If you’ve ever switched through your TV channels around 9pm every night, chances are you’ve caught a glimpse of Rachel Maddow, often giving her famous 20 minutes long uninterrupted monologues that start her show off. Chances are that you became a fan of hers during the coverage of the election or even before that when she used to do her vindicated 5 am radio shows.
Have a political point of view of your own? Why not start a blog and have your own voice, just like Rachel Maddow now has!
The Maddow Blog is the blog of famous MSNBC anchorperson Rachel Maddow. Maddow, who hosts the nightly televised The Rachel Maddow show on MSNBC is a liberal and rose to the top of the ratings amid multiple controversies surrounding the Trump administration and became a very familiar face around the 2016 election. Her missions, as she states is to “Increase the amount of useful information in the world”. The MaddowBlog can be thought of as an extension to her show, The Rachel Madden Show because it covers a lot of the topics she does on her show and builds on whatever was presented. Often you’ll see clips from the show on the blog as well.
What Makes The MaddowBlog So Popular?
Rachel Maddow is one of the most popular liberal opinion show hosts in the United States and has a huge following for her show because of her passionate coverage and delivery of political views with a strong intellect and her know how of the constitution, religion and their relationship. Her show is a focused review of American policies from local political actions to the larger international landscape of diplomacy. The show has been praised for its focused views, ignoring distractions and stunts pulled in the political stage. The policies, the people who make them, their intended purpose and result is the focus of the The Rachel Maddow show.
The Rachel Maddow Show
Her arrival on MSNBC was the most successful show launch in MSNBC history and immediately boosted ratings in its time. The Rachel Maddow show was names one of the top shows of the decade by the Washington Post in 2009. Her takes on the biggest political or nonpolitical stories drive lively debate and discussion amongst panel guests and viewers alike. The show ultimately provides in depth analysis no other show is able to provide. She was also named one of the “Top Political Newcomers of 2008” by Politico.com.
This passion in coverage carries over to her blog, The MaddowBlog, which covers several current affairs issues of the United States, while supplying an unapologetic review of the administration with a strong unforgiving opinion. Rachel Maddow and her staff deliver their voice through this blog. It is sort of a review and extension of the Rachel Maddow Show.
The MaddowBlog is hosted on the official site of the MSNBC. Anyone visiting the website searching for anchorpersons can easily find a directory to this blog.
The blog’s content is contributed by Rachel Maddow’s staff members such as Steve Bennen, Laura Conaway, Cory Gnazzo and several other regular contributors. The blog provides several links on the right hand side of the page as a means to build a better audience for the show and blog. The first link is an invitation to send your opinion and voice to Rachel Maddow herself, by sending it onto SendItTRachel.com. A fun little part of the blog is this other section called “Meme check: Did Rachel Really Say That?” that is an interactive section that deals with fake news associated with Rachel Maddow herself. In it, you’ll see screenshots, videos and made up tweets that the blog will call out with a big red “NOPE”. You might remember a video of Rachel Maddow being sent around right after the election night, where Rachel is providing a ‘bitter response” reminding viewers that this is in fact ‘real life’, as a reaction to the result.
The video was actually her reaction to Hurricane Matthew, it had nothing to do with the election at all. These sort of call outs go on for a while!
What Does The MaddowBlog Provide?
The MaddowBlog is consistent stream of the biggest news stories of the day, be it political news or non-political news. The articles posted on the blog are often short pieces posted in reaction to a news story, often critical of the administration. The blog keep s a very close eye on the Trump administration, not letting anything slip by. The blog is updates almost daily.
The content of the blog is also an extension of the televised show, so many topics covered on the show are built upon on the blog. Sometimes you’ll see clips of the show posted, and a short articles piece written below it. This bridges any gap that might be created if anyone didn’t catch up with the show or missed out on an important story and wanted Rachel Maddow’s take on it. That’s what this blog essentially is and this is what you’re getting with it, Rachel Maddow’s take on the biggest issues.
