Rachel Maddow "A Chirpy Gay Liberal": Financial Times

Financial Times:

In fact, I think they are correct that the media currently tilt leftward in the US, but not for the obvious reason. It says less about the bias of "liberal elite" journalists and more about a breakdown of the established media order, from The New York Times to Mr Drudge.

Mr Drudge's dominance has been undermined by competition. His sensibility infuriated so many people that left-leaning sites such as the Daily Kos sprung up to challenge him. Lately, his thunder has been stolen by the Huffington Post, an unlikely blend of leftwing blogging, reporting and aggregation founded by Arianna Huffington, the media gadfly.

The Huffington Post has leapt past the Drudge Report in traffic, attracting 4.5m unique users in September, compared with 2.1m for Drudge and 2.4m for Politico, a political news site. While Mr Drudge picks out stories that could hurt Mr Obama, the Huffington Post does the opposite, highlighting anything that makes Mr McCain look bad.

This shift leftwards online has been matched on cable television, where Fox News, the rightwing news channel, has increasingly faced its mirror image at MSNBC. The latter's leftish talk-show hosts, Keith Olbermann and now Rachel Maddow, a chirpy gay liberal, dish out scorn about Republicans in opposition to Bill O'Reilly and others at Fox.

The effect is not just to balance out Mr Drudge and Mr O'Reilly but to place old-school media objectivity, as practised by US newspapers, under pressure. Obama-supporting blogs have ridiculed stories in outlets such as The New York Times and The Washington Post that fail to dismiss distortions by Mr McCain.

Read the whole story: Financial Times

Comments

[Kkak]

It tickles me pink to know Huffington Post is beating Drudge!!!!!!
I love Huffington. Thank you Arianna!!!

I love Rachel, too. I think she's brilliant. After years and years
of no outlet for us, it is just thrilling to have Rachel, Keith and Arianna.
Thank you all.

[kissmygrits]

I would describe Maddow is a brilliant, informed, charming and lovely individual, but condescend away FT - I watch her and I don't read you.

[BluePrideSMW]

WoW! Obama on her show tonight... that's not a mere feather in her cap, it's an entire flock of birds' feathers...

Abraham, Martin & John:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ge32xtm23rQ

[JJ30]

Well Rachel may be "gay and chirpy" but she has scored an interview with Obama. That tells alot about her and her show in such a short period of time. So I say chirp on Rachel! Chirp on!
Love her!

[Badbone]

Chirpy? Check.
Gay? Check.
Liberal? Double check.

Yep, FT was right.

[rebelrebel]

Rachel Maddow may be what MSNBC has been looking for since its inception: a news anchor with wide appeal. She's certainly miles ahead of Dan Abrams, whose low-rent show she replaced. And while Keith Olbermann is frequently abrasive, Rachel is far more viewer-friendly (OK, call her chirpy if you want).

I like Keith at times, but I have to admit that if I didn't share his point of view I would detest him the way I detest Sean Hannity and Bill Oh Really. Rachel is more of a happy warrior.

[killswitch667]

Complete, commercial free episodes of both Keith and Rachel are now available via podcast. this is good because MSNBC streams the shows in short segments...anywho, just fyi

[2farnorth]

I find it to be pure jealousy. So what if Rachel is gay? Who cares? She's one of the most intelligent personalities on TV today. They can't stand the fact that reality has a liberal bias and they can't hide it any longer.

These jerks called Arianna a gadfly. She's also one of the smartest people I've ever heard. She thinks clearly and uses common sense, something not easily found these days.

My point is that when the other side is calling you names and claiming you're cheating when you're actually not. You're doing exactly what you need to do.

[somefool]

Rachel's gay?

[jaydfl]

and "Chirpy"!

[JJ30]

LOL!

[kissmygrits]

You wouldn't know it from her show, but yes.

[Lee323]

SHAME on the FT for patronizing Rachel Maddow with labels. Her show has been successful because of her combination of intellect, joy with her subject, and her ability to attract very interesting people to talk on her show. Thank heavens for Rachel and Keith! They have given voice to all of us out here who would otherwise be screaming at our TVs because, once more, CNN has let Palin and McCain get away with yet another unbelievable mendacious tactic. David Gergen is the only one worth listening to on CNN. Anderson Cooper's stuttering "uhs" drive me crazy! He could take a lesson from Rachel and Keith on how to actually TALK in an intelligent fashion! Does the guy even prepare for his shows??

[AndrewWx]

Someone asked why UK newspapers single out someone's sexual preference only if they are gay, so I’d like to offer a point of view:

First, mentioning that someone is gay can be a point of interest because it's a point of differentiation; heterosexuality is generally presumed. Calling someone ‘gay’ is only bad if society says 'gay is bad'; it ought to be no more controversial than saying someone is Spanish. As Colin Powell so eloquently pointed out, calling someone a Muslim ought not be taken as a judgement. It’s the same for ‘gay’.

Second, it’s specifically interesting - even relevant - that Maddow is gay. Homophobia is one of the more widely accepted forms of prejudice, and in the US that can seem especially acute. It is unusual for an openly gay person to find success in the US media, and perhaps unique for an openly gay liberal to become a popular voice in television news broadcasting. The article is not about Maddow's sexuality, but it is a noteworthy aside as it suggests progress.

I celebrate Maddow for her politics, her intelligence and her wit, but also for her sexuality and her visibility. Every time I see one of these comments like, "I love Rachel and I don't care that she's gay", it breaks my heart. Rachel Maddow is who she is because of all that she is, and should be embraced for all that she is.

[BluePrideSMW]

focus on her, not what she's saying, huh...??? typical right.

the Obamas WILL be Moving On UP!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf3uGsMxsoQ

[honestpolitician]

Kieth and Rachael are the best!!

http://politicaladattacks.blogspot.com/

[pizzmoe]

"Chirpy gay liberal"? Brilliant piece of writing.
Rachel is the best.

[bored2tears]

Chirp on, Rachel.