Mediaite’s Ranking of Best Cable News Show at 3 P.M.: Ali Velshi vs. Brooke Baldwin vs. Shepard Smith

Welcome back to Mediaite’s weekly rankings of the best shows on cable news, hour-by-hour. Last week, we gave the top spot at 2 p.m. to MSNBC Live — hosted by Katy Tur.

Now, it’s on to the 3 p.m. hour — when all three networks trot out some of their top stars. The hosts in this time-slot all have extremely strong voices. Brooke Baldwin, Ali Velshi, and Shepard Smith are all capable of earning a Mediaite headline at any moment with sharp, fiery commentary.

A reminder: We’re basing our rankings on a variety of factors, including; ratings, influence, entertainment value, the star power of hosts, the quality of guests, whether the show makes news, and its longevity.

With that said, let’s dive into our ranking for the Best Shows on Cable News in the 3 p.m. hour:

3. CNN Newsroom — Hosted by Brooke Baldwin

As we wrote last week, the CNN Newsroom anchor is incredibly versatile. She has all the requisite skills to be a cable news star. From the monologue, to the interview, to the panels, Brooke Baldwin aces it all. If this were baseball, we’d call her a five-tool player.

Re-upping our criticism from last week, though, we think her show is an hour too long. In hour one, it sometimes seems as though she’s pacing herself. In hour two, it can run out of gas.

This is an incredibly competitive time-slot. If Baldwin were on at, say, 10 a.m., we’d put her at No. 1 without hesitation. But it’s much tougher to break through at 3 p.m., even by a seasoned newsperson adept at covering the news. And so this fantastic anchor, remarkably, places third.

2. MSNBC Live — Hosted by Ali Velshi

In our 9 a.m. rankings, we placed MSNBC Live anchor Stephanie Ruhle atop the list. In our combined 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. rankings, we left Velshi & Ruhle out completely. And here at 3 p.m., we’ve got Ali Velshi a strong second. The conclusion: Velshi and Ruhle stand out as solo hosts.

Velshi is not as versatile as Brooke Baldwin, nor is he as versatile as our No. 1 ranked host in this category. But he absolutely shines in a few categories, which moves us to give him the slight nod over Baldwin.

The host and his production team are superb at fact-checking and analysis. Velshi’s fact-check segments are a staple of the program, and they are very well done. This takedown of the GOP tax plan later signed into law by President Donald Trump was a standout.

Velshi is also great on the fly. He also broadcasts with his heart on his sleeve, and does not hold back when something irks him. Those traits helped contribute to this fantastic, spur of the moment rant on Apr. 17 — when Velshi blasted Trump following a bizarre appearance with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, during which Trump mostly seemed concerned with plugging Mar-a-Lago.

He’s not our first pick to anchor breaking news. But day-to-day, his show is informative and compelling. A worthy second place finisher in this category.

1. Shepard Smith Reporting — Hosted by Shepard Smith

As much respect as we have for Baldwin and Velshi, this one really isn’t a contest. The anchor who has been with Fox News since its inception in 1996 waltzes away with the top spot here.

There really isn’t anything Shepard Smith can’t do in the anchor chair. He’s a tough interviewer, terrific on breaking news, delightfully whimsical when the news calls for it (remember the bears), and can handle interruptions seamlessly (like the White House briefing, which often takes place during this time-slot).

He is witty, but can also be quite serious when the occasion calls for it. And his charisma is hard to top. He might be the very best in cable news at forging a one-on-one bond with his audience.

And of course, he is the master of the monologue. With the possible exception of a rival we’ll discuss in next week’s edition of the rankings, there is no one better at crafting and delivering a solo address in all of cable. This powerful Trump rebuke from July, this post-Parkland commentary, and this defense of the Philadelphia Eagles after the controversy over their cancelled White House visit are all sterling examples of Smith at his best.

Shepard Smith ranks among the top of his profession. And his daily broadcast ranks at the top of our list of the best show in cable news at 3 p.m.