Morning Joe
Encyclopedia
Morning Joe is a weekday
Weekday
Weekday may either refer to only a day of the week which is part of the workweek thus not part of the weekend or to any of the days of the week.-Weekday as a day of the workweek:In most countries the days of the workweek are:# Monday# Tuesday# Wednesday...

 morning
Morning
The word morning originally referred to the sunrise. Morning precedes midday, afternoon, and night in the sequence of a day.Morning is the part of the day usually reckoned from dawn to noon...

 talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....

 on MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...

, with Joe Scarborough
Joe Scarborough
Charles Joseph "Joe" Scarborough is an American cable news and talk radio host, lawyer, author, and former politician. He is currently the host of Morning Joe on MSNBC, and previously hosted Scarborough Country on the same channel...

 discussing the news of the day in a panel format with co-hosts Mika Brzezinski
Mika Brzezinski
Mika Emilie Leonia Brzezinski is an American television news journalist at MSNBC. Brzezinski is co-host of MSNBC's weekday morning program Morning Joe, where she provides regular commentary and reads the news headlines for the program...

 and Willie Geist
Willie Geist
William "Willie" Geist is host of MSNBC's Way Too Early with Willie Geist, a co-host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe and contributor to several NBC News programs. Geist also hosts a satirical video blog on MSNBC.com called Zeitgeist...

. It was created as the replacement for Imus in the Morning
Imus in the Morning
Imus in the Morning is an American radio show hosted by Don Imus on Cumulus Media Networks , and simulcast for television on Fox Business Network....

, which was canceled in April 2007 after simulcasting on MSNBC since 1996. It airs from 6AM to 9AM Eastern Time.

History

Morning Joe began as a fill-in program after Don Imus
Don Imus
John Donald "Don" Imus, Jr. is an American radio host, humorist, philanthropist and writer. His nationally-syndicated talk show, Imus in the Morning, is broadcast throughout the United States by Citadel Media and relayed on television by the Fox Business Network.-Personal life:Imus was born in...

' Imus in the Morning was canceled. Former Florida Congressman Joe Scarborough, then-host of the nighttime MSNBC program Scarborough Country
Scarborough Country
Scarborough Country was an opinion/analysis show broadcast on MSNBC Monday - Thursday at 9 P.M. ET. It was hosted by former congressman Joe Scarborough....

, suggested the idea of doing a morning show instead. He put together what would become Morning Joe with Scarborough Country executive producer Chris Licht and screenwriter John Ridley
John Ridley
John Ridley is an American film director, actor, and writer.Ridley got his start as a stand-up comedian. He eventually was hired as a writer for sitcoms such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Martin...

. On May 9, 2007, the show debuted as one of a series of rotating programs auditioning for Imus's former slot, with Scarborough joined by co-hosts Mika Brzezinski
Mika Brzezinski
Mika Emilie Leonia Brzezinski is an American television news journalist at MSNBC. Brzezinski is co-host of MSNBC's weekday morning program Morning Joe, where she provides regular commentary and reads the news headlines for the program...

 and Ridley. Scarborough had personally asked Brzezinski to co-host with him the night before the first audition, while she was a 'cut-in' presenter during MSNBC's primetime schedule on a freelance basis.

Ridley quickly dropped out as main co-host but continued as a regular guest, while Willie Geist was tapped as co-host. The program permanently took over the slot in July 2007, though the decision was not officially announced until that October.

During the first quarter of 2009, Morning Joe earned higher ratings in the age 25-54 demo category than CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...

's competing program, American Morning
American Morning
American Morning is the morning television show on CNN. It premiered in 2001.-About the show:American Morning is hosted by Ashleigh Banfield, Zoraida Sambolin & Soledad O'Brien. Others who appear regularly are Rob Marciano with the weather, Sunny Hostin on legal news, and CNN senior medical...

. It still had less viewers overall. Both programs regularly finish behind Fox News's Fox and Friends during the same time period.

As of March 2010, the show's ratings remained behind those of Fox and Friends, while it earned higher ratings overall than its other cable competitors American Morning
American Morning
American Morning is the morning television show on CNN. It premiered in 2001.-About the show:American Morning is hosted by Ashleigh Banfield, Zoraida Sambolin & Soledad O'Brien. Others who appear regularly are Rob Marciano with the weather, Sunny Hostin on legal news, and CNN senior medical...

, Morning Express with Robin Meade
Morning Express with Robin Meade
Morning Express with Robin Meade is a morning television news program that airs on the HLN television network in the United States.-About the show:...

