The 12 Best Shows on Cable News

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6. The Independents (Fox Business Network)

Yes, it’s a fledgling show on Fox’s less-viewed sister network; and yes, given that this is the only libertarian daily talk show on cable, I am slightly biased here. But our team selected The Independents because, despite the obvious rough edges, the show has developed a fan base by bucking the standard Fox narrative on many issues. One day they’ll debate a liberal think-tanker on Obamacare; but the next they’re either calling out a hypocritical conservative columnist, questioning the right’s push for armed conflict, or challenging goofy Fox-brand social conservatives like Todd Starnes. And nowhere else on the Fox family do you see topics like race so thoughtfully and honestly handled. – Andrew Kirell

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5. News (Al Jazeera America)

AJAM’s morning news hour is impeccable: Global, wide-ranging, substantive, informative. The guests are refreshingly far outside the standard cable news fare and present viewpoints rarely if ever heard on the nascent network’s more mainstream competitors. Just look at all Al Jazeera can do with the fifteen minutes a certain other network spent on a certain missing plane. Viewers claim to hate the sensationalism of cable news; if they want to put their remotes where their mouths are, AJAM will no doubt welcome them. – Evan McMurry

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4. Up With Steve Kornacki (MSNBC)

Up with Steve Kornacki boasts the smartest, most sustained discussions of politics in the business, often with the industry’s smartest, most informed voices. These are wonks and reporters more than pundits and bloviators, and their discussions are specific and organic, a welcome change from the sloppy hootenannies thrown by the rest of cable news. As a bonus, Kornacki remains one of the sharpest political reporters around. His years as a New Jersey beat writer made him MSNBC’s in-house Bridgegate expert, culminating in his breaking of the Hoboken sub-scandal — one of the few instances of any cable network actually breaking news rather than simply demagoguing it. – Evan McMurry

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3. Parts Unknown (CNN)

Back in my food writing days, the premiere of Anthony Bourdain‘s CNN show was a welcome breath of fresh air in a media scene full of gimmicky cooking shows. And if the majority of food shows was rote, imagine how Parts Unknown compares with its cookie-cutter cable news peers. In his trips around the world, eating with people in the most remote and dangerous places, Bourdain pairs delicious food with sharp political commentary, cultural anthropology with hilarious drunken rambling. Oh, and the cinematography? Cable news has never looked so visually lush. Yes, it’s not technically “news,” but even when Bourdain attempted to mimic his colleagues’ talk show format, he outshone them with what we described as a “refreshingly honest” discussion on gun rights.

It’s different. It’s realistic. It’s occasionally beautiful. And the drama isn’t manufactured by egoists trying to one-up each other. And Wolf Blitzer has never bled a chicken to death on his show, we guarantee you that. – Tina Nguyen

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2. Fox News Sunday (Fox News)

Sunday show watchers have a bad case of Russert withdrawal, pining for the iconic Meet the Press host as network successors David Gregory and George Stephanopoulos conduct truncated, superficial interviews that let slippery politicians get away with murder. The only Sunday host who comes close to the desired type of sustained interrogation is Chris Wallace, who’ll happily devote 15 minutes to debating the actual policy implications of Obamacare with Ezekiel Emanuel one week while holding tea partiers’ feet to the fire over self-destructive electoral tactics the next.

While the panel could be spruced up with fewer Fox News regulars and more straight-up reporters like AP’s Julie Pace, FNS really earns its admission with Wallace’s focused and persistent questioning. It’s not rewarded, sadly — FNS regularly finishes last behind the nets in the Sunday show ratings race. – Evan McMurry

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1. The Lead with Jake Tapper (CNN)

Jake Tapper’s year-old CNN show is the perfect mix of straight news reports, tough interviews, and brief entertainment interludes that cable news execs likely used to dream of, before blowhard-driven theatrics became the bellwether for ratings. Tapper has quickly developed a reputation as an equal opportunity skeptic — confronting Democratic politicians just as toughly as he would Republican ones. He’s among the most respected names in cable news, we’d argue; not because he’s so affable, but because he reminds viewers what news delivery can be like without the shouting, battling, blasting, or slamming. He’s also not afraid to get a little honest at times. – Andrew Kirell

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HONORABLE MENTIONS

Special Report with Bret Baier (Fox News)

The Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC)

Stossel (Fox Business Network)

Wolf (CNN)

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