The Ezra Klein Show

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We've been seeing a lot of Ezra Klein on MSNBC lately. Washington Post's "Wonkblog" editor is now Rachel Maddow's go-to substitute host, and there are rumours floating around that he may get his own show. That's how Chris Hayes and Melissa Harris-Perry got their start on the network, after all.

I like the guy and he's really smart, so I wouldn't mind seeing him join the lineup. He needs work, though. You can tell he's trying to develop more on-screen charisma, but right now he's copying Maddow's inflections and mannerisms too much. (Don't worry, Ezra, Chris Hayes used to do that too and he's much better now.)

If the show rumours are true, my suspicion is that MSNBC is trying to tap into the geek love generated by Nate Silver's polling triumph in the 2012 election - which is funny, because Nate Silver apparently hates punditry.

P.S. Yes, I know I talk about MSNBC people all the time. I haven't drunk the Kool-Aid, it's just that Fox News is too absurd and CNN is too boring, and all my other favourite news sources are on the Internet. I think of the network as a tidy case study of everything that is good and bad about cable news.

Character Sketch

A sketch from Michael Arthur of playwright Tony Kushner and MSNBC pundit Rachel Maddow at the "Duets" event at Joe's Pub in New York City, via MaddowBlog.

From the New Yorker: "[My persona is] not a fake me, but it is a slice of me. Like, I am a person who has depression, and I don’t let depressed Rachel on television."

Friendship and Politics

In the end it was probably inevitable.

I'm sad to notice that a rift has opened between one-time friends and colleagues Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann. The two of them were a big reason why I got into news and politics, and their apparent break-up is a reality check about the pressures of show business.

When Olbermann left MSNBC in January 2011, he and Maddow had kind words for each other. He called her "my dear friend" as he signed off, and she spent a brief segment of her show explaining that she would never have found a place on the network without his support.

The Rise of Maddow

Fresh from winning an Emmy for her coverage of Afghanistan, Rachel Maddow is on the cover of the Hollywood Reporter, promoting her show, her cheap blazers and her upcoming cameo in the new George Clooney movie.

It's like Fangirl Christmas.

A few things, though.

Whenever there's a big feature about Rachel, the writer is almost certain to emphasise how nice and friendly she is. Which is true, I'm sure; and it is good to see a cable news host who is civil with her guests even when she disagrees with them.

But just because she doesn't yell or call people names doesn't mean she won't skewer her guests to the wall when the situation requires it, as Rand Paul can tell you: