The Hosts Thread: Joe and Mika Know Their Value

[Rickster]

2 hours ago, oakville said:

I would be shocked if Mika & Joe would work full time from a NY studio.

I could see the network asking them to work from a studio in Palm Beach, so they could benefit from having better lighting & in studio guests.

They could definitely benefit from better lighting, but I don’t think the appeal of a Palm Beach studio would be enough incentive for guests to trek down there, unless it’s an author hitting Miami on a book tour. They really need to be in NY or Washington, or somewhere on the Acela express line to get any interesting guests.

[oakville]

3 hours ago, Rickster said:

They could definitely benefit from better lighting, but I don’t think the appeal of a Palm Beach studio would be enough incentive for guests to trek down there, unless it’s an author hitting Miami on a book tour. They really need to be in NY or Washington, or somewhere on the Acela express line to get any interesting guests.

I agree that the show would be better in NY or Washington.

However, Mika & Joe make approximately $15 million per year combined.

Every day that they are in a studio in NY would cost them at least 15% of their salary in additional state & NYC  income taxes.

They would also owe at least $ 1.2 million extra if they worked from DC.

Joe made a very strategic decision to move to Florida in 2019.

I believe that the main reason was to reduce their income taxes & benefit from a better climate.

This became very apparent when Joe refused to criticize President Trump when he moved from NY to Florida. Trump's tax strategy  was widely discussed at the time, yet Mika & Joe stayed very quiet about that issue despite spending hours every day criticizing everything Trump did. They knew they would be called hypocrites if they criticized Trump for moving to Florida to avoid NY state & local taxes.

I am very curious to see what they do over the next few months.

Mika seems to be very excited to be in a real studio. Joe must prefer the Florida breakfast nook where he can leave the show during long segments that he finds boring.

 

[oakville]

Wednesday's show ratings dropped to 121/150, with a new low of 0.05 among the key 18-49 demographic. Total viewers at 983,000.

 

http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-top-150-wednesday-cable-originals-network-finals-4-28-2021.html

[Rickster]

I agree Joe and Mika are in Florida for tax reasons, but they only have to be there   half the year plus a day to claim residence. They could be in a studio elsewhere, say, one week a month.

[oakville]

27 minutes ago, Rickster said:

I agree Joe and Mika are in Florida for tax reasons, but they only have to be there   half the year plus a day to claim residence. They could be in a studio elsewhere, say, one week a month.

Interesting. Wouldn't NY State tax Mika & Joe for every day they worked in a NY studio ?

[plumbago blues]

14 hours ago, oakville said:

However, Mika & Joe make approximately $15 million per year combined.

Every day that they are in a studio in NY would cost them at least 15% of their salary in additional state & NYC  income taxes.

They would also owe at least $ 1.2 million extra if they worked from DC.

Joe made a very strategic decision to move to Florida in 2019.

I believe that the main reason was to reduce their income taxes & benefit from a better climate.

 

12 hours ago, Rickster said:

I agree Joe and Mika are in Florida for tax reasons, but they only have to be there   half the year plus a day to claim residence. They could be in a studio elsewhere, say, one week a month.

I agree with all of the comments about the income tax savings theory but the nagging question for me is Why? Why are taxes so onerous for them but not for every other pundit and talking head who (I imagine) view the tax situation as a small(ish) price to pay for all the fame and glory of being front and center on TV? I'm sure their contracts give them plenty of perks for the day to day expenses for wardrobe, computers, etc. (no matter how they squander it re: Star Trek costumes) that provide things regular working people must pay out of pocket for. Are their alimonies/child support payments that steep? Why so miserly? Is Joe just a dumb country lawyer cheapskate? It seems like a cloud that hangs over them. Petty and greedy for those two...who have both benefitted from other people's tax dollars for either self or family income over the years. JMO.

[Kemper]

I cannot abide whiny rich people who have the best legal advice on how to not have to pay taxes the rest of the unwashed do.  These two (and a lot of Friends of Show ..Rattigan, Donny D) like to pretend they are open to improving the economy and the salaries and lives of The Regular People; until it impacts their millions a wee bit. 

I am waiting to see if there will be actual “victims” that fall when and if the huge amount of $$$$ the government is pumping into IRS to catch fraud will net some big fish.
 

