Ron Fournier, the Associated Press’ new Washington D.C. bureau chief who hopes to rewrite the rules of reporting, is a known Karl Rove lover. But his obvious political leanings were not, insists John McCain’s camp, the reason they tried, though failed, to solicit him to help run the campaign — it was just because Fournier — whose new job responsibilities include calling the election’s winner this November — was so adept at the political process. A political process that, at the time, involved him running the now defunct pundit site HotSoup.com, which he co-founded with Matthew Dowd, chief strategist for the Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign. Again, just a happy coincidence. CONTINUED »
Yesterday morning, Joe Scarborough ranted on about a certain cable news anchor who made a big deal about Katie Couric’s edited John McCain interview, which, when it aired, cut out the part where he flubbed the timeline of the U.S. troop surge in Iraq. Scarborough wanted to cut CBS a break, because really, who would know the exact dateline of when the troop surge took place and when the Sunni awakening in Al Anbar Province took place. But then who was Scarborough criticizing for making such a big deal out of the story? Fingers began pointing, and the gossip-worthy conclusion that Scarborough was attacking MSNBC colleague Keith Olbermann was built.
Not so!, says Scarborough. In a way that doesn’t quite convince us. CONTINUED »
While Don Imus’ program began as a radio show that was simulcast on MSNBC, Joe Scarborough’s Morning Joe might be going down a reverse path: There’s plans for a trial to simulcast the morning talker on radio. That Scarborough got his A.M. show because of Imus’ scandal is an irony we won’t fail to mention. [CB]
Chaunce Hayden, the Steppin’ Out editor whose name regularly appeared in Page Six until he found himself embroiled in a false report about a Bam Margera and Lynsi Smigo sex tape, is the center of this Radar profile, which lists his various past careers: male stripper, car washer, failed punk rocker, bartender, swimming pool digger. Hayden acknowledges that nobody actually reads his publication, which is littered around New York and New Jersey, which might be a growing concern because until lately, it’s been his single entry into getting his gossip items, and his name, in the press. Then the Post banned him (Smigo has since filed a $10 million defamation suit against him and the paper); MSNBC blacklisted him after a he caused a commotion on Joe Scarborough’s show; he’s persona non grata at ABC, when he went on-air to report Diane Sawyer had just shushed him; and Howard Stern would like to see him dead after Hayden said, on ABC, that Stern should be looked at for insider trading for allegedly leaking details of his then-impending move to Sirius. Interesting, though, that Radar is reporting all of this. Not because the gossip industry isn’t the pub’s territory — it is — but because paragraphs like this: CONTINUED »
NBC News is doing the respectable thing and not commenting, publicly, about their plans in naming a successor to Tim Russert, whose death on Friday at the network’s Washington studios has left them without a Meet The Press anchor, or a D.C. bureau chief. As a show of respect for Russert’s family and his colleagues, 30 Rock is holding off on telling anyone what they plan to do come this Sunday.
While NBC News chief Steve Capus and NBC head Jeff Zucker wisely selected Tom Brokaw to moderate yesterday’s MTP Russert tribute, with a line-up of the guests the late anchor would’ve booked himself, there’s nothing firmed up for the weeks ahead, claims NBC.
None of that means media’s chattering classes aren’t placing over-unders on who’s going to fill Russert’s slot, at MTP or leading the network’s Washington unit. There’s a list of usual suspects, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. So who’s the most likely to take the very big reins?
Let’s take a look. CONTINUED »
Maybe Don Imus’ “nappy headed hos” incident was the best thing to happen to MSNBC? It gave Phil Griffin a chance to audition Joe Scarborough, then the host of primetime’s Scarborough Country, for the morning show slot. And it clicked. Now, with sidekicks Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist, Morning Joe is attracting some 360,000 viewers on average, or about what Imus was picking up. It’s also scored its host a contract through March 2011.