, and Squawk Box
Squawk Box
Squawk Box is a business news television program which airs at breakfast time on the CNBC network. The program is currently co-hosted by Joe Kernen, Rebecca Quick and Andrew Ross Sorkin. Since debuting in 1995, the show has spawned a number of versions across CNBC's international channels, many of...

.

On June 29, 2009, along with the rest of the network, the show launched in 1080i high definition.

Coverage of the 2008 presidential race

The show broadcasted live from Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...

, Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...

, and Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...

 during the 2008 Republican and Democratic primaries and caucuses. Presidential candidates such as Joe Biden
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...

, Hillary Clinton, Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....

, Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...

, John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....

, Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

, Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...

, and Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...

 participated as guests.

Sponsorship

Since June 1, 2009, Morning Joe has been presented as "brewed by Starbucks
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...

," and the sponsor's logo is now part of the show's logo. Although the hosts have previously consumed Starbucks coffee on air "for free," in the words of MSNBC president Phil Griffin
Phil Griffin
Phil Griffin is President of United States cable news MSNBC. He was named President in July, 2008.-References:...

, it was not paid placement at that time. The move was met with mixed reactions from rival news organizations, viewed as both a clever partnership in an economic downturn and a compromise of journalistic standards. Target Corporation
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...

 now also offers a "Morning Joe" brand of coffee exclusively in its stores, many of which also incorporate Starbucks shops.

WABC radio edition

A radio version debuted in December 2008, carried on WABC
WABC (AM)
WABC , known as "NewsTalkRadio 77 WABC" is a radio station in New York City. Owned by the broadcasting division of Cumulus Media, the station broadcasts on a clear channel and is the flagship station of Cumulus Media Networks...

 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and other Citadel Media owned and operated stations. Scarborough and Brzezinski host this version, which also replays highlights from the day's television show. For legal reasons, this version is called The Joe Scarborough Show. Scarborough claims that, at least on WABC, the show beat the Glenn Beck Program
Glenn Beck Program
The Glenn Beck Program is an American talk radio show hosted by commentator Glenn Beck on Premiere Radio Networks. Since its inception as a nationally syndicated show in 2002, the program has become one of the highest rated radio programs...

 in the New York City radio market's Arbitron
Arbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...

 ratings. However, despite acceptable ratings, the radio version was put on hiatus in April 2010. Scarborough intends to bring back the show in a revised three-hour version at an undisclosed time in the future.

Way Too Early

On July 27, 2009, Willie Geist began hosting a new show, Way Too Early with Willie Geist
Way Too Early with Willie Geist
Way Too Early with Willie Geist is an American morning news show airing weekday mornings on MSNBC. It premiered on July 27, 2009, and is hosted by Willie Geist...

. It airs at 5:30 AM U.S. Eastern Time, 30 minutes prior to Morning Joe.

Daily segments and regular anchors

  • Morning Papers - daily headline and Must read Op-Ed
    Op-ed
    An op-ed, abbreviated from opposite the editorial page , is a newspaper article that expresses the opinions of a named writer who is usually unaffiliated with the newspaper's editorial board...

     stories from Newspaper
    Newspaper
    A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

    s nationwide, at the 6:20 and lower third .
  • Morning Grind - daily news roundup, read by Mika Brzezinski at the beginning and thirty-minute mark of each hour.
  • News You Can't Use - Willie Geist's daily roundup of offbeat news stories.
  • Politico Playbook - at the 6:20 and 8:20 marks, a Politico
    The Politico
    The Politico is an American political journalism organization based in Arlington, Virginia, that distributes its content via television, the Internet, newspaper, and radio. Its coverage of Washington, D.C., includes the U.S. Congress, lobbying, media and the Presidency...

     staff member (most frequently Mike Allen
    Michael Allen (journalist)
    Michael Allen is the chief political reporter for Politico, and writes the daily Playbook; in April 2010, the New York Times called him "The Man The White House Wakes Up To."...

    ) provides the day's political news from the website's editorial offices in Arlington, VA.
  • The Sideline - in a segment during the second half of the 6:00 hour, Willie Geist presents the previous day's sports news. The segment was previously called the Morning Sports Shot.
  • Business Before the Bell - at the 8:30 mark, a CNBC
    CNBC
    CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...

     correspondent reports on the morning's business news from CNBC's NYSE booth
    New York Stock Exchange
    The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...

    .
  • Political Roundtable - this segment is featured during the show's last half-hour. It is devoted to discussion between the hosts and guests of a political issue of the day.
  • What Have We Learned Today? - the show's closing segment, in which the hosts and on-set guests joke about what they learned on that day's broadcast.

Regular guests and contributors

Regular guests and contributors include:
  • Mike Barnicle
    Mike Barnicle
    Michael "Mike" Barnicle is an award-winning American print and broadcast journalist as well as a social and political commentator. He is a frequent contributor and occasional guest host on MSNBC's Morning Joe and Hardball with Chris Matthews and is frequently seen on NBC's Today Show with...

    , freelance columnist.
  • Maria Bartiromo
    Maria Bartiromo
    Maria Bartiromo is an American television journalist, magazine columnist and author of three books. Bartiromo is a native of New York and attended New York University. She worked at CNN for five years before joining CNBC television...

    , host of CNBC's Closing Bell
    Closing Bell
    Closing Bell can refer to two CNBC programs, the original Closing Bell on CNBC , and European Closing Bell on CNBC Europe.-About the show:...

    , & Wall Street Journal Report.
  • Zbigniew Brzezinski
    Zbigniew Brzezinski
    Zbigniew Kazimierz Brzezinski is a Polish American political scientist, geostrategist, and statesman who served as United States National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981....

    , National Security Advisor
    National Security Advisor (United States)
    The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, commonly referred to as the National Security Advisor , serves as the chief advisor to the President of the United States on national security issues...

     during the administration of U.S. President Jimmy Carter
    Jimmy Carter
    James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...

     and the father of co-host Mika Brzezinski.
  • Tina Brown
    Tina Brown
    Tina Brown, Lady Evans, CBE , is a journalist, magazine editor, columnist, talk-show host and author of The Diana Chronicles, a biography of Diana, Princess of Wales. Born a British citizen, she took United States citizenship in 2005 after emigrating in 1984 to edit Vanity Fair...

    , publisher of The Daily Beast
    The Daily Beast
    The Daily Beast is an American news reporting and opinion website founded and published by Tina Brown, former editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker as well as the short-lived Talk Magazine. The Daily Beast was launched on October 6, 2008, and is owned by IAC...

    .
  • Pat Buchanan
    Pat Buchanan
    Patrick Joseph "Pat" Buchanan is an American paleoconservative political commentator, author, syndicated columnist, politician and broadcaster. Buchanan was a senior adviser to American Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan, and was an original host on CNN's Crossfire. He sought...

    , MSNBC political analyst and former presidential candidate.
  • Jonathan Capehart, Washington Post editorial page writer.
  • Jim Cramer, host of CNBC's Mad Money
    Mad Money
    Mad Money is an American finance television program hosted by Jim Cramer that began airing on CNBC on March 14, 2005. Its main focus is investment and speculation, particularly in publicly traded stocks...

    .
  • Donny Deutsch
    Donny Deutsch
    Donald “Donny” Deutsch is an American television personality and advertising executive. He is also the former host of the CNBC talk show The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch. The television audience first became familiar with him on February 11, 2005 when he appeared on NBC's The Apprentice with Donald...

    , CEO of the advertising/marketing firm Deutsch, Inc. and CNBC/MSNBC contributor.
  • Harold Ford, Jr.
    Harold Ford, Jr.
    Harold Eugene Ford, Jr. is an American politician and was the last chairman of the now-defunct Democratic Leadership Council . He was a Democratic Party member of the United States House of Representatives from , centered in Memphis, from 1997 to 2007...

    , Democratic Leadership Council
    Democratic Leadership Council
    The Democratic Leadership Council was a non-profit 501 corporation that, upon its formation, argued the United States Democratic Party should shift away from the leftward turn it took in the late 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s...

     chairman and former Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 9th district.
  • Chrystia Freeland
    Chrystia Freeland
    Chrystia Freeland is the Global Editor-at-Large of Reuters news since March 1, 2010, having formerly been the United States managing editor at the Financial Times, based in New York City. Freeland received her undergraduate education from Harvard University, going onto St Antony's at University...

    , global editor-at-large for Reuters
    Reuters
    Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...

    .
  • David Gregory
    David Gregory (journalist)
    David Michael Gregory is an American television journalist, and moderator of NBC News' Sunday morning talk show Meet the Press.-Early life:...

    , current host of Meet the Press
    Meet the Press
    Meet the Press is a weekly American television news/interview program produced by NBC. It is the longest-running television series in American broadcasting history, despite bearing little resemblance to the original format of the program seen in its television debut on November 6, 1947. It has been...

     and former NBC News White House correspondent.
  • Savannah Guthrie
    Savannah Guthrie
    Savannah Guthrie is an American journalist and attorney, working for NBC News.After serving as a White House correspondent between 2008 and 2011 and as co-anchor of the MSNBC program The Daily Rundown between 2010 and 2011, Guthrie was announced as the co-host of Todays third hour alongside...

    , NBC News White House correspondent.
  • Mark Halperin
    Mark Halperin
    Mark E. Halperin is the senior political analyst for Time magazine, Time.com, and MSNBC and serves as a board member on the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College. He is the co-author of Game Change.-Personal:Mark Halperin is the son of Morton Halperin and Ina Young. He has...

    , MSNBC senior political analyst, editor-at-large at Time Magazine and co-author of the 2008 presidential-campaign history, Game Change
    Game Change
    Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime is a book by political journalists John Heilemann and Mark Halperin about the 2008 United States presidential election. Released on January 11, 2010, it was also published in the United Kingdom under the title Race of...

    .
  • John Heilemann
    John Heilemann
    John Arthur Heilemann is an American journalist for New York magazine, where he mainly covers US politics. He previously was a staff writer for The New Yorker, Wired, and The Economist. He is the coauthor of the No...

    , writer for New York
    New York (magazine)
    New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...

     magazine and co-author of the 2008 presidential-campaign history, Game Change
    Game Change
    Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime is a book by political journalists John Heilemann and Mark Halperin about the 2008 United States presidential election. Released on January 11, 2010, it was also published in the United Kingdom under the title Race of...

    .
  • Arianna Huffington
    Arianna Huffington
    Arianna Huffington is a Greek American author and syndicated columnist. She is best known as co-founder of the news website The Huffington Post. A popular conservative commentator in the mid-1990s, she adopted more liberal political beliefs in the late 1990s...

    , co-founder of the Huffington Post.
  • Bill Karins
    Bill Karins
    Bill Karins is a NBC meteorologist. He reports weekdays for NBC's Early Today, MSNBC's First Look, Morning Joe, Jansing and Company and CNBC. Prior to being named NBC Meteorologist Karins was one of the original meteorologists for the now shuttered NBC Weather Plus. He is MSNBC and NBC News Chief...

    , New York bureau Weather Channel meteorologist.
  • Nicole Lapin
    Nicole Lapin
    Nicole Miriam Lapin is an anchor on CNN Live who regularly appeared on CNN Headline News, CNN, and CNN International. In January 2010, Lapin joined CNBC in New York as an anchor for Worldwide Exchange, joining CNBC Europe's Ross Westgate in London and CNBC Asia's Christine Tan in Singapore. She...

    , host of CNBC's Worldwide Exchange
    Worldwide Exchange
    Worldwide Exchange is a television business news program on CNBC channels around the world. It is broadcast live from studios on three continents. The global program is anchored by Ross Westgate in London, Christine Tan in Singapore and various anchors in New York...

    .
  • Chris Matthews
    Chris Matthews
    Christopher John "Chris" Matthews is an American news anchor and political commentator, known for his nightly hour-long talk show, Hardball with Chris Matthews, which is televised on the American cable television channel MSNBC...

    , host of MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews
    Hardball with Chris Matthews
    Hardball with Chris Matthews is a talk show on MSNBC, broadcast weekdays at 5 and 7 PM hosted by Chris Matthews. It originally aired on now-defunct America's Talking and later CNBC. The current title was derived from a book Matthews wrote in 1988, Hardball: How Politics Is Played Told by One Who...

    .
  • Jon Meacham
    Jon Meacham
    Jon Meacham is executive editor and executive vice president at Random House. A former editor of Newsweek and a Pulitzer Prize winning bestselling author and a commentator on politics, history, and religious faith in America, he is a contributing editor to Time magazine and editor-at-large of WNET...

    , Pulitzer Prize
    Pulitzer Prize
    The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...

    -winning historian, co-host of PBS
    Public Broadcasting Service
    The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....

     television newsmagazine Need to Know
    Need to Know (PBS)
    Need to Know is an American public television news program produced by WNET, New York City and broadcast weekly on all Public Broadcasting Service stations in the United States....

    , and former editor of Newsweek
    Newsweek
    Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...

    .
  • Andrea Mitchell
    Andrea Mitchell
    Andrea Mitchell is an American television journalist, anchor, reporter, and commentator for NBC News based in Washington, D.C.. She is the NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, and has recently reported on the 2008 Race for the White House for NBC News broadcasts, including NBC Nightly...

    , chief foreign affairs correspondent, NBC News
    NBC News
    NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...

     and host of MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports
    Andrea Mitchell Reports
    Andrea Mitchell Reports is a news show on MSNBC broadcast weekdays from 1 PM ET/10 AM PT hosted by Andrea Mitchell. She originally was an anchor under the MSNBC Live umbrella before getting her own distinct show. She is the NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs correspondent...