[oakville]

1 hour ago, plumbago blues said:

 

I agree with all of the comments about the income tax savings theory but the nagging question for me is Why? Why are taxes so onerous for them but not for every other pundit and talking head who (I imagine) view the tax situation as a small(ish) price to pay for all the fame and glory of being front and center on TV? I'm sure their contracts give them plenty of perks for the day to day expenses for wardrobe, computers, etc. (no matter how they squander it re: Star Trek costumes) that provide things regular working people must pay out of pocket for. Are their alimonies/child support payments that steep? Why so miserly? Is Joe just a dumb country lawyer cheapskate? It seems like a cloud that hangs over them. Petty and greedy for those two...who have both benefitted from other people's tax dollars for either self or family income over the years. JMO.

I do believe that Mika & Joe are very frugral.

Joe complained numerous times on air about Connecticut's high taxes when he was living there. He pleaded with the Connecticut Governor when he was a guest on the show to lower taxes for high income earners. The Governor refused to listen to Joe, so Joe followed through by leaving the state. Joe also complained that he wasn't able to get full asking price for his home in Connecticut.

The state could have bought the home from Joe and turned it into a  museum. Joe is one of the most highly respected people to ever live in the state.

Joe's divorce settlement which which was made public was not very generous considering

Joe's salary at the time. Joe was making 100K per week in 2012 & paying child support of 7.5K per week plus school expenses etc.

Mika admitted to having overdrawn checking accounts even when she was making 150K per year in 2007.

Mika's divorce settlement was never publicized, but I doubt it very generous.

Joe has frequently admitted that he does not invest in the stock market , so he probably keeps his savings in money market funds.

Their home in Jupiter,Florida  is not that expensive based on comparable real estate listings in their neighborhood. I would have expected them to live in a $3m + home, but that's not the case.

Mika & Joe did own an apartment in NYC that they used for important meetings prior to both divorces being finalized but I believe they sold it.

Mika also owned a condo for her daughter when she was studying in Baltimore, but she sold it when her daughter graduated.

Donald Trump Jr mentioned that Joe never paid a dime whenever he stayed at Mar A Largo with his kids prior to Trump running for President.

I suspect that Mika & Joe want to accumulate as much money as they can until the show gets cancelled.

 

[Rickster]

2 hours ago, oakville said:

 

I suspect that Mika & Joe want to accumulate as much money as they can until the show gets cancelled.

 

This, I can believe, but they should realize the show gets cancelled sooner if they  never leave the bunker.

[oakville]

23 minutes ago, Rickster said:

This, I can believe, but they should realize the show gets cancelled sooner if they  never leave the bunker.

Mika & Joe could apply for Designated Survivor status with MSNBC.

In the event of a military attack on NYC & Washington studios, Mika & Joe could offer breaking news from the Jupiter Florida bunker.

The network would need the gravitas of Joe plus no one does cry reading better than Mika.

 

[neona]

Maybe I'm naive, but I don't think it's about the money/tax savings per se... to me they just seem kinda tired, like they wanna retire, which is totally fair, it's been a long couple of years...but at the same time they don't wanna hand over the baton....

They have kinda become the news equivalent of what they always criticized Barack and Michelle Obama for being... Joe was always saying Barack and Michelle didn't like DC, didn't invite people over for bipartisan BBQs, didn't socialize, etc, etc... and the same is kinda true of Florida! Joe and Mika, you don't get the sense that they live and breathe politics anymore, there's this remote detachment. I love NYC  and you used to get that sense from this show as well, but now they are not New Yorkers, they are not DC politicos, they are these remote disinterested observers reporting from far away...

Edited May 1, 2021 by neona

[oakville]

32 minutes ago, neona said:

Maybe I'm naive, but I don't think it's about the money/tax savings per se... to me they just seem kinda tired, like they wanna retire, which is totally fair, it's been a long couple of years...but at the same time they don't wanna hand over the baton....