So 30 Rock must be quite confident with who they’ve chosen to moderate a show that’s part news broadcast, part entertainment fodder, and an excuse for Mika to remind everyone that her brothers and father are all heavily vested in politics, right? Well. Take away what you will from this Jeff Zucker quote: “It’s probably a little unfair to call Joe a ‘space filler.’ But we certainly had a need to fill in the morning.” Vote of confidence, indeed. [NYT]
Joe Scarborough, returning to his morning slot on MSNBC today after taking a leave to attend to his wife’s difficult pregnancy, reflecting on last night’s historic events: “A night that nobody believed—but perhaps Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and Chris Matthews—this was a night that very few people believed would ever happen.” [Video here]
Some background on Tuesday night’s primary coverage dust up between MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and David Gregory: CONTINUED »
We told you MSNBC chief Phil Griffin has made David Gregory his trophy boy. That’s why the 6pm anchor was lavished with airtime during yesterday’s North Carolina and Indiana primary coverage. Which meant morning boy Joe Scarborough, accustomed to ankling this type of coverage with Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews, grew furious when Gregory hogged the cameras — so much so, Jossip hears, that he stormed off the set and never returned for the rest of the evening’s coverage.
Sound familiar? It should. Last month, Scarborough pulled the same stunt while guesting on Gregory’s Race to the White House after growing furious with Rachael Maddow.
MSNBC is downplaying Joe Scarborough’s walking off the set of David Gregory’s Race to the White House after getting into a tiff with regular panel member Rachael Maddow. The argument is basically summed up by Scarborough saying, “I don’t engage in Crossfire-type debates and certainly I don’t want to talk about what people do in bathrooms.” Which is funny, because Joe once went on the Today show to talk about a certain congressman’s airport visit.
Watch both clips below. CONTINUED »
Despite David Shuster’s pimping comments, Chris Matthews’ self-evident Obamamania, and Keith Olbermann’s growing disdain for the former First Lady, it’s Morning Joe’s anchor who deserves the most criticism. So argues the Village Voice’s Wayne Barrett, who points to Joe Scarborough’s past – as a Republican congressman and operative – as a lifetime Clinton hater. So even though Hillary volunteers to appear on the A.M. show, as she did March 5 after sweeping Ohio, Texas, and Rhode Island, it might not be wise to label the parties as allies CONTINUED »
Tired of playing second fiddle to early morning cohort Joe Scarborough, MSNBC’s dayside anchor Mika Brzezinski (perhaps best known for taking a stand against Paris Hilton) became equally impassioned about another breaking news story: Scarborough’s burgeoning love handles.
According to BigHeadDC, Brzezinski accused the paunchy pundit (who referred to Briney Spears as a “porkchop”) of being “doughy,” “bloated,” and “in need of more exercise” on today’s episode of Morning Joe.
And they say morning shows aren’t concerned with any issues of weight. [BigHeadDC]
In exciting (albeit not particularly surprising) news for Intern Wendy and her Cable Quotables column, the Washington Post’s Howard Kurtz reports that MSNBC is “finalizing the details for Morning Joe to permanently take over the 6-to-9 morning slot.”
On this lazy, Friday afternoon, Intern Wendy is sitting back, dreaming about her weekend of leisure, and thanking her lucky stars for the Morning Joe show, without which she’d never have a column. So read on, and find out everything you never wanted to know about Joe Scarborough’s living accommodations, his favorite redneck pastimes and Frank Rich’s secret makeup tips.
• “We are like the Polish hillbillies.” Mika Brzinski, the thinking person’s Ellie Mae Clampett, Morning Joe, June 26
• “This is one of those times that I’m glad that I live in a tent.” Joe Scarborough, living the Simple Life, Morning Joe, June 27
• “Tractor pulls, yes, but not wrestling.” Joe Scarborough, adhering to only the finest redneck standards, Morning Joe, June 27
• “It’s amazing what light and oxygen can do.” Beauty expert Frank Rich, explaining how you, too, can achieve that doughy “indoorsy” look, Morning Joe, June 27
• In desperate post-Sopranos haze, HBO greenlights new episodes of Unsolved Mysteries.
• Is YouTube destined to become the new Friendster and fade into “I Love The 00’s” obscurity?
• Advertisers already starting to back away from Portfolio on the basis that it’s boring and reads like “Business for Dummies.”
• Joe Scarborough and his cronies “jokingly” ripped the producers’ Paris Hilton script into pieces, pretended to light it on fire, then stuck it in the paper shredder. It’s called journalism, people.
Editorial Director
