Television critic David Zurawik has this to say about Rachel Maddow, the new hostess over at MSNBC:

This is not a woman who gives a hoot for balance, fairness, verified facts, context or any of the other things traditional journalism have demanded in the past of those sitting at TV anchor desks.

Like Olbermann (and O’Reilly and Sean Hannity on the other side), she presents only the news that fits her political viewpoint and agenda. And she has started — even in the last two weeks that I have been regularly watching — getting more and more confident and theatrical in her presentation.

Viewers are now seeing her using all her stage presence to mock opponents — such as rolling eyes and chuckling as she reads a new story. And while she has not yet indulged in the kind of full-blown, hot-dog, crazy-man rants that O’Reilly has so mastered and Olbermann has come to imitate with such success, she is heading in that direction.

I’ve never seen the show, but that is what I’d expect it to be. And I’m sure it’s what her fans expect it to be. Hey, it pays her rent.

(HT, Soup Cans.)