They have kinda become the news equivalent of what they always criticized Barack and Michelle Obama for being... Joe was always saying Barack and Michelle didn't like DC, didn't invite people over for bipartisan BBQs, didn't socialize, etc, etc... and the same is kinda true of Florida! Joe and Mika, you don't get the sense that they live and breathe politics anymore, there's this remote detachment. I love NYC with every fiber of my being, and you used to get that sense from this show as well, but now they are not New Yorkers, they are not DC politicos, they are these remote disinterested observers reporting from far away...

The network could offer Joe an Andy Rooney segment on the evening news. Joe would be allowed to complain about anything that is bothering him. NBC Evening News has a segment about Inspiring America. Joe could take over with "What's bothering me America? ". It would be very popular with angry Baby Boomers. Joe could also sing during the segment.

Mika could also be given a KYV segment on the Today show.

The network could agree not to reduce their pay until their contract runs out.

 Mika & Joe used their strong ratings during their fights with the Trump administration to be able to convince the network that they could host the show from Florida.

They got lucky that the pandemic forced other networks to broadcast from home , so it didn't look  out of place.

The ratings have dropped to pre - Trump levels. Joe doesn't seem to care what the Biden administration is doing. Mika struggles to read a TelePrompter.

Mika & Joe should do the honorable thing &  resign from the network when their contract ends later this year.

 

[Kemper]

It is bad enough that they stay out-of-touch when they host the show from their home.  What is the most egregious is that they don't sit beside one another so at least we can see two people in one picture; two people are hosting this show together, sitting side-by-side.  So why in heaven are they appearing via split screen?  It is bizarre. 

I am cynical instead of being naive... I have no pity for these two.  Many people are exhausted and burned out on their jobs. But The Twins are opportunists of the first order; they will never retire and have a regular life.  No validation in that.  No book deals, no vanity projects...if not for the publicity of the show, there would be none of that.  They may quit early morning tv; but they will never leave the public arena.  They both soak up the spotlight.

[oakville]

5 hours ago, neona said:

 I love NYC with every fiber of my being, and you used to get that sense from this show as well, but now they are not New Yorkers, they are not DC politicos, they are these remote disinterested observers reporting from far away...

Joe's band should perform at the NYC reopening ceremony on July 1st.

At the very least, Joe Biden should let Joe's band should be the opening act on July 4th at the White House.

[neona]

The weird thing about that Mediaite article is that it doesn't mention Rachel, at all. She's literally the queen of MSNBC and knocks it out of the park every night and has been regularly beating Cuomo and Fucker Carlson.

tbh post-pandemic I feel most bad for the daytime MSNBC people. I work in a kinda noisy crazy place with a lot of people, and we've thankfully reopened now, but because I'm used to noise, during lockdown I kept my girls Steph and Hallie and Andrea and Katy on in the background, just for company, and they are all so smart and professional and awesome, but their ratings are gonna go down simply because people aren't stuck at home anymore 😞. And that's depressing, because they are all amazing. these days I don't even get back home in time to watch Nicolle, and I miss her!!

But I don't really think this is the case at 6 am, I mean, for the people waking up at 6 am it's not like we suddenly have other plans, you either have breakfast with the tee-vee on or the tee-vee off, so IMO there's no reason for Joe and Mika to stop trying to put on a good show...

6 hours ago, Kemper said:

It is bad enough that they stay out-of-touch when they host the show from their home.  What is the most egregious is that they don't sit beside one another so at least we can see two people in one picture; two people are hosting this show together, sitting side-by-side.  So why in heaven are they appearing via split screen?  It is bizarre. 

this!! It's funny that we all have different opinions about the show etc but the split screens are just universally hated by everyone lmao. Why, just why!! And it would be so easy to fix, they could just buy a bigger screen or something. The DC shows this week were really great, if they wanna stay in Florida forever, they could basically replicate that setup down there gaaaah

[oakville]

Thursday recap continued.

Joe left the show at 6 40 am. He was bored by Tim Scott's speech & the Republicans response to the Biden speech.

Joe reappeared after 7 am to talk baseball with Kasie & Lemire. Joe told Kasie that her son is doomed to sadness if he becomes an Orioles fan.

Joe said that Degrom was a good pitcher.

Joe said that Biden is a transformational President. He is trying to reduce income inequality.

Joe said Reaganomics ruled from 1981-2020.

Joe said Biden is not tearing the country apart. Joe called him moderately temperate.

