Profile of Rachel Maddow, MSNBC Journalist

Rachel Maddow is the outspoken, energetic host of MSNBCs The Rachel Maddow Show, a political news and commentary weeknight program. The show first aired on September 8, 2008, urged by viewers impressed with Maddows frequent guest hosting of MSNBCs The Keith Olbermann Show. Ms. Maddow is an avowed liberal who enjoys the feisty thrust-and-parry of debate. A self-described national security liberal, Rachel Maddow is known for sharp intelligence, wit, work ethic, and reliance on well-researched facts, rather than party-line talking points, to inform her independent viewpoint. Before MSNBC 1999 - Won an open-casting call for a radio co-hosting job on WRNX in Massachusetts. Soon moved to WRSI, where she hosted a program for two years.2004 - Landed a co-hosting gig on new liberal radio network, Air America.2005 - Accepted Air Americas offer to host her own liberal politics radio show, The Rachel Maddow, which continues in late 2009. The program has changed time slots several times, and currently airs each weekday at 5 am EST.2006 - Regular contributor to CNN (Paula Zahn) and MSNBC (Tucker Carlson) programs.January 2008 - Signed exclusive TV contract with MSNBC. Educational Path A 1989 graduate of Castro Valley High School where she was a three-sport athlete, Rachel Maddow earned a B.A. in Public Policy from nearby Stanford University, where she won the John Gardner Fellowship for public service. After a year in San Francisco working for the AIDS Legal Referral Panel and with ACT-UP, an AIDS non-profit, Rachel Maddow was awarded a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to study political science at Oxford University. She completed an Oxford doctorate in politics in 2001 after several delays, including a stint at the AIDS Treatment Project in London and a 1999 move to Massachusetts. Personal Data Birth - April 1, 1973 in Castro Valley, California, near San Francisco, to Robert Maddow, an attorney and former Air Force captain, and Elaine Maddow, a school administrator.Family - Linked with partner Susan Mikula, an artist, since 1999. The couple reside quietly with their labrador retriever in a rural Massachusetts home built in 1865. Rachel Maddow came out as gay at age 17 when a Stanford freshman. She was the first openly gay American to be awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, and the first openly gay journalist to anchor a major U.S. news program. Accolades and Honors For her efforts as a political journalist, Rachel Maddow has been awarded: 2010 Walter Cronkite Faith Freedom award. Past recipients include Tom Brokaw, Larry King, and the late Peter Jennings.2009 - Nomination for Outstanding Achievement in News and Information by the Television Critics Association, the only cable news program accorded the honor2009 - Gracie Award by the American Women in Radio, TelevisionMarch 28, 2009 - Proclamation of Honor from the California State Senate Maddow has also been lauded for her work by myriad  gay and lesbian organizations, including GLAAD, AfterEllen, and Out magazine. Quotes On Being a Liberal I am a liberal. Im not a partisan, not a Democratic Party hack. Im not trying to advance anybodys agenda. Washington Post, August 27, 2008 On Her Appearance Im not that pretty. Women on television are over-the-top, beauty-pageant gorgeous. Thats not the grounds on which I am competing. Washington Post, August 27, 2008 Im not Anchorbabe, and Im never going to be. My goal is to do the physical appearance stuff in such a way that it is not comment-worthy. The Village Voice, June 23, 2009 On Fox News The one time Fox News ever asked me to be a guest was when Madonna made news by kissing another famous female, Britney Spears. They thought I had expertise, maybe. I said, No, duh. The Guardian UK, September 28, 2008 On Being a Political Commentator I do worry if being a pundit is a worthwhile thing to be. Yeah, I’m the unlikely cable news host. But before that I was the unlikely Rhodes scholar. And before that I was the unlikely kid who got into Stanford. And then I was the unlikely lifeguard. You can always cast yourself as unlikely when you’re fundamentally alienated in your worldview. It’s a healthy approach for a commentator. New York Magazine, November 2, 2008