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Topic: Miscellaneous items
Date/Time: 8/21/2008 5:02:29 PM
Title: Maddow In, Abrams Out
Posted By: Jim Romenesko
 
MADDOW IN, ABRAMS OUT, AS MSNBC MOVES DECISIVELY TO THE LEFT

By Rachel Sklar

This post was originally written for "Eat The Press' at the Huffington Post, but it was determined that the post was not "congruent with HuffPost's editorial position against the media's penchant for viewing everything through a left/right prism" (see here). With respect, I disagreed, and together we decided that the piece would be best placed elsewhere. Thanks to Jim for that opportunity.

The inevitable news broke Tuesday afternoon, with a surprise twist. Rachel Maddow had been given her own show on MSNBC — inevitable, as had been foretold in last month's NYT — and she would be replacing Dan Abrams as host of the 9 p.m. hour, effective immediately.

The last part was the surprise. Abrams is not only a long-time veteran of the network, joining the ranks in 1997, he is also the former General Manager of the network, a position from which he officially stepped down last September to take over the 9 p.m. hour vacated by Joe Scarborough. His interim placeholder show, "Live with Dan Abrams" officially became "Verdict with Dan Abrams" in March, and has been performing better in the 9 p.m. hour than anything MSNBC has ever had, particularly in the all-important demo.

We know why Maddow is getting her own show — she rocks. After I posted this item last month on "The Divine Miss M(SNBC)," the adoring comments poured in, as have the accolades over her brief but notable tenure as a new political face of MSNBC. She's won acclaim for her sharp insights, good humor and intelligent analysis (not to mention impressive TV stamina, between long election nights and guesting on every show). As a major plus from a diversity standpoint, she's a woman and an out lesbian, which makes her something of an industry pioneer, too.

She has also developed a following in the past few months, having incubated her hostly appeal as a guest-host for Olbermann (with the numbers to match, like this Friday in May when she beat Fox in the timeslot). So we know why Rachel is in.

But why is it Dan who is out? As I pointed out last month, MSNBC actually had plenty of space in its lineup: The 10 p.m. show is a rerun, and weekends after noon are completely devoid of network programming (doc blocks do not count!). If it were a question of ratings, well, it's not exactly a secret that David Gregory's "Race For The White House" isn't exactly a juggernaut, as the lowest-ranked MSNBC prime-time program. Abrams' "Verdict" is the second-highest, after "Countdown" with Keith Olbermann -- but before the Olbermann rerun, which is fourth. /CONTINUED

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