Joe blamed Clinton for starting culture wars because he was a Vietnam draft dodger.

Joe said that there were people that had Bush as a Nazi postcards in the Upper West Side.

Joe said Obama' era was dominated by birtherism.

Joe said politics is a bloodsport since 1992.

 

 

 

 

[oakville]

Willie brought up the issue of delaying the reports on the number of people that died from Covid in nursing homes. Cuomo & his aide Melissa were writing a book about his successful policies in NY during the Covid crisis, so it would be distracting to have reports of many deaths in a nursing home be released during the book launch.

Joe said his political future is clouded by the potential criminal charges on the nursing home scandal & the Attorney General's report on the sexual harassment charges against him.

Mika said the optics were difficult for him to be writing a book about leadership during the sex scandals.

Mayor Di Blasio said Cuomo should resign.

DeBlasio will reopen NYC on July 1st. Everything will be open.

[oakville]

Mika said she would be attending the McLean Virginia festival celebrating her mom's wood carvings. She urged people to buy a ticket. Mika's brothers would also attend the event.

[plumbago blues]

19 hours ago, neona said:

to me they just seem kinda tired, like they wanna retire, which is totally fair, it's been a long couple of years...but at the same time they don't wanna hand over the baton....

This is a sign of incompetent management, IMO. We viewers shouldn't sense this. There's a reason those viewership polls are conducted. As the hosts' interest wanes, the viewer loyalty wanes, ad revenue wanes. Letting them carry on like this, with this attitude so obvious, turns away viewers and I imagine it's hard to get them back, when they, say, turn to CNN at 6am and just leave that channel on all day. Morning shows should be bright and lively to engage the audience and make them all day loyalists. Management watching this ratings slide really need to do something to inject some life into this time slot before everyone's abandoned them and they'll end up with quite a hurdle to get them back with a new concept.

It's kind of surprising that Joe and Mika are "penny pinching" at this point in their careers. Apparently don't have much confidence in their other projects generating future income...as authors, a rock star, a women's right advocate...just bullshit sideshows, I guess.

[oakville]

14 minutes ago, plumbago blues said:

This is a sign of incompetent management, IMO. We viewers shouldn't sense this. There's a reason those viewership polls are conducted. As the hosts' interest wanes, the viewer loyalty wanes, ad revenue wanes. Letting them carry on like this, with this attitude so obvious, turns away viewers and I imagine it's hard to get them back, when they, say, turn to CNN at 6am and just leave that channel on all day. Morning shows should be bright and lively to engage the audience and make them all day loyalists. Management watching this ratings slide really need to do something to inject some life into this time slot before everyone's abandoned them and they'll end up with quite a hurdle to get them back with a new concept.

It's kind of surprising that Joe and Mika are "penny pinching" at this point in their careers. Apparently don't have much confidence in their other projects generating future income...as authors, a rock star, a women's right advocate...just bullshit sideshows, I guess.

I think the network will wait a few more months to see at what level ratings will stabilize.

Mika is very excited about Peacock, so perhaps Mika & Joe would agree to take a paycut & move to Peacock at night in 2022. This would allow Mika & Joe to sleep in .

Mika's shaminars won't be able to restart until in person events are allowed again.

 

Edited May 1, 2021 by oakville

[meowmommy]

55 minutes ago, oakville said:

Mika is very excited about Peacock, so perhaps Mika & Joe would agree to take a paycut & move to Peacock at night in 2022. This would allow Mika & Joe to sleep in .

I get Peacock for free because I'm a Cox cable subscriber.  Every so often I wander over to my Peacock app and say, yup, still nothing there I'm interested in watching, even for free. 

The Twins being the anchors on Peacock would just be the icing on that cake.

[xaxat]

1 hour ago, plumbago blues said:

 There's a reason those viewership polls are conducted. As the hosts' interest wanes, the viewer loyalty wanes, ad revenue wanes. Letting them carry on like this, with this attitude so obvious, turns away viewers

*Raises hand!*

I stopped watching during the summer because these two couldn't be bothered to put in the work despite the fact that the country was facing a historically important election, a level of civil unrest unseen since the sixties and a once in a century pandemic.  All at the same time.

