The Hosts Thread: Joe and Mika Know Their Value

[Eliot]

I have to confess, I am getting bored with MSNBC and just about everyone on it. I'm tired of Joe's shouting. Tired of Mika flailing and stumbling her way through the news. Tired of Joy Reid's poorly executed snark. Tired of Rachel's long, rambling stories. Tired of Tiffany Cross shrieking at me on Saturday mornings. Tired of Lawrence's drama. Tired of Christ Hayes's outrage of the day.

Honestly, the only people I really enjoy now are Nicolle Wallace and Brian Williams. I feel like the rest of them just need to change things up a bit.

[Kemper]

24 minutes ago, Eliot said:

I have to confess, I am getting bored with MSNBC and just about everyone on it. I'm tired of Joe's shouting. Tired of Mika flailing and stumbling her way through the news. Tired of Joy Reid's poorly executed snark. Tired of Rachel's long, rambling stories. Tired of Tiffany Cross shrieking at me on Saturday mornings. Tired of Lawrence's drama. Tired of Christ Hayes's outrage of the day.

Honestly, the only people I really enjoy now are Nicolle Wallace and Brian Williams. I feel like the rest of them just need to change things up a bit.

Nicole and Brian are about the only ones I tune for regularly nowadays, too.  No one can think on their feet like Brian W; he can switch from breaking news, to a wee bit of snark and humor, to Interviewer -  seamlessly and effortlessly.

It should not be all that difficult to find one or two new faces to host the 5 a.m. show; read the news headlines, a wee wee bit of politics; discuss the jokes from the talk shows the night before; throw in some weather events and sports.  Sports that might interest a broader audience than Red Sox fans.  But I guess it is easier and cheaper for the network to rehash the political news.

[oakville]

3 hours ago, Kemper said:

Nicole and Brian are about the only ones I tune for regularly nowadays, too.  No one can think on their feet like Brian W; he can switch from breaking news, to a wee bit of snark and humor, to Interviewer -  seamlessly and effortlessly.

It should not be all that difficult to find one or two new faces to host the 5 a.m. show; read the news headlines, a wee wee bit of politics; discuss the jokes from the talk shows the night before; throw in some weather events and sports.  Sports that might interest a broader audience than Red Sox fans.  But I guess it is easier and cheaper for the network to rehash the political news.

Brian Sullivan used to do the Way too Early show on MSNBC & was allowed to appear on Morning Joe to discuss business issues a few years ago. He does a great job in the same time slot on CNBC.

[Me from ME]

Quote

Tired of Joy Reid's poorly executed snark. Tired of Rachel's long, rambling stories

I couldn't agree more. In fact, I switch channels when either one is on the air. Rachel sometimes draws interesting parallels but has grown too self-congratulatory and the paper rustling when they go to break drives me crazy - reminds me of a certain recently departed  blowhard from the far right.

I do enjoy Ari Melber though and immediately change channels when his show is over because Joy has always annoyed me. On a shallow note it was due to her ridiculously bad wigs that she wore on the weekend show. When she first started her evening show I felt that she was having a gab fest with her sorority sisters. Hell no.

On the other hand, Nicole and Brian are both well-informed, can think on their feet and are enjoyable to watch.

[plumbago blues]

I really don't watch MSNBC at all except for the occasional MJ clip to keep up with you guys. I've seen snips of all the shows and have been turned off by the hosts. All seem combative and snarky to me. Never upbeat or happy. The world has it's problems but not eveything has to be a fight. JMO, of course, but the network just isn't for me. The surprising thing is that the plan for new shows on Peacock seem to feature all the same intolerable personalities I avoid on the channel. Nothing to see there. The whole "brand" is just stuck in a rut.

[Lowcountry snark]

Steph Ruhle is among the network's best.  (There is Heidi.  She hasn't been on MJ for years, it seems like.  I need the gossip here)
Also Katie Tur and Ari Melber in addition to Nicole.

[Me from ME]

Face palm that I forgot about Stephanie and especially Katie Tur who has an interesting heritage in the news business. Her parents were among the first if not THE first traffic helicopter reporters in LA.  I think her father went on to become Zoey Tur.

[oakville]

20 minutes ago, Me from ME said:

Face palm that I forgot about Stephanie and especially Katie Tur who has an interesting heritage in the news business. Her parents were among the first if not THE first traffic helicopter reporters in LA.  I think her father went on to become Zoey Tur.

Katie used to date Joe's arch enemy , Keith Olbermann !

Joe was very happy when Olberman left MSNBC.

[Kemper]

I forgot about Stephanie Ruhle, too!  

[Kemper]

So Joe really was Off Today! and it wasn’t mentioned. Here is a theory that doesn’t involve any family illnesses….