The staff and she also provide a ‘mini-report’ on the blog, a sort of roundup of the biggest news stories of the week presented in short bullet points. It also follows the midterm election in its campaign process, providing updates of the latest news and results from local districts.
This is the format the blog follows. An episode of The Rachel Maddow Show will be broadcasted and clips from the show will be put up on the blog. Depending on the show, there will be 3-4 clips posted along with an article further describing the topic. When she said an in depth review, she meant it. After the clips the mini report will show up, rounding up a few of the most popular stories in easy to read and absorb bullet points. There will be several stories posted on the same day. The campaign roundup is then posted too that updates result and news about different districts. Rarely does the blog deviate from this pattern.
These stories are likely part of the research that goes in the show, for anyone curious to see what goes on to build a story and its presentation on the show, the blog is a great way to see a part of the amount of work that goes into the overall work put in the show.
The Purpose of the MaddowBlog
The MaddowBlog is an archive or backup for The Rachel Maddow Show. Transcripts for all previous shows are available on the website as a link on the right side of the page. It acts as a platform of discussion and useful information, as Maddow has stated her mission to be. The blog rarely deviates from the pattern it flows in, no matter how far back you go, you’ll still see the same format. A sense of consistency and is achieved which is complimented by the timeline-esque way the blog is posted. Everything is sorted chronologically.
Tips from The MaddowBlog
The MaddowBlog is a precise, on point and consistent political blog that doesn’t deviate in any needless banter or discussion. Stories posted on the blog are direct and cutthroat even, not leaving any stone unturned so it has sort of a harshness to its reviews, opinion and videos. This harshness if somewhat necessary if you’re going to be posted accurate and truthful information, curbing fake news.
If there’s any take away from The MaddowBlog, it’s to be precise. If you’re going to start a political blog, your audience will already be a group of cynical and interested people. Because not a lot of people will go out of their way to follow a political blog, the information you post must be accurate for the sake of your own blog. Your audience will only be loyal to you if they believe you’re posting the right information.
The MaddowBlog benefits from being on a huge platform sure, but it isn’t super flashy. All media links are straightforward with a lot of text and few distractions. You’re going to have to determine what your blog really is if you’re deliberating whether you should have something to keep the viewer on your page. A line has to be drawn between entertainment and infotainment, because your own blog might be attached to another source like a radio show or a tv show.
Your viewers however aren’t just going to want to see the same things they saw on your radio or tv show. If they listened to or watched your show and then visited your website, they wouldn’t want to see the same thing they just did. Show them something extra or in depth. Like The MaddowBlog has a fun little crossword game called “Decryptomaddowlogical” which is a cross word puzzle game based on political trivia. The other section where she calls out fake news is also a neat but immersive addition to the blog since it doesn’t sway too far from what the show and blog are about.
Build on whatever you’ve already presented. Like the MaddowBlog does, it posts stories covered in their show and then some. This is a great way to engage a loyal audience because let’s be honest, the only people viewing a political blog are dedicated enough as is. If you want, you can provide further links to whatever story or resources that you used for your own research. Anyone interested in a story doesn’t have to just stop there (even though they should in principle receive all the information they need on the blog).
The blog is a simple yet effective information source. If you’re building a political blog, this should be your main goal. Precise and accurate. If it follows a format, that is all the more better since viewers will know what to expect.
Be sure to have an interaction section between yourself and the users so they don’t feel left out from presenting their opinions.
How to Get Started with a Political Blog of Your Own
Would you like to have a forum of your own for sharing your own opinions and political feelings, then you should start a blog!
What are the basic requirements? Well, all you need is a domain name, a hosting plan, and a strategy to create content.
After choosing a domain name, decide on a cost-effective and reliable hosting plan. For this, we highly recommend Bluehost. We have a great relationship with them, so they offer our readers a 60% discount on hosting and a free domain with their hosting plan.
Just click the image below to sign up and start building your blog today!
To learn more about the blog setup and content creation process, be sure to visit our main page tutorial at blogging.org.