers. Maddow nearly tripled CNN’s viewership of 1.256 million viewers. In the 25-54 demo, the Rachel Maddow Show beat Fox News 788,000-593,000.

The Rachel Maddow special was the second most-watched program on all of cable news. Fox News’s The O’Reilly Factor finished first in its timeslot with more than 3.6 million viewers. Maddow is also getting closer to Bill O’Reilly level ratings. O’Reilly has been the undisputed king of cable news for years, but he may have a real challenger for the title in Rachel Maddow.

Link: http://www.politicususa.com/2017/03/10/rachel-maddow-beats-fox-news-finishes-1-hammering-trumprussia-scandal.html

[napi21]

1. Rachel is the most intelligent show host of any on any network. I watch her show all the time or

record it if I can't watch live. She's been uncovering so much about the Russian scandal recently that I felt compelled to post "I hope MSMNBC has good security".

[pbmus]

9. She is a Rhodes scholar, and she is literally the most intelligent

Pundit on television...

[napi21]

22. The one thing she has that very few very intelligent people havve is the ability to communicate

with anyone. She explains things well and you never hear anyone say "What did she mean?"

[Awsi Dooger]

29. Rachel Maddow is terrible during presidential election years

She has tunnel vision toward her own priorities and has no concept of the most important variables in play. I worried for more than 2 years that white working class males would stampede for the Republican and narrowly cost Hillary the election. It was easily the most pivotal demographic in 2016. I emphasized it on site after site. Yet I'm not sure Rachel Maddow ever mentioned that voting block, let alone devote an entire program to the problem. Perhaps briefly in the final weeks when Michael Moore and a few others finally hinted toward the problem. But it should have been an overriding theme throughout our primaries and especially during the general election.

Rachel Maddow was so busy with her typical smug ignorant gloating when a ridiculous poll showed up with Hillary competitive in South Carolina, for example, that she had absolutely no clue what was brewing under the surface. That's why I always have to laugh when she's touted as a Rhodes Scholar and some type of intellectual. The only non-lie that Donald Trump has told since election day is that Hillary campaigned in the wrong states. Exactly. It was the ultimate unforced error and people like Rachel Maddow are part of the problem. They want to believe Democrats are more popular than actual, and in more states. The desperation to expand the playing field ignored how fragile those upper midwestern states had become.

Bill Clinton was surprised at the 2014 midterm results. That's when I knew Hillary was in trouble toward November 2016. Bill had awesome political instincts during his heyday but obviously he stopped paying attention somewhere along the line. Those white working class males used 2014 as essentially a warmup for 2016. Maybe I'm well in tune with that demographic because I spent 25 years alongside them while living in Las Vegas and frequenting the sportsbooks. It's overwhelmingly conservative white guys in that environment. They hate me because I'm one of the few on the other side and I can out talk them with ease. Not difficult. They have maybe three sentences of ammo. But it was glaring for years that the block was determined to sway the result in 2016. I mentioned here in the days before the election that I was still worried about the outcome because everything tends to drift back to the beginning and my long held fear that white working class males would decide the election was still in play.

This is my first post since election day. Sorry for the length and the topic. But I needed months to calm down and throughout those months I've been thinking of how representative Rachel Maddow is toward the problems we face. It's impossible that a Republican would ever lose a presidential race via ignoring pivotal states and allowing them to slip narrowly to the other side. Only a Rachel Maddow-type attitude allowed it to attach to our side. Sure, she's swell while on the attack when a Republican holds the White House. Big whoopty doo.

[kstewart33]

31. Yes, it is a big whoopty doo.

When Rachel focuses like a laser beam on a scandal, she gets results.

She was the ONLY broadcaster who zeroed in on the Flint water scandal. No one was reporting on it except local Michigan media. Within a week of shows, the media began to turn its attention to Flint.

Now, she has zeroed in on the Trump/Putin connection, and people are watching. Her ratings are unprecedented for any program in MSNBC's history. She's giving this hugely important story momentum. Surely, others are too, but she gets the leaks. And she is the only one who presents complicated stories in a way that people understand.

What she is doing will make a considerable difference in how this plays out, IMHO.

[maddiemom]

34. No reason to be sorry for the length.

You make some good points. HOWEVER: Bill Clinton's "political instincts" spelled doom to the traditional Democratic supporters. Rachel is a much needed antidote to The Fox Stuff, AND, she can back up everything she claims, whatever her liberal prejudices. I've lived, over the years, in the "coalfields" of West Virginia, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania (my ex was a mining engineer), and am still in touch with friends from those areas. No one with any knowledge of those areas, along with political sense, can believe how many voters in Appalachia swallowed Trump's clueless promise to bring coal jobs back (never possible). Hillary honestly (and disastrously) told the truth about those jobs never coming back. She had plans and ideas as to replacing them and revitalizing those areas of the country. No one wanted to listen; they just wanted to hear Trump's impossible promises. To be fair, Obama (however thwarted) was a major disappointment to many.