Other than the announced Morning Meeka Show on Peacock - has anything else been said about it? Daily, weekly, etc. Any other specifics? Then we had Joe doing the fawning praise of MSNBC for giving his Conservative Voice a chance. Then the absences, Meeka being more incompetent than ever.  Could it be that the network has decided on making changes in it’s lineup?  Maybe they are moving Meeka off the 6-9 am timeslot; and Joe is mad? So he is calling in sick? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Me from ME]

Quote

Maybe they are moving Meeka off the 6-9 am timeslot; and Joe is mad? So he is calling in sick? 

that might be, I am leaning toward Mika and Joe having interpersonal problems. When he came back last week they didn't seem very warm toward each other. He usually seems annoyed when she tries to shut down the sports conversation. Today, as she was reading the teleprompter she would say, "oh my God" as she read things about Covid. Perhaps he is getting tired of her lack of professionalism.

(When my husband moved out and I didn't know if he would be back I preferred to not advertise the fact and carried on as if everything was normal.) Today Mika did mention Joe's opinion of something and since it wasn't really germane to the discussion I thought she might be doing the same thing. As if they had just been chatting about something and she had to share it.

[plumbago blues]

40 minutes ago, Kemper said:

So Joe really was Off Today! and it wasn’t mentioned. Here is a theory that doesn’t involve any family illnesses….

It really is a mystery. First, I doubt Joe is "quarantining" since he has his makeshift home studio and only interacts with his wife. Mika, the Facebook hater, probably doesn't understand that FB owns Instagram and thus uses it fairly regularly...yesterday was a glam shot of Joe looking all New England smuggy. Perhaps that was a signal that's he's still around. IIRC, he was AWOL for an extended period prior to his last book's finalization. It was posted here recently that his latest book is arriving in the fall (I think) so maybe he's got a clause in his MJ contract that he gets special time off for pursuing his writing obligations...which is ludicrous given he works from home and show prep is just watching the prior day's news to rehash ad nauseum. I also think MSNBC  could be giving Mika an extended try-out for her Peacock show...as if they didn't already know she is awful as a broadcast "journalist"...and an incompetent newsreader who offers zero competent analysis...she can't even question her guests without bungling her words and thoughts. Sometimes I think Kasey was smart to jump ship and get the hell off MSNBC...the network has become a laughing stock and if they think Joe and Mika are doing a good job, they certainly couldn't see the value of her skills.

28 minutes ago, Me from ME said:

Perhaps he is getting tired of her lack of professionalism.

As are we.

Edited August 2, 2021 by plumbago blues

[Crashcourse]

Mika's beginning to look and act like Meryl Streep would if she imitated Mika.

[oakville]

Joe will be mad if he shows up tomorrow. The Blue Jays beat the Red Sox 3 times out of 4 this weekend.

[oakville]

Mika gets called a "dumb broad" by a Fox News host. Will Joe challenge him to a duel ?

 

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/greg-gutfeld-refers-to-msnbcs-mika-brzezinski-as-that-dumb-broad/

[Kemper]

Fox News/Joe and Meeka:  pots meet kettles.  Sadly, I am sure The Twins will "dine out" on this for a few days; anything that gets them mentioned - they will find a way to make themselves look above-it-all.  

[jacourt]

Have you ever seen either one of these ‘journalists’ filling in for anyone else?  I can only think of the day when Biden was declared the winner. Some many others put in so many hours and these two don’t even do a full weeks work as it is. 

[plumbago blues]

19 hours ago, jacourt said:

Have you ever seen either one of these ‘journalists’ filling in for anyone else?

Nope. The Gold Dust Twins are untouchable. They are truly not team players. But, in reality, I doubt anyone would want the stain of them taking over for a day off. Joe/Mika would scare away loyal viewers of legitimate shows. Also, there's probably little tolerance for cry-reading mush-mouths and pompous know it alls. I'd rather have the mail room guy host a show than either of them.

[plumbago blues]

Hmmm. Interesting news about Rachel M. contemplating a change. Mediaite article stated her salary is 7 million?!?! And Joe and Mika bring in 15 million? How can that be? Rachel is a one woman show who does all of the research and production and shows up to work her full shift every night and she is making only half of those 2 fools? I see she got J/M's agents to work on her behalf...they apparently are quite skilled at getting huge salaries for their clients...even if their clients have no talent. Her time slot would be a giant hole to fill and I don't see anyone at MSNBC with the ability to fill her shoes. Certainly not YOU, Joe. (Maybe Stephanie R.?) Ironically, Mika would be giddy if Rachel went to Peacock...Rachel would probably bring a ton of viewers to the platform...and just think, Mika got a show there first!!! (Again with her aligning herself with others' glory.) I think Rachel has too much star power, though, to strut over to Peacock.

[chick binewski]

59 minutes ago, plumbago blues said:

Rachel is a one woman show who does all of the research and production and shows up to work her full shift every night and she is making only half of those 2 fools? 

I just saw the link PT posted and immediately thought of MJ. Idk what kind of conditions Maddow requests an what types of demands MSNBC makes, but even though she takes an occasional day off she doesn't peace out for half a month (or wear fleece) and the show is all HER. MSNBC should really focus on how they treat the talent. Mika & Joe get glamour shots and endless vacations while the people who seem to work get burned out.

