Monday, July 16, 2007

Enjoying Joe Scarborough and Company's Morning Joe

I never really watched or listened to Don Imus. I'm not entirely sure why. I'm usually up in the mornings, either for class during the school year or work during the summer, and considering how much I love keeping up on news and politics, and how much I watched MSNBC anyway, you'd have thought I would have tuned in. And the loss of the well-known and well-listened-to Imus could have been bad news for MSNBC's mornings. But, as it turns out, the loss of Imus may have been the best thing for MSNBC. At least if they were trying to get me as a daily viewer (and, let's face it, what television network isn't courting me as a viewer?)

I write this because Imus' replacement thus far (and I would assume permanently, though, for some odd reason MSNBC seems to be dragging their feet in that regard) former Republican Congressman and MSNBC prime time host, Joe Scarborough, has been terrific. While Joe has not taken over Imus' gig on the radio (which, I for one, am very disappointed about because that 8:00-9:00 drive to work would be a lot better if it were) he hosts Imus' former show, from 6:00-9:00 am weekdays on MSNBC. Joined by acclaimed writer John Ridley, news anchor Mika Brzezinski (of the now famous, thanks to YouTube, clip from Morning Joe where she refuses to report on Paris Hilton) and some other fun people (like Willie Giest) the show is smart, topical, has great guests, great commentary, and is must-see viewing for those looking to catch up on the day's headlines and stories as they brew their own cup of 'Morning Joe.'

I've started to tape 'Morning Joe' on my computer each morning, catching up on the first (on while I'm still sleeping) and third (on while I'm driving to work) when I get back home. It also doesn't hurt that a regular contributor to the third hour of the program is CNBC's Erin Burnett, talking about the day ahead in the stock market. Burnett, of Portfolio.com's recent profile (quote me and get a lot of plugs -- I think this is the lesson to be learned here) and of my praising back in March, really seems to enjoy her interactions with Joe, and their segments have been very entertaining as well as informative (a description which describes the entire morning program).

So, you need to get up early, before work, check out Morning Joe on MSNBC. Vastly superior to the other morning cable news fare, and the best thing to happen to MSNBC since Keith Olbermann came back to the network. Both liberal and conservative, Republican and Democratic viewpoints and guests, and Erin Burnett. What morning show can top that?

Add To: Digg! Reddit Del.Icio.Us Stumble

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I respect your opinion and your right to free speech, etc. But I can tell you that Imus in the Morning was just great. Top-notch...brilliant. So many fans miss Imus and are waiting for his return.

Anonymous said...

something about Imus and his gang, well, you can't bottle and sell it, that's for sure.missing imus and gang.

Anonymous said...

I love desserts which is not a good thing I know. O'Charleys has the best caramel pie in the world. My mum makes a delicious lemon cake with apricot icing that is out of this world. Homemade chocolate pie is "to live for". My granny was great at making chess pies. Lemon ice box pies and strawberry pies are heavenly too. Not crazy bout pumpkin pies though.
So I guess "the pies have it." Have a great day everyone!

Anonymous said...

I goofed up and put "lemon cake" in my blog. My bad. I was trying to stick with pies and can write about cakes later.

Anonymous said...

I think there are more good pies than cakes but there are some really delicious cakes out there. Lemon cake with apricot icing, plum cake with caramel frosting, homemade chocolate cake, fresh carrot cake with cream cheese icing,and pretty much any ice cream cake is yummy. Cupcakes are super but only the homemade kind will do. Time for a Cake Break!

Anonymous said...

Is there ANY ice cream that is bad? I don't know...you can have vanilla plain and it's yumm-o and then you can "dress it up" with chocolate or butterscotch sauce, sprinkles or candy pieces. It's hard to go wrong with good ole vanilla. Chocolate almond and butter pecan---divine...Breyers makes a super peach and strawberry ice cream for all you fruit lovers. Purity makes a "Happy Birthday" ice cream with frosting and cake, sprinkles etc in it and it's hard to beat.I don't think there's a person on the planet who doesn't like ice cream of some kind. "We all scream for ice cream." Need to go, I feel a trip to Kroger coming ...

