Media

MSNBC’s Maddow covers Russia more than all other topics combined: analysis

by Joe Concha - 04/13/17 5:58 PM ET

MSNBC host has Rachel Maddow dedicated 53 percent of her program over the past six weeks to Russia, according to a Thursday analysis from the left-leaning The Intercept.

“Maddow’s Russia coverage has dwarfed the time devoted to other top issues, including Trump’s escalating crackdown on undocumented immigrants (1.3 percent of coverage); Obamacare repeal (3.8 percent); the legal battle over Trump’s Muslim ban (5.6 percent), a surge of anti-GOP activism and town halls since Trump took office (5.8 percent), and Trump administration scandals and stumbles (11 percent),” the analysis reads.

The quantitative breakdown was conducted between Feb. 20 and Mar. 31.

{mosads}During this stretch, “The Rachel Maddow Show” has enjoyed its best ratings in nearly a decade, easily topping CNN and finishing at the top of all of cable news for four consecutive weeks throughout the month of March.

The analysis from the Intercept, which has been generally skeptical of stories about ties between President Trump’s camp and Russia, also found that over this six-week period, Maddow focused on Russia more than every other political issue combined. That included big stories such as the GOP’s failed attempt to repeal ObamaCare, the proposed temporary travel ban, Trump’s budget proposal, the confirmation battle over Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, and U.S. military action in Yemen, Iraq and Syria, among other topics.

“Given her political expertise, journalistic acumen, and influential platform, Maddow is ideally suited to explore the Democrats’ 2016 electoral collapse in an insightful way. But the time and investigative zeal that Maddow has devoted to Russia has come at the cost of any such analysis,” the piece concludes.

Maddow’s audience appears to have embraced the focus on Russia, with Maddow winning the ratings race in the younger demographic again on Wednesday night with 538,000 viewers in the category.

The “O’Reilly Factor” on Fox News, hosted by guest host Dana Perino, topped all programs in cable news Wednesday in total viewers, however, with 2.81 million.

Fox News’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight” placed second with 2.41 million, and Maddow finished third with 2.31 million.

FBI Director James Comey said during testimony to the House Intelligence Committee in March that the FBI is investigating whether Trump’s campaign coordinated with Russia during last year’s presidential election.

Trump has dismissed the Russia story, calling it “fake news.”

The Democrats made up and pushed the Russian story as an excuse for running a terrible campaign. Big advantage in Electoral College & lost!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 20, 2017