Rachel Marsden
She has appeared as a commentator on Fox News and CNN, and currently runs the website Grand Central Political, which syndicates and distributes commentary by figures such as Bernard Kerik and Mark Cuban. Her weekly political commentary appears in the online edition of Daily Telegraph, Human Events magazine and Townhall.com.
In 2002, she worked for the Free Congress Foundation, and resigned when her employer learned of a harassment charge against her related to her former boyfriend in Vancouver.
Prior to the 2004 federal election in Canada, she was hired by Gurmant Grewal, a Conservative member of the Parliament of Canada, to assist his constituency office with press releases. She was a regular National Post columnist for two months in 2005 before joining the Toronto Sun as a weekly opinion columnist, a position held until November 2007. Her political commentary has been reprinted by other journals, including the New York Post and NewsMax Media.
Marsden was a frequent guest on Dennis Miller Live when she was tapped to become the Canadian pundit for The O'Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel.
Marsden was employed by the Fox News Channel from 2004 to May 2007. She was promoted to panelist on Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld, a late-night talk show. A producer on Red Eye praised Marsden, saying that "she has very passionate opinions...she's articulate, intelligent, and we get a lot of favorable mail about her". Marsden has been compared to Ann Coulter in opinion, presentation and appearance. On May 30, 2007, Marsden was dismissed from Red Eye and escorted out of the Fox studio by security guards.
She commented that her departure was due to a change in the show's format, and that being escorted out is standard procedure. In October 2007, she was a panelist on CNN's The Situation Room.
Personal life and education
Marsden grew up in the Vancouver suburb of Coquitlam. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree from Simon Fraser University, Marsden earned a diploma in broadcast journalism from the British Columbia Institute of Technology.
Marsden has said that growing up listening to Canadian radio personality Jack Webster inspired her move into journalism. She also attended the National Journalism Center. As a student, Marsden came to public attention when she was at the center of the Simon Fraser University 1997 harassment controversy, in which she and a swimming coach publicly accused each other of sexual harassment. The coach was dismissed, then re-hired by the university after doubts were raised about the credibility of the accusations against him. Over ten years later, Marsden was interviewed by the university's newspaper and said of the events: "“ were more interested in quelling negative PR than defending the truth. I was told by SFU to keep quiet and say nothing to the media.
My only regret is that I listened to them.”
In 2004, Marsden was given a conditional discharge with one year of probation for criminal harassment of her boyfriend, a Vancouver radio show host, following a breakup. In September 2007, a relationship between Marsden and an Ontario Provincial Police officer ended. She posted his photo and identified him on her blog as an anti-terrorism officer who had leaked secret anti-terrorism documents to her. The officer filed a complaint of harassment against Marsden, but this was later dropped.
Wales stated his involvement with her article was handled through the normal channels, and was "routine". http:technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3475722.ece.