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MSNBC Tanks as Rachel Maddow Decides One Day a Week Is Enough Work – Opinion

MSNBC continues to suffer as Rachel Maddow (its most beloved host) no longer appears on Mondays despite signing a $30 million-a-year contract. We reported Monday that she appears to have agreed with Apple employees who feel too burdened to show up at work.

Don’t be alarmed, Jen Psaki (White House Press Secretary) is expected to soon join the ranks of liberal cable networks to revive their flagging fortunes.

Of course, there are ethical concerns surrounding Psaki’s move, considering that Psaki is still officially the mouthpiece for the president of the United States, but she brushes them off.

“I have always gone over and above the stringent ethical requirements of the Biden administration,” Psaki said April 1. “So I hope that all of you, I’ve been working with all of you for some time, would judge me for my record and how I treat all of you both in the briefing room and otherwise.”

RealClearPolitics President Tom Bevan disagrees:

While Maddow presumably relaxes at home, MSNBC still calls the 9 pm time slot the “The Rachel Maddow Show,” but it’s fill-in hosts such as Ali Velshi and Ayman Mohyeldin sitting behind the desk. Per Variety:

Maddow’s MSNBC role will be reduced to five days per week starting in May. Maddow now hosts only on Mondays. Following a new pact she signed with NBCUniversal which gives her a greater control over a wide range of projects (including podcasts), Maddow is changing her schedule.

”I do still have all these other irons in the fire, all these other things I’m working on that I want to bring to fruition, none of them are fast, all of them take a long time, and I’m still working on all of them,” Maddow said on her MSNBC program Monday evening.

We are waiting with baited breath. Meanwhile, her show’s ratings have been in freefall according to competitor Fox News:

Maddow’s decision to cut her show appearances to one day a week comes after her lowest-rated month in the demo since November 2015. She had the worst week in 2016 with an average of 1.3 million viewers from April 4-8. “The Rachel Maddow Show” averaged 2.7 million viewers during the same dates in 2021 when she hosted each night, and she averaged 2 million nightly viewers during January 2022 before she stepped aside.

Joy Reid was also subject to a similar fate. Mediaite reports:

April came in as Reid’s lowest-rated month in the show’s history. ReidOut The average viewership was 1,000,000, which is 31% less than April’s total. Reid is down a total 51% compared to her show’s debut in July of 2020.

Nicolle Wallace, Chris Hayes and Chris Hayes were slightly better but still not great. Fox NewsThey both were soundedly beat during the timeslots.

Maddow is known for pushing the Russian collusion story. Joy Reid, however, was embroiled when her homophobic blog was published. Meanwhile Lyin’ Brian Williams, once suspended for making up stories, has given up his show “The 11th  Hour” and is moving on to new opportunities. Who’s left? Looks like it’s cringe-worthy Joe and Mika and Jen Psaki to save the day.

MSNBC is in dire straits. The public’s desire for liberal-leaning cable news outlets has waned, as CNN+ crashed and burned in recent weeks. It’s no small wonder, as they’ve been running cover for Joe Biden and essentially serving as an arm of the Democratic National Committee for years. CNN and MSNBC can’t be blamed for Trump and are content to cry racism, proclaim the end is near, and say that all of our problems are due to white supremacy. I can’t imagine why that isn’t a winning formula.

This post was last modified on May 2, 2022 8:34 pm

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