JUN 6, 2017 @ 01:05 PM 204 The Little Black Book of Billionaire Secrets Rachel Maddow Is Now The Most Powerful Person In Cable News
| | | | | | | | | | | Rachel Maddow Is Now The Most Powerful Person In Cable News By Mark Joyella After spending a week out sick, Rachel Maddow returns to her MSNBC show tonight. That's good news for the ne... | | | | - - - - - Mark Joyella , CONTRIBUTORI cover political media--and media politics. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)MSNBC host Rachel Maddow sat out most of last week's political news--and she wasn't a bit happy about it. "Doped to the gills and still flat-on-my-back sick," Maddow told viewers on Twitter Friday night after missing most of the week home sick.That Maddow dragged herself in front of a camera to make an appearance on her own show speaks to her determination, and the passion she has for covering one of the most turbulent and fascinating periods in American political history. Also, she's crushing the competition and nobody likes to leave the game when they're winning.According to data from Nielsen, MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show ended May as the number one show in all of cable news among viewers 25-54, the critical demographic for advertisers. It was a first for Maddow, who had never before beaten Bill O'Reilly, Fox News Channel's long dominant host, in the demo for an entire month.O'Reilly's dismissal, and Maddow's surge, have resulted in a dramatic re-shuffling of the power dynamics in cable news. As The New York Times put it today, "the last time that MSNBC was No. 1 in prime-time cable news, Bill Clinton was president, Madonna led the Billboard charts and “Friends” still ran new episodes on TV."For Maddow, MSNBC's centerpiece host, the power shift has been stunning. Maddow scored a monthly win over Fox News and CNN at 9 p.m. in May among total viewers--a first for MSNBC in the network's 20-year history--and among viewers 25-54, it was Maddow's third straight monthly win.In May, Maddow beat Fox News in the key demo by 141,000 viewers. But before the wins that began in March, Maddow lost to FNC by more than 100,000 (adults 25-54) each month for 33 straight months.Compared to May 2016, The Rachel Maddow Show grew by 120% among total viewers (and 125% among viewers 25-54) while CNN was up 52% and Fox News declined by 5%. (In the demo, CNN jumped 72% and Fox climbed 9%).The shift comes as MSNBC has reformatted the network, returning much of its dayside programming to hard news, and establishing a live late night newscast anchored by Brian Williams. NBC News chairman Andy Lack told The Times the network's focus on news and analysis has paid off in the network's rise, led by Rachel Maddow. "We’re live, breaking news during the day, and the smartest, most insightful opinion space we can create at night.”In March, Maddow made news--and earned criticism on social media--with her report on one page of Donald Trump's taxes. Some accused Maddow of over-selling the report, and journalists knocked her for burying the lede with a long setup before getting to the taxes, but she trended on Twitter and established her show as central to coverage of the Trump presidency.Last month, President Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey pushed Maddow to her second highest ratings delivery ever, and third place in all of cable television for the night, with 3.4 million viewers.With Maddow out sick last week, Fox News jumped back to its traditional first place finish in prime, but Maddow confirmed late this morning she will return tonight--and likely will have a lot to say. I'll be back on the air tonight -- 9pm ET MSNBC. Huge heartfelt thanks to everyone who sent good wishes while I was out -- happy to be back!— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) June 6, 2017 Mark Joyella is a journalist, writer and public speaker; you can follow him on Twitter and Facebook, and watch his vlog on YouTube.
