It is really easy to ask why this or that person doesn’t have his or her own prime time cable show. But Joy Reid is different. She is different in what she covers, how she covers it and different in that she is a proven entity in the world of cable news. She is also a total bad-ass.

In the event that you don’t tune into weekend mornings on MSNBC, or miss her occasional turns as interim host to cover for a vacationing host, Ms. Reid has become one of the top cable news hosts in the business. Day in and day out she consistently brings fire and passion to her weekend AM with Joy Reid show, and seems to intrinsically understand what cable news viewers value most: a strong and consistent point of view that shows savvy understanding of complicated political issues, and the willingness to speak truth to power. Directly.

A cursory look at recent Mediaite posts illustrate why she’s so good.

She’s fearless, best exemplified by her going off on the apparent hypocrisy of her competitors at Fox News, namely Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, in light of their Harvey Weinstein obsession, yet ignoring the Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reilly and Eric Bolling sexual harassment allegations/debacles. She doesn’t bite her tongue — especially in speaking truth to power — like when she called out President Donald Trump for what she sees as a pattern of his “particular reflex to attack women, to attack women of color.” Whether you agree with her or not, she effortlessly elicits out newsworthy comments and/or meaningful discussions from her guests.

Reid wasn’t always this good. In her earlier days she seemed far less relaxed in a hosting role but she has honed her skills, served her time and proven her value.

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