 

[oakville]

1 hour ago, meowmommy said:

I get Peacock for free because I'm a Cox cable subscriber.  Every so often I wander over to my Peacock app and say, yup, still nothing there I'm interested in watching, even for free. 

The Twins being the anchors on Peacock would just be the icing on that cake.

The Peacock Platform would allow Mika to promote her 50 over 50 awards.

Joe could transform into a sportscaster.

[Kemper]

5 hours ago, plumbago blues said:This is a sign of incompetent management, IMO. We viewers shouldn't sense this. There's a reason those viewership polls are conducted. As the hosts' interest wanes, the viewer loyalty wanes, ad revenue wanes. Letting them carry on like this, with this attitude so obvious, turns away viewers and I imagine it's hard to get them back, when they, say, turn to CNN at 6am and just leave that channel on all day. Morning shows should be bright and lively to engage the audience and make them all day loyalists. Management watching this ratings slide really need to do something to inject some life into this time slot before everyone's abandoned them and they'll end up with quite a hurdle to get them back with a new concept.

 

This is so right! A ratings slide for the “premier” morning show will impact viewership for the rest of the morning. But since Joe boasts about his coziness with the head honchos, the 6-9 timeslot will probably be The Twins’ for as long as they want it.  And sadly, other morning shows could get canceled.

One thing I can’t blame Meeka for is the scratch-each-other’s back with the stream of women coming on the show for the KYV segments.  These women are getting free publicity on a national news show for their book; and Meeka is an easy interview for them. She is enthusiastic and seems to love doing it.

[plumbago blues]

2 hours ago, oakville said:

Joe could transform into a sportscaster.

And maybe do a Peacock Unplugged show featuring his band! (Am I dating myself from MTV back in the 80's?)

[plumbago blues]

1 hour ago, Kemper said:

These women are getting free publicity on a national news show for their book; and Meeka is an easy interview for them. She is enthusiastic and seems to love doing it.

Glad she found something easy and breezy. Her comfort level with that stuff (I'm taking your word as I don't stick around long enough or often enough for her segments) kind of shows how over her head she is with politics and punditry; she adds nothing to the daily discourse otherwise. I wish she'd be replaced by someone more able to discuss current events. The women's empowerment thing doesn't fit with the premise of the show and it's not of great interest to me generally and especially not at that time slot.

[Kemper]

plumbago, I agree on your assessment on Meeka; it is just that I always am such a "mean girl" about her (and feeling guilty for the Mean Girl comments; not the way I feel about her) that I was trying to say something not harsh.  And I do think she lives for these segments.  That is why I don't comment on Show much anymore in the "daily discussion" thread...I don't watch much of it anymore.  I used to love tuning in first thing in the mornings just for the snark alone. Especially during the pandemic.  Now I think I am just exhausted by the "political analyst-driven-shows" and need a breakt.  But I still love Oakville's recaps! And what everyone who does watch it is saying.  I do tune in at the top of the hours if I am up and about.

[cased]

On 4/30/2021 at 10:16 AM, oakville said:

Mika & Joe did own an apartment in NYC that they used for important meetings prior to both divorces being finalized but I believe they sold it.

“Important meetings” lol

[Kemper]

cased....I was thinking the same thing!

[Kemper]

I think that Nicole Wallace should ask for a co-host or someone to fill in so she can disappear for chunks of time during her show.  Granted, Joe's show is 3 hours compared to Nicole's two...but still.  Maybe Bob Costa needs a wee break from writing a book and can take over, remotely, for maybe 10 minutes an hour so Nicole can have a perk or two.  This would be 20 minutes out of his day. Let's see if we can start a petition and make this happen!  

[Kemper]

Very catty today.  But I see Meeka at this point as being a bit of a grifter.  She is using this show (with apparently the full support of the network) to make money and showcase KYV.  She doesn’t really have to toil at show prep...she has LeMire, Willie, et al to do the heavy lifting around Joe’s rants. I blame the network for this KYV farce; and shockingly am amazed at Meeka thinking of this and taking advantage. Kudos.

[xaxat]

Uh oh, Joe's going to be jealous! Kornacki stole his dream job!

