Rachel Maddow returns to air, describes partner's virus bout

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Steve Timko

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Nov 19, 2020, 10:18:13 PM11/19/20
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Doug Eastick

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Nov 19, 2020, 11:50:50 PM11/19/20
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It was a pretty Real and Personal 9 minutes.



On Thu., Nov. 19, 2020, 10:18 p.m. Steve Timko, <steve...@gmail.com> wrote:

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Kevin M.

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Nov 20, 2020, 12:15:15 AM11/20/20
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I watched it. It’s the first time I watched Maddow since her fake Trump tax “bombshell” several years ago. It was clear she spoke from the heart, and I empathized with her as I watched it, and none of it had any place on what is ostensibly a news program. I don’t have any animosity towards her; her show’s style is a byproduct of Trump, where snark and informality get in get in the way of news and information. Her personality is the bulk of her show... her perspective. And I wish both she and her beloved Susan (as opposed to my beloved Susan) all the best, but her type of show is just awful to me. I just don’t see the point of a prime time series that does nothing but preach to the choir. 


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Kevin M. (RPCV)

Doug Eastick

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Nov 20, 2020, 7:32:29 AM11/20/20
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If you want snark, watch Brian Williams in the 11pm (ET) slot.   



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Stan S

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Nov 21, 2020, 12:18:18 AM11/21/20
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Rachel Maddow has been doing the MSNBC show since 2008, so her style isn’t really a product of the current administration. 

As far as preaching to the choir, the three major  “cable” news nets all do that. The last time there was unbiased cable news, “CNN2” was doing headlines. 

-Stan

Dave Sikula

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Nov 21, 2020, 6:35:34 AM11/21/20
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For me, it's not the preaching to the choir; that's one of the reasons I tune into the network (in spite of its preponderance of centrists and former Republicans; I mean, I like Nicole Wallace, but ...). My problem with Maddow is that she's a lawyer and an academic, and treats her program like she's teaching a class or appealing to a jury, so she goes on long, long rants that take forever to get to the point. She's much better on talk shows, where she's forced to be succinct. I even liked her podcast on the crimes of Spiro Agnew, since it was so focused.

I much prefer Hayes's show; he understands that he's on television and treats his program accordingly.

--Dave Sikula

PGage

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Nov 21, 2020, 12:33:44 PM11/21/20
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Again, I am the opposite. At times I detest Hayes; he doesn’t just know he’s on television, he thinks he is Phil Donahue. The show he does with a studio audience makes me cringe, but it just shows that he hears the audience reaction in his head even without it. Rachel is a Diva, but also almost as smart as she thinks she is, and for me the hit rate on her monologues is high enough to make them an asset. 

As noted by Stan Kevin’s take on her is just factually incorrect, she was a snarky critic of both the Bush and Obama administrations. But there is something to it, and it illustrates the challenge Trump has posed to all news organizations. How would even Eric Sevareid (or, whoever) cover in a neutral way a president whose essence is so relentlessly opposed to core national values and norms? I think we know it’s not possible. Trump transforms everyone into either a cheerleader or a resister. 

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Melissa P

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Nov 21, 2020, 12:40:44 PM11/21/20
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Rachel isn't a lawyer.

Funny, I watch her show every night, but I don't think she's a good talk show guest.

I haven't listened to her Spiro Agnew podcast, but I thought it was fascinating that she discovered irrefutable evidence of his antisemitism.

PGage

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Nov 21, 2020, 12:47:12 PM11/21/20
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As she repeatedly reminds us whenever she covers a legal story, right after a 20 min deep dive into the arcane legal conundrums, and just before interviewing actual legal experts asking them to tell her where she made mistakes (but really cueing them to confirm that she was exactly right).

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Steve Timko

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Nov 21, 2020, 4:08:04 PM11/21/20
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On Fri, Nov 20, 2020 at 4:32 AM Doug Eastick <eas...@mcd.on.ca> wrote:
If you want snark, watch Brian Williams in the 11pm (ET) slot.   


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