In June 2005, Maddow became a regular panelist on the MSNBC show Tucker, hosted by Tucker Carlson.[30] During and after the November 2006 election, she was a guest on CNN's Paula Zahn Now; she was also a correspondent for The Advocate Newsmagazine, an LGBT-oriented short-form newsmagazine for Logo deriving from news items published by The Advocate. In January 2008, Maddow became an MSNBC political analyst and was a regular panelist on MSNBC's Race for the White House with David Gregory and MSNBC's election coverage[31] as well as a frequent contributor on Countdown with Keith Olbermann.[23]
In 2008, Maddow was the substitute host for Countdown with Keith Olbermann, her first time hosting a program on MSNBC. Maddow described herself on-air as "nervous". Keith Olbermann complimented her work, and she was brought back to host Countdown the next month. The show she hosted was the highest-rated news program among people aged 25 to 54.[32] For her success, Olbermann ranked Maddow third in his show's segment "World's Best Persons".[33] In July 2008, Maddow filled in again for several broadcasts.[34] Maddow also filled in for David Gregory as host of Race for the White House.[23]
Maddow making cocktails during a diggnation podcast recording at the msnbc.com digital café[35] in Rockefeller Center.[36]Olbermann advocated for Maddow to host her own show at MSNBC, and he was eventually able to persuade Phil Griffin to give her Dan Abrams' time slot.[37]
The Rachel Maddow Show
In August 2008, MSNBC announced The Rachel Maddow Show would replace Verdict with Dan Abrams in the network's 9:00 p.m. slot the following month.[38][39] Following its debut, the show topped Countdown as the highest-rated show on MSNBC on several occasions.[40][41] After being on air for more than a month, Maddow's program doubled the audience that hour.[42] This show made Maddow the first openly gay or lesbian host of a primetime news program in the United States.[43]
The initial reviews for the show were positive. Los Angeles Times journalist Matea Gold[44] wrote that Maddow "finds the right formula on MSNBC",[45] and The Guardian wrote that Maddow had become the "star of America's cable news".[46] Associated Press columnist David Bauder saw her as "[Keith] Olbermann's political soul mate", and he described the Olbermann-Maddow shows as a "liberal two-hour block".[47]
Of her collegial relationship with Roger Ailes of Fox News, whom she sought out for technical advice, on camera angles, Maddow said she does not want to talk about it because "I don't want anybody else to use it. It was a nice thing that he did for me, and it's been valuable for me; it helped me get an advantage over my competitors."[48]
In mid-May 2017, amid multiple controversies surrounding the Trump administration, MSNBC surpassed CNN and Fox News in the news ratings. For the week of May 15, The Rachel Maddow Show was the No. 1 non-sports program on cable for the first time.[49] She has been called by Rolling Stone as "America's wonkiest anchor" who "cut through the chaos of the Trump administration – and became the most trusted name in the news."[48] Maddow has argued that these issues "are the most serious scandals that any president has ever faced."[48]: 38
Maddow has stated that her show's mission is to "[i]ncrease the amount of useful information in the world".[50][48]: 56 She said her rule for covering the Trump administration is: "Don't pay attention to what they say, focus on what they do ... because it's easier to cover a fast-moving story when you're not distracted by whatever the White House denials are."[48]: 37
Maddow often begins a broadcast with a lengthy story, sometimes longer than 20 minutes, which she has referred to on-air as the "A-block." This often begins with film clips and other media from events in past years or decades which she eventually connects with the news of the day. About this process, she has said: "The thing that defines whether or not you're good at this work is whether you have something to say when it's time to say something. Because you're going to have to say something when that light goes on ... I want to have something to say that people don't already know every single night, every single segment, and that makes it hard to get the process right because that's the only thing I care about."[51]
Maddow was an outspoken advocate of vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially during 2021.[52][53][54][55][56] She encouraged people to get vaccinated, for the benefit of themselves and others.[57]
Maddow took a hiatus from her show from February to April 2022 to coincide with production on the film adaptation of Bag Man.[58] As of May 2022, her show has moved to a weekly broadcast on Mondays.[59]
Herring Networks, Inc. v. Rachel Maddow, et al.
On September 10, 2019, the One America News Network (OAN) filed suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California[60] against Maddow for $10 million, after Maddow described the network as "paid Russian propaganda" on her program on July 22. Maddow had repeated a Daily Beast story which identified an OAN employee as also working for Sputnik News, which is owned by the Russian government-owned news agency Rossiya Segodnya, and has been accused of deliberately disseminating disinformation, and is often described as an outlet for propaganda. Also named in the suit were Comcast, MSNBC, and NBCUniversal Media.[61]
On May 22, 2020, the case was dismissed by Judge Cynthia Bashant, who found that "the contested statement is an opinion that cannot serve as the basis for a defamation". OAN parent company Herring Networks said they planned to appeal.[62]
After considering Herring's appeal, in August 2021 the decision in favor of Maddow was affirmed by the United States Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit.[63] The Court of Appeals also affirmed a trial court ruling that requires Herring to pay Maddow's attorneys' fees.[64]
