If there was any doubt about MSNBC's faith in Rachel Maddow, look where they sent her in the past few weeks: She guested on Jay Leno and visited the ladies at "The View."
And when Keith Olbermann was anchoring MSNBC's coverage of President Obama's first speech before Congress, she was the first analyst he called upon for reaction -- a plum position that in the past may have gone to Tim Russert.
After struggling for years to fill the prime 9 p.m. slot -- with personalities as disparate as Rita Cosby to Dan Abrams -- the network has landed a solid performer in Maddow. Her ratings are a vast improvement over what has been there recently, and she has helped erase doubts the network could carry over sizable audiences from the record heights of the campaign season.
In fact, she's made enough of a splash that the network is looking to fill the hour after hers with a compatible show, a prospect that has liberal groups lobbying for a like-minded progressive to counter Fox News.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118000926.html?categoryid=14&cs=1Good article...