    .
  • Mike Murphy
    Mike Murphy (political consultant)
    Michael Ellis "Mike" Murphy is a Republican political consultant. He has advised such nationally prominent Republicans as John McCain, Rick Lazio, Jeb Bush, John Engler, Tommy Thompson, Spencer Abraham, Christie Whitman, Lamar Alexander, and Arnold Schwarzenegger...

    , political analyst and Republican
    Republican Party (United States)
    The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

     party strategist.
  • Peggy Noonan
    Peggy Noonan
    Peggy Noonan is an American author of seven books on politics, religion, and culture and a weekly columnist for The Wall Street Journal...

    , op-ed columnist for the Wall Street Journal.
  • Lawrence O'Donnell, host of MSNBC's The Last Word
    The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
    The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell is an hour-long weeknight news and political commentary program on MSNBC. The program airs live at 10:00 P.M. Eastern Time Monday-Thursday, and is hosted by Lawrence O'Donnell...

     and Emmy-winning writer and producer for the TV series The West Wing.
  • Eugene Robinson
    Eugene Robinson (journalist)
    Eugene Harold Robinson is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper columnist and former assistant managing editor for The Washington Post. His columns are syndicated by The Washington Post Writers Group...

    , Washington Post editorial columnist
  • John Ridley
    John Ridley
    John Ridley is an American film director, actor, and writer.Ridley got his start as a stand-up comedian. He eventually was hired as a writer for sitcoms such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Martin...

    , screenwriter and Huffington Post contributor.
  • Jeffrey Sachs
    Jeffrey Sachs
    Jeffrey David Sachs is an American economist and Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University. One of the youngest economics professors in the history of Harvard University, Sachs became known for his role as an adviser to Eastern European and developing country governments in the...

    , economist and Director of The Earth Institute
    The Earth Institute
    The Earth Institute was established at Columbia University in 1995. The research institute's stated mission is to address complex issues facing the planet and its inhabitants, with particular focus on sustainable development and the needs of the world's poor...

     at Columbia University
    Columbia University
    Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

  • Dan Senor
    Dan Senor
    Daniel Samuel Senor, known as Dan Senor , is a founding partner of Rosemont Capital LLC, and Rosemont Solebury Capital Management. He is also a Fox News contributor and a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal among other publications...

    , fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations
    Council on Foreign Relations
    The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...

     and former deputy press secretary for U.S. President George W. Bush
    George W. Bush
    George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

    .
  • Sam Stein
    Sam Stein
    Samuel "Sam" Stein is an American professional poker player from Los Angeles who lives in Henderson, Nevada. He won his first World Series of Poker bracelet at the 2011 World Series of Poker where he made two final tables and three in the money finishes...

    , Huffington Post correspondent
  • Richard Stengel
    Richard Stengel
    Richard "Rick" Stengel is an American editor, journalist and author and is Time magazine's 16th managing editor. While best known for his work for Time, he has written a number of books including a collaboration with Nelson Mandela on Mandela's autobiography...

    , managing editor of Time
    Time (magazine)
    Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...

    . Stengel reveals the cover of the coming week's magazine every Thursday.
  • Chuck Todd
    Chuck Todd
    Charles David “Chuck” Todd is an American journalist, Chief White House Correspondent and political director for NBC News, and contributing editor to Meet the Press...

    , NBC News political director and White House correspondent.
  • Mort Zuckerman, owner and publisher of the New York Daily News
    New York Daily News
    The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....

     and editor-in-chief of U.S. News & World Report
    U.S. News & World Report
    U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...

    .
  • Tom Brokaw
    Tom Brokaw
    Thomas John "Tom" Brokaw is an American television journalist and author best known as the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News from 1982 to 2004. He is the author of The Greatest Generation and other books and the recipient of numerous awards and honors...


Former contributors and segments

  • Erin Burnett
    Erin Burnett
    Erin Isabelle Burnett is the anchor of CNN’s Erin Burnett OutFront. She was the co-anchor of CNBC's Squawk on the Street program and the host of CNBC's Street Signs program...

    , CNN
    CNN
    Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...

     and former CNBC
    CNBC
    CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...

     anchor. In her role as anchor on CNBC's Squawk on the Street, Burnett regularly contributed as the correspondent during the daily 8:30 "Business Before the Bell" segment. She left CNBC for an anchor position at CNN in May 2011. Scarborough habitually introduced Burnett with the nickname "International Superstar."
  • Tucker Carlson
    Tucker Carlson
    Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson is an American political news correspondent and conservative commentator for the Fox News Channel...

    , political commentator. Carlson left MSNBC to work as a commentator for the Fox News Channel
    Fox News Channel
    Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...

     in May 2009.
  • Mark Haines
    Mark Haines
    Mark Haines was a host on the CNBC television network.-Early life and education:Haines grew up in Oyster Bay, New York, and resided in Monmouth County, New Jersey. His alma mater was Denison University, and in 1989, the University of Pennsylvania Law School...