NBC’s khaki-wearing data king Steve Kornacki will spread his wings in a new deal

Quote

In his new deal, Kornacki will be a regular analyst on NBC’s “Football Night in America” and the halftime report on “Sunday Night Football.” He will also be a part of the network’s Super Bowl telecast in 2022.

Kornacki will have a role in NBC’s coverage of the Olympic Games and Triple Crown horse racing — a sport he’s loved since childhood when he went to watch harness races with his uncle at Scarborough Downs in Maine. He will also break down statistics on NBCU’s regional sports channels, which carry National Hockey League, Major League Baseball and National Basketball Assn. games in several major markets.

On the entertainment side, Kornacki will develop, produce and host a game show for the network or NBCU’s streaming service, Peacock.

 

[oakville]

On 5/11/2021 at 12:19 PM, Kemper said:

Very catty today.  But I see Meeka at this point as being a bit of a grifter.  She is using this show (with apparently the full support of the network) to make money and showcase KYV.  She doesn’t really have to toil at show prep...she has LeMire, Willie, et al to do the heavy lifting around Joe’s rants. I blame the network for this KYV farce; and shockingly am amazed at Meeka thinking of this and taking advantage. Kudos.

Didn't KYV start after Matt Lauer was fired ? The network was trying to damage control.

[Kemper]

Meeka's baggy tops.  Could she have had implants that make a bigger top necessary?  Or  lifting weights; making her broader in the shoulders and back? But today's top was a nice color.

[oakville]

Former President Trump has issued a statement about Mika &Joe.

https://twitter.com/RSBNetwork/status/1397194882616279054/photo/1

[xaxat]

Having one of the most influential men in the country carry out an ongoing public and nasty vendetta has got to be really taxing emotionally. 

I know Trump has gone after a lot of reporters, but have any of his other attacks been as personal as those against Joe and Mika?

[oakville]

44 minutes ago, xaxat said:

Having one of the most influential men in the country carry out an ongoing public and nasty vendetta has got to be really taxing emotionally. 

I know Trump has gone after a lot of reporters, but have any of his other attacks been as personal as those against Joe and Mika?

No. He did call NBC's Peter Alexander the dumbest reporter in the country. Peter disputed the claim.

I believe that Trump feels betrayed that Mika & Joe attacked him on a personal basis during parts of the campaign. They fought & made up several times during the 2016 campaign.

Mika & Joe did admit to being his personal advisors during some of the tough patches of the 2016 campaign, but Trump didn't always take their advice.

 

[chick binewski]

7 minutes ago, xaxat said:

I know Trump has gone after a lot of reporters, but have any of his other attacks been as personal as those against Joe and Mika?

As nonsensical as they are, I don't think other attacks have been as relentlessly personal bc quite frankly I don't know anyone who let Trump have so much access TO the personal. 

The old New York piece portrays the pre- and immediately-post election periods as a very friendly relationship between users. From their take the imaginary gauntlet was thrown down at a private WH dinner when Joe's response to being asked how an early week in his presidency was going advised Trump 'not great'. After that Trump made single entendres on social media about Joe & Mika's messy backstory. I don't often find Mika genuine, but I kind of  believe this really shook her .

I was hazy on some of the details from the NYMag article; Toobin's New Yorker piece has another bit of nastiness that I don't remember hearing about at all.

[plumbago blues]

I kind of think it's ego stroking on all sides. They're all in show biz...where all publicity is good publicity. Gotta keep their names out there.

[xaxat]

1 hour ago, plumbago blues said:

They're all in show biz...where all publicity is good publicity.

I don't think the president of the United States implying, multiple times, that you are a murder falls in that category.

[plumbago blues]

1 hour ago, xaxat said:

I don't think the president of the United States implying, multiple times, that you are a murder falls in that category

Very good point. I just lumped all the outrageous things he says into a big pile of bs...I certainly don't condone it and don't take any of it seriously. All just attention getting but see how it is hurtful. I always kind of thought Joe would be able to fight that more forcibly and shut him down. Trump was disgraceful.

[xaxat]

24 minutes ago, plumbago blues said:

All just attention getting but see how it is hurtful. I always kind of thought Joe would be able to fight that more forcibly and shut him down. Trump was disgraceful.

