Dedication and Detail:
The Rachel Maddow Show
I am a regular listener of The Rachel Maddow Show. Many of the stories they have been covering recently illustrate my favorite aspects of Rachel's research and commentary style. Rachel and her staff have dug deep into the most important stories of our time to find the important details that were not known before. Rachel then connects these details in a seamless and sequential manner to build her larger position that illuminates these topics in a way no one else could.
TRMS showed their journalistic vigor by releasing the findings of an investigative report detailing how unsafe deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico remains. That’s not something opinion shows often do. Most of the time spent on FOX and MSNBC during primetime is spent providing opinions on topics based on the research and facts that are uncovered by other groups.
The report began by explaining the findings of an investigation by the Norwegian firm Det Norske Veritas that was commissioned by the Bureau of Ocean Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (formerly the MMS). The investigation found that the devise that is designed to prevent the next Oil Spill, the blowout preventer, doesn’t work when there is a blowout. Seriously!
The Rachel Maddow Show also obtained the oil spill response plan for the first new drilling permit that was granted since the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. That response plan was written one year before the BP oil spill, showing that it hadn’t applied any of the lessons learned from the disaster. Several more permits have been granted since.
TRMS also highlighted that Transocean, one of the companies responsible for the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, gave its executives bonuses for their awesome safety record for the same year that the disaster occurred.
Rachel also did a great job showing that despite republicans repeatedly proclaiming their belief in limited government, the actions of republican governors have been incredibly intrusive on people’s personal lives. Rick Scott, the republican governor of Florida, issued an executive order mandating drug testing of public sector employees. Rick Synder, the republican governor of Michigan, signed into law the ability of the state to dissolve elected city governments if the state decides there is a fiscal emergency. She also brought up various cases where republican groups and politicians tried to obtain the private e-mails of college professors who had political opinions they disagree with.
Maddow’s coverage of Libya in many ways has resembled that of NBC Nightly News, with field reports from Richard Angle and this great discussion with Michael Issikoff on covert units being sent to Libya. Make no doubt about it, Maddow has aired her opinions on the US involvement in Libya, but it has been complimented with the best in depth coverage of the topic that NBC can provide.
It is for all of these reasons and more that Rachel Maddow has become the highest rated program on MSNBC and keeps me as a regular listener. Keep the good work coming Rachel!
Originally Posted April 3, 2011
Originally Posted April 3, 2011
Jason, I've just discovered you and I'm glad. I've posted most of your articles to my facebook and many friends. I like your style, truth and honest journalism.
ReplyDeleteThanks Chuck, I appreciate your compliments and your promotion of my articles.
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