    , the late co-anchor of CNBC
    CNBC
    CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...

    's Squawk on the Street. Haines filled in for his co-anchor Erin Burnett on several occasions for the "Business Before the Bell" segment. He briefly took it over after her departure from CNBC until his death on May 24, 2011.
  • Courtney Hazlett
    Courtney Hazlett
    Courtney Brooke Hazlett is a columnist and Celebrity Correspondent for todayshow.com, the official site for NBC's The Today Show. She is the author of "The Scoop" blog and column, featured on the todayshow.com, msnbc.com, and Newsvine websites...

    , MSNBC entertainment correspondent and author of "The Scoop" column and blog featured on msnbc.com. From October 2007 through July 2009, the show's next-to-last segment regularly featured Hazlett and co-host Willie Geist discussing her latest column. The segment, titled Morning Scoop, was sponsored by L'Oréal
    L'Oréal
    The L'Oréal Group is the world's largest cosmetics and beauty company. With its registered office in Paris and head office in the Paris suburb of Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France, it has developed activities in the field of cosmetics...

    , whose ad spots continued for several weeks after it had been effectively discontinued. No official announcement or explanation was given regarding the decision to drop Hazlett from the show. She remains a contributor to the msnbc.com website and other MSNBC programs.
  • Jackie Meretsky, NBC Weather Plus
    NBC Weather Plus
    NBC Weather Plus was a 24-hour, commercially sponsored, weather-oriented broadcast/cable television network jointly owned by NBC Universal and the local affiliates of the NBC network. It debuted on November 15, 2004 and shut down on December 31, 2008...

     meteorologist. NBC shut down NBC Weather Plus in December 2008, thus eliminating her position. She was on maternity leave at the time. Meretsky joined Good Morning America
    Good Morning America
    Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...

     as a meteorologist in 2011.
  • Norah O'Donnell
    Norah O'Donnell
    Norah O'Donnell is an American print and television journalist, currently serving as the Chief White House Correspondent for CBS News in Washington, D.C., a position she has held since June 2011.-Early life:...

    , former MSNBC Chief Washington Correspondent. O'Donnell frequently appeared as a commentator and often guest-hosted the program with Willie Geist in Scarborough and Brzezinski's absence. She left MSNBC and NBC News
    NBC News
    NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...

     to become Chief White House Correspondent
    White House Press Corps
    The White House Press Corps is the group of journalists or correspondents usually stationed at the White House in Washington, D.C. to cover the president of the United States, White House events and news briefings. Their offices are located in the West Wing....

     for CBS News
    CBS News
    CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...

     in June 2011.
  • Fred Roggin
    Fred Roggin
    Fred Roggin is the sports anchor at KNBC-TV in Los Angeles, California. He was also a sports talk radio host at KMPC in Los Angeles, and until Fall 2007 hosted a morning sports show on KLAC with Los Angeles Times sports columnist T.J. Simers and Simers' daughter, Tracy Simers...

    , KNBC-TV
    KNBC
    KNBC, channel 4, is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC Television Network, licensed to Los Angeles, California, USA. KNBC's studios and offices are located within the NBC Studios complex in Burbank, California, and its transmitter is located on Mount Wilson...

     sports anchor. Between 2007 and 2010, Roggin contributed a taped sports scores and highlight recap for "The Sideline" and "Morning Sports Shot" segments during the 6:00 hour. Co-host Willie Geist gradually took over the segment in 2010.
  • Tim Russert
    Tim Russert
    Timothy John "Tim" Russert was an American television journalist and lawyer who appeared for more than 16 years as the longest-serving moderator of NBC's Meet the Press. He was a senior vice president at NBC News, Washington bureau chief and also hosted the eponymous CNBC/MSNBC weekend interview...

    , the late host of NBC's Meet the Press
    Meet the Press
    Meet the Press is a weekly American television news/interview program produced by NBC. It is the longest-running television series in American broadcasting history, despite bearing little resemblance to the original format of the program seen in its television debut on November 6, 1947. It has been...

    .
  • Sam Tanenhaus
    Sam Tanenhaus
    Sam Tanenhaus is an American historian, biographer, and journalist.-Biography:Tanenhaus received his B.A. in English from Grinnell College in 1977 and a M.A. in English Literature from Yale University in 1978. He is currently the editor of The New York Times Book Review and Week in Review...

