Mediaite’s Ranking of Best Cable News Show at Noon: John King vs. Andrea Mitchell vs. Outnumbered
Welcome back to Mediaite‘s weekly rankings of the best shows on cable news, hour-by-hour. Last week, Fox News’ recently expanded America’s Newsroom, hosted by Bill Hemmer and Sandra Smith, took the top spot as the best show on cable from 10 a.m. to noon.
This week, we take on the surprisingly eclectic noon-1 p.m. hour of programming. The buzz of the morning shows has worn off, President Donald Trump has usually stopped tweeting, and networks settle down for a holistic analysis of the day’s news.
As 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 all of that being, said, let’s dive into our ranking for the Best Shows on Cable News in the 12 p.m. hour:
3. Inside Politics — Hosted by John King
John King once hosted the 7 p.m. hour on CNN before he was relegated to being master of the magic screen on election night. He found a good place at the noon hour, and while Inside Politics doesn’t deliver the over-the-top crazy moments of other cable news programming, it does deliver a remarkably nutritious diet of solid news, intelligent discussion, and fair reporting. A rarity in today’s cable news landscape. This is the closest thing you can get to the Sunday morning talk shows, and CNN is better for keeping it around.
King is a political talking head by nature. But can handle a change in programming too. Case in point: He dedicated the entire hour of Thursday morning’s episode to the passing of Aretha Franklin, bringing on a series of big-name commentators to remember the iconic soul singer. Even those who tune in exclusively to see King fire up the election stats touchscreen will admit the tribute was well done.
2. Andrea Mitchell Reports — Hosted by Andrea Mitchell
Andrea Mitchell has serious reporting chops. The anchor who has earned the lofty title of NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent celebrated four decades at NBC News last month. She’s still one of the best reporters covering the White House and State Department, fueled by 16 espresso shots a day.
In keeping with her own pedigree, Andrea Mitchell Reports is a hard news show. It oscillates between panels stocked with star reporters from prestige print publications like Robert Costa of the Washington Post, along with NBC News’ own impressive lineup of political reporters, like Kristen Welker.
But where Andrea Mitchell Reports is hard on the news, it’s soft on passion. Flip to MSNBC at noon if you want a serious news program that untangles the weeds in Washington, not if you’re looking for a cable news thriller.
1. Outnumbered – Hosted by Harris Faulkner, Melissa Francis
No, Outnumbered doesn’t deliver the hard news or analysis that MSNBC and CNN offer at the noon hour. But damned if it’s not the most entertaining political show on television in the time-slot. Its countless Mediaite posts — covering everything from clashes on the latest Trump flub to contrarian diatribes not seen elsewhere — are demonstrative of why it’s our pick.
The format is a bit gimmicky, and was widely mocked upon its debut: there are four female co-hosts, and one surprise male host every day… he’s Outnumbered!
But that set up makes for an exciting and spontaneous show, and one that’s fresh every day. The right-leaning show is at its best when the panel is balanced out with sharp liberal commentators like Jessica Tarlov or Marie Harf, making for often explosive — but substance fueled — clashes with the likes of Melissa Francis and Katie Pavlich. When the show’s panel is stacked with conservatives, it can veer into absurdist pro-Trump agitprop and the #OneLuckyGuy can sometimes be a huge miss (David Bossie??), but that is rare and the variety in opinion keeps things interesting. On the whole, the show is hosted by a talented group in a highly engaging way. It’s hardly surprising that Outnumbered is the most watched cable show at noon.
Correction: a previous version of this story incorrectly stated Sandra Smith co-hosts Outnumbered. She was recently given another hour as co-anchor of America’s Newsroom and Outnumbered is now co-hosted by Melissa Francis.
