This is great news.
MSNBC is replacing The Verdict, with Dan Abrams, with a new show hosted by Rachel Maddow.
Just in time for the closing rush of the presidential election, MSNBC is shaking up its prime-time programming lineup, removing the long-time host –- and one-time general manager of the network — Dan Abrams from his 9 p.m. program and replacing him with Rachel Maddow, who has emerged as a favored political commentator for the all-news cable channel.Rachel's star has been rising for some time now with regular appearances on Race for the White House and Countdown, including guest-hosting duties on each program.
The moves, which were confirmed by MSNBC executives Tuesday, are expected to be finalized by Wednesday, with Mr. Abrams’s last program on Thursday. After MSNBC’s extensive coverage of the two political conventions during the next two weeks, Ms. Maddow will begin her program on Sept. 8.
She has earned this opportunity, and I am certain that she will make the most of it.
In a telephone interview on Tuesday, Rachel Maddow discussed her new role as the 9 p.m. host on MSNBC.No word in either of the linked items as to what will become of Rachel's Air America show, which is the only thing worth listening to anymore on that network.
“This is great; getting a regular cable show is something I’ve wanted,” Ms. Maddow said. She acknowledged that the intensity of the presidential race meant that will remain the focus through the election and probably for the first 100 days of a new administration.
But she said she would likely reshape the show as more of a general news program after “this political Christmas” has come to an end. That is the kind of show she does on Air America, and she will continue that show after she joins MSNBC, she said.
As for being branded another partisan voice from the left, Ms. Maddow said she was no more partisan than any other host in cable. “I am who I am,” she said. She dismissed the expected criticism from the right, saying, “Everybody likes to work the refs to make their own kind of political hay.”
If she lets it go, it would be nice to think that AAR has the sense to put Sam Seder back on the air.
But considering the programming decisions they have been making, I won't hold my breath.