    , senior editor of the New York Times Book Review. Between April 2009 and March 2010, Tanenhaus would appear on either the Thursday or Friday show to preview the New York Times Book Reviews forthcoming issue.
  • Morning Joe Moment - during August 2009, this was briefly the replacement for Courtney Hazlett and the Morning Scoop. It featured a host replaying his or her favorite moment from the day's show.

Paris Hilton incident

After about a month of being on the air, Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski became a YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

 sensation. Brzezinski gained notoriety for refusing to read the report of Hilton's release from prison. She felt Hilton's jail sentence was not an appropriate lead story. She protested by taking a lighter from co-host Willie Geist and attempting to burn the script. After Geist prevented her from doing so, she resorted to putting the script in a paper shredder.

George W. Bush "Monkey" Comment

On November 26, 2007, during a broadcast of MSNBC's Morning Joe, former CNBC anchor Erin Burnett referred to then President George W. Bush as a "monkey" repeatedly and as "the monkey in the middle" whilst laughing. She later apologized for her comment.

Chris Matthews "messed around" comments

On January 9, 2008, the morning after Hillary Clinton's surprise victory in the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary, Matthews appeared on the show and said of Clinton,

I'll be brutal, the reason she's a U.S. senator, the reason she's a candidate for president, the reason she may be a front-runner is her husband messed around. That's how she got to be senator from New York. We keep forgetting it. She didn't win there on her merit.

The comments, widely seen as grossly sexist and unfair, were criticized by such disparate media figures as Bill O'Reilly
Bill O'Reilly (political commentator)
William James "Bill" O'Reilly, Jr. is an American television host, author, syndicated columnist and political commentator. He is the host of the political commentary program The O'Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel, which is the most watched cable news television program on American television...

, Joy Behar
Joy Behar
Josephina Victoria "Joy" Behar is an American comedian, writer, actress, and a co-host of the talk show The View. Behar has a commentary program, entitled The Joy Behar Show, on CNN's sister network, HLN...

, and Gloria Steinem
Gloria Steinem
Gloria Marie Steinem is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader of, and media spokeswoman for, the women's liberation movement in the late 1960s and 1970s...

. They also resulted in protests outside NBC's Washington, D.C. studios, as well as a joint letter of complaint to NBC from the National Organization for Women
National Organization for Women
The National Organization for Women is the largest feminist organization in the United States. It was founded in 1966 and has a membership of 500,000 contributing members. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S...

, Feminist Majority, and the National Women's Political Caucus
National Women's Political Caucus
The National Women's Political Caucus is a national bipartisan grassroots organization in the United States dedicated to recruiting, training, and supporting women who seek elected and appointed offices....

. Matthews apologized for the comments on the January 17, 2008 edition of his own MSNBC program, Hardball
Hardball with Chris Matthews
Hardball with Chris Matthews is a talk show on MSNBC, broadcast weekdays at 5 and 7 PM hosted by Chris Matthews. It originally aired on now-defunct America's Talking and later CNBC. The current title was derived from a book Matthews wrote in 1988, Hardball: How Politics Is Played Told by One Who...

.

Expletive incident

On November 10, 2008 Scarborough used the word "fuck" on air while quoting a story about then-President-elect Obama's incoming Chief of Staff
White House Chief of Staff
The White House Chief of Staff is the highest ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and a senior aide to the President.The current White House Chief of Staff is Bill Daley.-History:...

, Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Israel Emanuel is an American politician and the 55th and current Mayor of Chicago. He was formerly White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama...

. Once he realized his mistake, Scarborough repeatedly apologized for his slip of the tongue and explained that he'd meant to say "the F word" instead. The next day, MSNBC instituted a seven second delay for Morning Joe.

Mark Halperin's "dick" Comment

In reference to a press conference President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 had the previous day, June 29, 2011, Time editor-at-large Mark Halperin
Mark Halperin
Mark E. Halperin is the senior political analyst for Time magazine, Time.com, and MSNBC and serves as a board member on the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College. He is the co-author of Game Change.-Personal:Mark Halperin is the son of Morton Halperin and Ina Young. He has...

 said the president came off as "kind of a dick" during the previous day's press conference. The word aired uncensored, despite the seven second delay, when a producer failed to press the button that would have "bleeped" the word. Halperin issued an on air apology immediately following a commercial break The White House subsequently complained to MSNBC about Halperin's remarks. On June 30, 2011, Halperin was temporarily suspended from his duties at MSNBC for "slurring" the President. He returned as a guest a couple of weeks later.

Mika Brzezinski mugged

On December 18, 2008, the show's cohost, Mika Brzezinski, got mugged before coming in to do Morning Joe. Joe Scarborough was visibly and verbally outraged that the hotel they were staying at did not have security outside the door. The show was being taped from Washington D.C. She said on the show, "He wanted $20," and since she only had $6, she was "very scared" since she felt that "I did not have enough."

