Mediaite Presents Our Ranking of The Best Cable News Shows, Hour-By-Hour: 9 A.M.

Cable news — despite a rise in cord-cutting that should make Jeff Zucker sweat — has rarely been more relevant, and its anchors and hosts never more influential.

That’s in large part because the current president seems to direct his policy based on the erratic happenings of live television news. It’s not only a place where the news is reported, it’s increasingly the place where the news is made, and the news cycle propelled. At Mediaite, as loyal readers know, we pride ourselves on chronicling the rolling ticker of cable news quips, clashes, hard news and everything in between.

With that, we’d like to present our newest recurring feature: A weekly post, to be released every Friday, in which we crown our pick for the best show on cable news for each hour. As diligent spectators of the news, we have come to pride ourselves on a keen knowledge of the best show to watch — no matter the time of day.

These decisions have been the subject of heated spats in Mediaite’s offices for a while, and we thought it time to share them with you and have you weigh in on our decisions.

We’re basing our ranking on a series of factors, from objective metrics like ratings to subjective considerations like influence, entertainment value, the star power of hosts, the quality of guests, whether the show makes news, who watches it, its longevity and so on.

Without further ado, we begin our comprehensive ranking of the Best Shows on Cable News by taking on the 9 A.M. hour

3. CNN Newsroom — Hosted by Poppy Harlow

Harlow fits nicely in the CNN schedule in the 9 A.M. hour. After all the contentious debate on New Day, it’s good for CNN viewers to be able to catch their breath with a sober, thoughtful newscast. Harlow is a seasoned professional who has shown an ability to mix it up when she has to, and is not afraid to ask the tough question. But she doesn’t look to provoke for the sake of provoking. The result is a well-articulated, informative program.

Still, losing John Berman to New Day was a blow. Hosting two hours solo is a heavy burden with which even the legendary Wolf Blitzer often struggles. Harlow could very much use a partner. The network experimented by pairing Harlow with Brianna Keilar, but the results were mixed — if only because the two conducted the broadcast from separate locations. Give Harlow a teammate who’s actually sitting next to her, and she could find herself at the top of this list this time next year.

2. America’s Newsroom — Hosted by Bill Hemmer and Sandra Smith

Fox News has tweaked its daytime show a bit over the past few months, and it’s working. The move to a fancy new studio has helped — as has the addition of a third hour and some panel debates. Hemmer and Smith have terrific chemistry, and have shown that they have the gumption to push back on guests when needed. (This testy clash between Hemmer and White House counselor Kellyanne Conway was a standout.)

The deck does appear to be somewhat stacked against progressives on America’s Newsroom in what they seem to position as a straight news show. The panels seldom include more than one representative from somewhere near the left. And Hemmer and Smith can show occasional deference, if not outright fealty to a conservative guest. (A prime example could be found just this morning, in a bizarre exchange between Hemmer and White House strategic communications director Mercedes Schlapp.) Overt conservative opinion can, and does make for some of the best shows on cable but here the line appears to be blurred. A slight course correction could help this show immeasurably.

1. MSNBC Live — Hosted by Stephanie Ruhle

No one in the 9 A.M. hour can match — or even approach — the level of intensity that Stephanie Ruhle brings to her broadcast each morning. In terms of visible passion, Ruhle is simply without rival in this timeslot. Her fiery monologues — though not quite as news-making as Shepard Smith‘s or Jake Tapper‘s — are a daily must-watch for Team Mediaite.

Ruhle’s panels are well designed. Most days, two guests are on set with Ruhle. And most days, they pop up throughout the hour. If a discussion is going in an interesting direction, Ruhle has the freedom to extend segments, or revisit a topic later, and has a deft ability to navigate weedy news stories other hosts avoid.

But for all of the stellar work done by her contributors, this show is built on Stephanie Ruhle’s manic energy and her — often seething — contempt for President Donald Trump‘s governing style and policies. Let’s be clear: Ruhle doesn’t aim for balance. She makes little effort to hide her viewpoint, which is better than her pretending to be a straight news show. This is a show with a clear point-of-view. It is also the best show in cable news at 9 A.M.

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Check back next Friday for our ranking of the 10 a.m. hour, and leave your full-throated opinions in the comment section….