@snood,
Quote:I’ve followed Maddow since she was an up and coming radio broadcaster on Air America. I’ve seen the change in her content and delivery and I think you’re right that it’s the taint of 24-hour-cable-news-Hollywood-hucksterism.
That was my introduction to her as well. Then, as I recall, Keith Olbermann (or someone in his booking staff) began to bring her into that show which led finally to her own position as host.
But again I'll argue that her (or anyone's) place in the modern 24 hour news platforms is not necessarily degraded simply as a function of provenance. Or, perhaps more accurately, her or anyone's placement there can surmount the inherent degradations. Would US political discourse be more aided or more damaged if she removed herself from this platform? I think there's a very clearly evident answer to that question.
Another relevant aspect - I had a wonderful and very bright prof out of Oxford who subsequently became the Dean of Education at my alma mater. In a course on 5th Century BC Athens, he remarked on day, "You probably notice that I commonly repeat things I've already told you. I do that because the study of pedagogy shows very clearly that repetition facilitates data retention and learning."
My point here is that there are necessary formalities of presentation which can appear to be silly or cliched or superficial but which are more valuably understood as profitable devices in gaining/maintaining an audience, devices which if absent will damage one's reach into the world. And I suppose we should acknowledge Maddow's successes in audience capture along with her maintenance of a very high level of reportorial integrity.