"Stunningly superficial"

On December 30, 2008, Zbigniew Brzezinski
Zbigniew Brzezinski
Zbigniew Kazimierz Brzezinski is a Polish American political scientist, geostrategist, and statesman who served as United States National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981....

 (Mika's father and former National Security Advisor
National Security Advisor (United States)
The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, commonly referred to as the National Security Advisor , serves as the chief advisor to the President of the United States on national security issues...

 to President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...

) came as a guest to discuss the unfolding Israel-Palestine
2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict
The Gaza War, known as Operation Cast Lead in Israel and as the Gaza Massacre in the Arab world, was a three-week bombing and invasion of the Gaza Strip by Israel, and hundreds of rocket attacks on south of Israel which...

 crisis. Scarborough claimed that Yasser Arafat was offered everything he wanted at the 2000 Camp David Summit. This statement provoked Zbigniew to reply, "You know, you have such a stunningly superficial knowledge of what went on that it's almost embarrassing to listen to you". Subsequently, the phrase "stunningly superficial" has become somewhat of a running gag on the show.

Feud with Jon Stewart

On June 3, 2009, The Daily Show
The Daily Show
The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...

 host Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian...

 mocked the Starbucks sponsorship of the program, showing several clips of the Morning Joe cast prominently displaying and complimenting Starbucks products as well as a sycophantic interview with Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz
Howard Schultz
Howard Schultz is an American business magnate. He is the best known as the chairman and CEO of Starbucks and a former owner of the Seattle SuperSonics...

. Scarborough responded that his intent in discussing the sponsorship was sarcastic, and he suggested that Stewart and his "90 writers" did not understand the joke. On June 8, Stewart feigned embarrassment over missing their alleged sarcasm, claiming, "At the time, I thought your jokey manner was just a way of supplementing your shame over the discomfort you feel deep in your soul after extinguishing the last smoldering embers of any of your program’s journalistic bona fides. But now, I realize that that wasn't the case!" On June 9, Scarborough fired back, referring to Stewart as "a very, very angry guy with a Napoleonic complex
Napoleon complex
Napoleon complex is an informal term describing an alleged type of inferiority complex which is said to affect some people, especially men, who are short in stature. The term is also used more generally to describe people who are driven by a perceived handicap to overcompensate in other aspects of...

." The next day, Stewart and correspondent John Oliver
John Oliver (comedian)
John Oliver is a British stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. He is best known for his work on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, for which he won an Emmy in 2009. He also plays a recurring character, Professor Ian Duncan, on the television series Community...

 again responded with a skit, involving Stewart impersonating Napoleon and Oliver impersonating an even shorter Arthur Wellesley
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...

. After the routine, Jon Stewart joked that he hoped that this would be the end of the feud, since continuing it was becoming expensive for the show.

Clash with Rush Limbaugh

During the Obama administration, Joe Scarborough has sought to distance himself from the more conservative elements in the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

. He has criticized Republicans such as Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...

 who have celebrated President Obama's failed bid to bring the 2016 Olympics to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 saying that "Republicans have gone off the deep end." On the October 8, 2009 edition of his radio show, Limbaugh fired back by saying that Scarborough was "doing his best impression of [...] a neutered chickified moderate." Scarborough responded the next day on Morning Joe, faulting Limbaugh for uncritical loyalty to George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 during the president's tenure in office. Scarborough specifically said that Limbaugh had put his "testicles in a blind trust for George W. Bush for eight years."

Campaign-donation suspension

MSNBC suspended show host Joe Scarborough without pay from the November 22 and November 23, 2010 broadcasts. It had been discovered that Scarborough had made eight campaign donations to political candidates without management approval during his employment at the channel. This is in violation of NBC News policy, which stipulates that employees must receive permission from the network's president before making campaign contributions. In a written statement, Scarborough said that he agreed with the suspension, apologizing to MSNBC and "to anyone who has been negatively affected by my actions." The suspension followed a similar disciplinary action taken against Keith Olbermann
Keith Olbermann
Keith Theodore Olbermann is an American political commentator and writer. He has been the chief news officer of the Current TV network and the host of Current TV's weeknight political commentary program, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, since June 20, 2011...

, host of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann
Countdown with Keith Olbermann
Countdown with Keith Olbermann is an hour-long weeknight news and political commentary program that airs on Current TV, where it began airing on June 20, 2011. The program was broadcast on MSNBC from March 31, 2003, to January 21, 2011. On MSNBC, the show presented five selected news stories of...

, who had also made unauthorized political contributions.

External links

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