I think you were right in that both parties thought a feud was beneficial originally. There were mornings were Joe took great pleasure in announcing that "someone" had clearly been watching the show. The problem Joe and Mika ran into is that Trump will hit back twice as hard as anything they could say, even making shit up.

It's a battle they can't win. And unfortunately for Joe and Mika, it's a battle Trump apparently won't move on from.

 

Edited May 26, 2021 by xaxat

[Kemper]

Busy week here but I dropped in to the show this morning.  Looks like Rattigan thinks today was Casual Thursday.   He looked good, though.  I did not see The Twins so maybe they are having an extra long holiday weekend?  

[jacourt]

Does anyone know the last time they were both worked a whole week?

[freddi]

4 hours ago, Kemper said:

Busy week here but I dropped in to the show this morning.  Looks like Rattigan thinks today was Casual Thursday.   He looked good, though.  I did not see The Twins so maybe they are having an extra long holiday weekend?  

Yes, I figured they were taking five days off.  Tough gig.  

[oakville]

Mika's interview with VP Harris was criticized by a right wing website.

https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/business/joseph-vazquez/2021/06/01/liberal-media-shills-promote-awful-kamalanomics

[Kemper]

The network simply must step in and demand these two chuckle-heads get back to the studio full-time.  Joe, anyway. We all need this; "this" being a return to hopefully "normal" ... whatever that is.  What other show, right now, broadcasts entirely from their home studio?  Actually, maybe a lot do...nightly talk shows? But this was only going to be for the pandemic, I think. I have no idea. But it is a bad precedent to set. And a bad idea regarding PR for the network.  Officials, from the President on down, are urging things to get back to the days before the pandemic.  

If the network insists, The Twins would both probably walk; and why shouldn't they?  They have it made with the current set-up.  But no one in the media is irreplaceable.  Both twins (especially Meeka)  would probably find that they have access to a big platform on the this network; and yes, another network may hire them. But they would probably not get the exposure and projects that they have now.  I I were the network, I would call the bluff; they could be replaced pretty seamlessly.  Shaky at first, but with the right cast of characters....  

 

[jacourt]

Again, thanks Joe, I got to work at VERY early today.  The first thing in the morning tantrum and acreaming had me turn off TV and leave.  What a way to start the day.  Does he think its funny?  Being the loudest doest make you the most right.  And Meeka just sits there smiling adoringly.  They are unwatchable.

[neona]

catching up, did you guys see this LMAO i'm dying 😂

https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2021/05/24/msnbc-rashida-jones/

tbh the main takeaway from these pieces is that they are CONDESCENDING AF. Hey, MSNBC, Rashida Jones, etc, etc, you know what would be popular with ACTUAL YOUNG PEOPLE?

....here it is....

....drum roll...

...ACTUAL QUALITY...

ACTUAL SMART PEOPLE, JUST DOING THEIR THING AND BEING HONEST. THAT'S IT, THAT'S THE FORMULA. 

no on gives a shit about "platforms" or "streaming" or social media or whatever...just. make. GOOD. SMART. shows..! 

isn't Rachel pretty much their most popular host on MSNBC, you would think they'd learn something from that???? It's not like there was ever a production meeting where some dumb-ass sexist executives got together and were like "hey!!! let's get this Rhodes Scholar lady to do long-ass academic expository introductions on marginal-but-crucial news stories, the kids will love it!!"

That never happened, aaaaand yet....the kids loved it, because Rachel is a freakin badass, and she is so damn good at doing exactly the thing she's doing....

That's the formula, you network dumbasses, get smart, weird, interesting, crazy people, put them on tee-vee to do smart weird interesting things, in formats that FITS THEM, fits their talents and personalities. Enough with the dumbass cutesy gimmicks. People like Aaron Sorkin didn't give a shit, when he wrote the West Wing he did a good show specifically made for smart people, and if you didn't get it, then catching up was on you...and it. was. wildly. popular., because people actually responded to that. 

anyhoo //rant over. still jetlagged #goodluckRashida

[plumbago blues]

Wonder how former friend of show Mark Halperin feels seeing that CNN reinstated Jeffrey Toobin? All it took was Toobin going to "therapy" and working at a foodbank! Eazy Peezy. Didn't even need a Mika-inspired, yet failed, intervention. Unfair penis policies.