[not fooled]

36. Your points are valid

and she also has to kowtow to Comcast -- I don't know how much she talks about net neutrality, for example, which CC opposes.

However, in these dark days, she is doing good work on important matters and we need to welcome this type of information whenever it appears.

Also, her ratings show that at least some considerable segment of the American public wants legitimate information and truth.

[redstateblues]

2. That is awesome-she is making a name for herself

[Fearless]

3. Because she is professional

Honest, intelligent, and willing to do the right thing.

[KPN]

4. Rachel is educating people ... and they are finally discovering, realizing and appreciating it.

Great for the country; great for all of us.

[Raster]

5. Rachel is ON FIRE and IS CONNECTING THE DOTS...

...Rachel has been absolutely FREAKIN' BRILLIANT!!! She is setting the bar for investigative broadcast journalism!

Rachel ROCKS!

[dewsgirl]

6. Yesss!!!

[Binders Keepers]

7. Wow! She'll break 3 million soon--maybe tonight!

[iluvtennis]

8. Words out where to find good investigative journalism and reporting...now we need to..

..get them to see Lawrence and Joy who also do a great job as well

[StevieM]

13. Joy Reid is the best kept secret in America. She really deserves her own weekday show. (eom)

[kstewart33]

14. You bet. She also is a good utility player.

She subs a lot across the MSNBC shows. Does an excellent job.

[The Last Dem.]

10. Good Job Rachel.

Keep up the good work and watch your back side.

[deaniac21]

11. She's taking over!

[Sgent]

12. She's a great legacy

from Air America, her first national exposure.

[proud patriot]

15. I love her

[bucolic_frolic]

16. This is the greatest news in a long while

I think this is an awakening. Her delivery and reasoning with facts is to clear an indisputable.

[womanofthehills]

17. She has free podcasts too

She has been great lately. Every night another revelation. I love that she is really into detail.

[JDC]

18. People are watching for a reason.

She is delivering news.

[CaptainTruth]

19. Awesome! She's finally reporting on what Louise Mensch has been digging out for months.

I'm glad to see someone in the MSM report on it, & Rachel is the best to do it.

And if you're not following @LouiseMensch on Twitter you should be.

Just today Louise revealed where the Wikileaks server is (wait for it ... Russia!) & the person who maintains it (Peter Chayanov). Right after he was revealed he started deleting his social media accounts.

I really hope Rachel has Louise on as a guest. She's reported several things that Louise first reported, but not given her credit. I don't think it's deliberate, Louise just isn't a mainstream source.

[madville]

20. Tucker is on a mini-break, Ed Henry filled in a couple of nights

That's probably one explanation Tucker's 9pm numbers suddenly nosedived a couple of nights but good for Rachel.

[Kingofalldems]

21. Waiting for Trump's boy to tell us it doesn't matter.

Of course it DOES matter. Day by day more are learning the truth about Trump.

[krispos42]

23. I remember listening to her podcast on Air America, way back when

I still have a CD-R with a bunch of her podcasts, archived someplace.

She's great, and I'm glad Keith Olbermann took her under his wing to let her soar to such levels.

[zentrum]

24. What's also fantastic about

...this is that it may slowly make CNN and Network start doing more real journalism instead of trying to be FOX-lite.

Since they have no values beyond the ratings and $$$$, they may actually start to see that investing again in an investigative news room pays off.

Wow--imagine if the press did their job.

Rachel is better than Cronkite.

[SCVDem]

26. With respect......

I like Rachel, but even she would admit that Cronkite was the successor to Murrow.

To even be in that group is quite an accomplishment. Better requires an ego. She's good!

I first caught her on AA. That was the first show I live streamed at work.

I miss the News Dumps and the Cocktail Moment. I really miss getting sent to prison every Friday!

[zentrum]

27. Agree basically.

I meant really that her moment in history, and in the current media landscape, makes her more pivotal. The press has so failed us ever since Watergate.

But even Cronkite couldn't live up to Murrow. I love how serious they all were---about the incredible civic importance of what they were doing. They made people not need to be entertained by the news.

Yes, "met" Rachel through AA too. She seemed a little defanged once she got on TV, but it seems this moment has brought her back.

[elleng]

25. She's doing very well, consistent with her intelligence.

TOO BAD (understatement) she went along with the pre-primary + election meme that gave us trump.

[oasis]

28. Rachel and her research staff are by far the best team in cable news. nt

[Hekate]

30. You go, Dr Maddow

[es466]

32. I love Rachel....

as for Tucker Carlson, he is the WORST..... what's up with that snarky, sneery facial expression he always puts on? Ugh....

[oberliner]

33. How many of those viewers are in Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania

That's the question.

[kimbutgar]

35. I had given up MSNBC since the election

But my hubby talked me into watching her this week. I could only take a half hour because it gets too depressing. But how she is deconstructing the corruption of chump and Russia and tying them together is must watch tv.