Anonymous said...

If you like Morning Joe, you would have loved Imus in the Morning. Too bad you missed watching what was the best show on tv.

Anonymous said...

Well to each his own. Joe always tends to surround his comments with his hard right wing stances. Which is fine if you agree with that philosophy.

I consider myself an independent and don't want morning indoctrination which always seems to me be what is up with Joe. He did the right wing political indoctrination at night and the few times I looked in the morning he was doing the same thing.

What I liked about Imus was he did serious politics, with a real no spin zone from either the right or left. He always left you better informed and with a few laughs.

Anonymous said...

Hi,
I have a comment or two respectfully submitted for your approval (or lack thereof) If you compare mediocre cafeteria food (Morning Joe) with delicious home-cooked food (Imus in the Morning), well, I think that speaks for itself. When Imus comes back to radio/ tv, you should tune in; come on, give it a whirl. You will be pleasantly surprised. Another thought: skim milk (Morning Joe) vs. a thick, creamy chocolate shake (Imus). I guess reading about all those pies, cakes and ice cream put me on Food Mode, but it's an apt comparison. Anyway, wishing you all the best and thanks for your article.

Scott Warheit said...

I appreciate all of the comments from the Imus supporters. And I understand where you are coming from. I won't comment on whether or not 'Morning Joe' is better or worse than Imus, I'll be the first to admit I don't know because I hardly ever watched Imus.

But, from the little I saw, Morning Joe gives you everything Imus had, the great guests, the latest on whats going on in the world, but a bit more upbeat and less gruff. Now, maybe gruff is good, and is needed in some instances. But, so far, I like what I've seen from Morning Joe.

And to respond to the post about Joe being a "right wing" guy, I actually like that, even though, if you read the posts on this blog, you'll quickly see I'm far from the "right wing." Joe being a Republican makes his criticisms of the Iraq War even more poignant, and I like the back-and-forth between Joe and Ridley on a lot of the partisan topics. And I get enough of the liberal viewpoint from Keith Olbermann, so another perspective is good.

Thanks for visiting and reading.

Anonymous said...

Scott , you seem like a nice guy. Good luck to you and I'm glad you like Morning Joe; I haven't seen it because I pledged to not watch anything that took Imus' place.I'm hoping Imus goes somewhere else and then you will still have Morning Joe. Thank you for being so nice and for understanding the "I-fans" Best of luck always. Take care!

Anonymous said...

Hi everyone,
Thanks Scott, for being an open-minded guy; a trait in woefully short supply. Imus used to call Scarborough Country "Train-wreck TV" (mostly affectionately, I think). But then, my friends have made fun of me for being such an Imus Stooge!! That's what makes horseraces!! Good luck to you, Scott!!
PS: Fake Rachel Ray, I think the thick, creamy chocolate shake may be a Freudian slip...

Fake Cardinal Egan, bejeez. said...

I used to watch Scarborough Country and Imus (extensively, obviously) and I have to say that Joe does a good show, but he's not Imus and he can't hold a candle to Imus's brilliance when trying to do a similar kind of program.

On his show, Joe was good. Not saying I agreed with him all the time, but I never agreed with Imus all the time either.

If you like Joe, that's good, but like everyone else is saying, you would have LOVED Imus. We're not saying Joe is bad, I don't think anyone is really outright saying that. Where our beef lies (and if I'm wrong, someone else out there correct me) is with the cowardly behavior MSNBC displayed when pulling the plug before a telethon (most importantly!), and also for bowing to Sharpton and his cronies. Advertisers were not bailing as fast as they think they were, nor would they have. They would have quietly came back after a while too.

This is all a bunch of hype over nothing, and it left a LOT of people with a void that Morning Joe just can't, won't, and never will fill.

No disrespect to you, Scott - honestly.

~Lenny

 

© New Blogger Templates | Webtalks