Morning Joe
Morning Joe on MSNBC started off smartly. It took the place of Imus In the Morning and began where Imus left off—talking brightly about politics, the state of the world, and even about real books.1
Gigi’s Bay Street Cafe is now even more convenient for Midtown Direct commuters. They’ve set up a cart right inside the Bay Street train station, so you can pick up your morning joe, banana bread, newspapers, or juice right before hopping on the train.2
Howard Kurtz at The Washington Post is reporting that Scarborough and MSNBC are in final negotiations to make his Morning Joe show the permanent show in the 6am to 9am slot on the network. Scarborough has been filling in (with other hosts, such as David Gregory) since Imus went bye-bye, and has been getting good buzz (though not ratings).3
For weeks, MSNBC would send in replacement formats to try to regain the viewer popularity they had lost with the dismissal of Don Imus. Morning Joe had really just gotten into its groove when the announcement came that Imus was returning to radio and TV.4
MSNBC executives have decided that Scarborough is the next Don Imus — not that anyone could replace Imus — and are finalizing the details for “Morning Joe” to permanently take over the 6-to-9 morning slot. The network this week is removing the “Scarborough Country” name from his old 9 p.m.5
At least Morning Joe admits to being a conservative water carrier. On Bill Maher’s show awhile back he had to remember which party he was defending until they teased him.6