What has been the key to Maddow's early success? Much has been made in the media about her lesbianism, intellectual prowess (a Rhodes Scholar, she has an Oxford Ph. In the 25-to-54 year-old demographic, Maddow outperformed Larry King on CNN in 13 of her initial 25 nights on the air, allowing MSNBC to surpass CNN in her time slot for the first time. The audience has been noticing from the start, too. The General Electric network's newest star presents a nightly prime-time news program that stresses biting but civil discourse. Maddow is a pleasant alternative to the shouting and preening that passes for content on many of the cable-news shows. Maddow also gained a following from hosting a syndicated radio program on Air America (yes, she's a liberal I guess the cat's out of the bag now). One of the reasons for her popularity is that Maddow took the time to build a following and gradually let the public discover her.īefore taking on 'The Rachel Maddow Show' on MSNBC, she appeared frequently on the network as well as on CNN. MSNBC 'grabbed special attention by topping CNN for the last month of the race, something it had never done before, and by occasionally topping Fox, the perennial leader, in the audience category to which news advertisers pay most attention: viewers between the ages of 25 and 54.' (Other news networks also enjoyed major increases during the end of the campaign coverage.) As the New York Times pointed out, MSNBC's ratings surged 158% during the final three months of the 2008 presidential campaign from the year-ago period.

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