Be afraid!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

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Thanks, Rachel!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Watch Rachel Maddow dammit!

Our favorite ... Rachel Maddow receives big kudos from David Sirota for following up an interview from the night before with a clarification and apology. Well done!

"Maddow Busts Morgan Stanley Board Member for Lack of Transparency

Thankfully, when I pointed Tyson's conflict of interest out to Maddow and her show's staff, they did the responsible thing and made a big effort to inform viewers about what happened. Indeed, in doing this follow-up piece, the Rachel Maddow Show displayed the kind of integrity and respect for their audience that is almost unheard of in political journalism. In being so honest about this, they really showed what their program is all about, and how they aren't willing to be used or deceived by corporate spokespeople."

Watch it here:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

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Rachel!

John Cole is a big Rachel Maddow fan, too! He pulls from an article in the Washington Post:

Why Rachel Maddow is Smarter than 99% of The People On Television

One quote:

Unlike Olbermann, Maddow plans to interview some conservative guests. But she is determined to avoid the left-right pairings that sustain much of cable news.

“It creates fake balance,” she says. “I’m sorry—we’re going to have a debate about whether or not the Earth is flat? It doesn’t make sense to have a debate about whether offshore drilling is going to bring down gas prices. You know what? It’s not. The fact that it’s false ought to be reported, or you’re advancing a lie.”

The reason our news is so bad is because of this artificial concept of balance, where we have to present both sides, even if one is batshit crazy.


Remember ... watch Rachel Maddow on MSNBC starting Monday night, September 8.

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Rachel hits the Big Time!

She gets a show of her own on September 8 and from Day 1 it will probably be the smartest news show on television. She ...
is Rachel Maddow, and if you haven't seen her yet on MSNBC make sure you tune in and get to know her.

Here are some testimonials:

• Andrew Golis writes: "She, unlike almost every other political pundit on television, is rigorously fact-based, refreshingly unhackish when it comes to defending or attacking the Democratic Party, and rarely goes with easy vilifying of those with whom she disagrees."
• The Kansas City Star: "Rachel Maddow went to Stanford and won a Rhodes Scholarship. She earned a doctorate in political science at Oxford. So far so good.A couple of years ago I wondered in a column if Olbermann was the future of TV news. I’ve since realized that he’s a singular figure — part sports anchor, part “Bob and Ray Show,” part Murrow seance — and not likely to be cloned. The future of TV news, rather, now looks more like Rachel Maddow and Chuck Todd, two clever nerds who don’t believe in information overload and are fluent in irony."
• Huffington Post: "Keith Olbermann had Rachel Maddow on "Countdown" Tuesday night to celebrate and discuss the news. In the clip, Rachel said that the show will discuss politics and weird news — like stories on the Iraqi national soccer team and domestic crimes committed by naked men — and that she will remain on Air America."

Bravo to MSNBC for doing the smart thing and hiring a smart, progressive voice to complement Keith Olbermann. But they are taking some heat from concern trolls.

Glenn Greenwald at Salon writes a terrific post hitting back at the critics:

"Maddow is unquestionably one of the smartest and most incisive commentators anywhere on television -- perhaps the smartest. One would think that the presence of smart commentary in the wasteland known as "cable news" would be cause for celebration ..."

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