[Crashcourse]

While I appreciate Rachel's work ethic, I just never liked her show.  If I want a lecture, I'll take a class, not watch her show.  I wish her luck though.

[oakville]

Joe's sources are very upset about President Obama's birthday party.

[Kemper]

54 minutes ago, oakville said:

Joe's sources are very upset about President Obama's birthday party.

Joe...you have an entire history of "poor" judgment.  Three marriages; flaunting your early days relationship with your co-host every morning; being part of the Gingrich take-over of Congress - that was the beginning of politics as the nasty business that it is today; letting your ego eat the show; sitting in your kitchen boasting about your Red Six tickets, your pontificating endlessly about soccer; styling your hair in a sad imitation of The Kennedys when you were spending summers on The Cape; inflicting your co-host on a nation.  I could go on.  And the boast that "Democratic leaders" have spoken to you regarding Obama's poor judgement.  You wish.

[xaxat]

1 hour ago, oakville said:

Joe's sources are very upset about President Obama's birthday party.

What's the poor judgement? Decreasing the size of a birthday party because Delta is coming back to kick the country's ass?

That Dowd piece is so much whining horseshit. She goes on about the indignity of those disinvited from Obama's party without once mentioning that the freakin' Delta variant is changing everyone's plans!

Dowd and Joe would have gone to that party in a heartbeat if they were invited, Delta or no. (I wonder if she is one of the "disinvited"?) It is so transparent she is pissed that she is not part of the Obama social circle.

(I think it's hilarious how she pretends to be sooo concerned about the feelings of Nancy Pelosi and Rahm Emmanuel. To of the most cold blooded politicians in the Democratic Party.)

[plumbago blues]

On 8/12/2021 at 7:56 PM, Crashcourse said:

I just never liked her show.  If I want a lecture, I'll take a class, not watch her show. 

I agree 100%. She is unwatchable. Haven't even tried to watch her in ages. I was turned off early. I find it particularly grating when Mika tries to copy her style; it's obvious then that Rachel has a special skill for sounding both authoritative and condescending at the same time, whereas Mika just sounds...well, Meeka-like. However, as I've said before,  I don't care for anyone at MSNBC and only peek at MJ for the snark.

 

3 hours ago, Kemper said:

inflicting your co-host on a nation. 

That's a crime right there.

[BrownBear2012]

On 8/3/2021 at 2:45 PM, Crashcourse said:

Mika's beginning to look and act like Meryl Streep would if she imitated Mika.

😂

On 8/14/2021 at 3:23 PM, Kemper said:

Joe...you have an entire history of "poor" judgment.  Three marriages; flaunting your early days relationship with your co-host every morning; being part of the Gingrich take-over of Congress - that was the beginning of politics as the nasty business that it is today; letting your ego eat the show; sitting in your kitchen boasting about your Red Six tickets, your pontificating endlessly about soccer; styling your hair in a sad imitation of The Kennedys when you were spending summers on The Cape; inflicting your co-host on a nation.  I could go on.  And the boast that "Democratic leaders" have spoken to you regarding Obama's poor judgement.  You wish.

No one is talking to Joe...not even Mika these days.

On 7/24/2021 at 6:24 PM, chick binewski said:

Why is Joe sniffing Mika a good idea for a pic? 

Also, Greg Kelly? You're hanging at Mar a lago bc Joe & Mika vacated their regular seats so slow your roll. 

 

Fat Donny needs a bra.

[BrownBear2012]

On 8/12/2021 at 6:14 PM, chick binewski said:

I just saw the link PT posted and immediately thought of MJ. Idk what kind of conditions Maddow requests an what types of demands MSNBC makes, but even though she takes an occasional day off she doesn't peace out for half a month (or wear fleece) and the show is all HER. MSNBC should really focus on how they treat the talent. Mika & Joe get glamour shots and endless vacations while the people who seem to work get burned out.

Mika needs to school Rachel on knowing her worth...ha ha!

[BrownBear2012]

On 7/27/2021 at 5:37 PM, Eliot said:

I have to confess, I am getting bored with MSNBC and just about everyone on it. I'm tired of Joe's shouting. Tired of Mika flailing and stumbling her way through the news. Tired of Joy Reid's poorly executed snark. Tired of Rachel's long, rambling stories. Tired of Tiffany Cross shrieking at me on Saturday mornings. Tired of Lawrence's drama. Tired of Christ Hayes's outrage of the day.

Honestly, the only people I really enjoy now are Nicolle Wallace and Brian Williams. I feel like the rest of them just need to change things up a bit.

Joy Reid seems buzzed on something...the manic style mixed with yelling and name calling is not a good look for MSNBC. And don't get me started with Tiffany Cross and her shrill voice...oy vey. Though her small rant about Bill Maher was brilliant. I like Ari Melber but his white boy rap love and habit of interjecting rap lyrics into his take on the news is becoming a bore. I agree about Brian Williams...he's a newsman, not a personality. He has a good show with good panel discussions with people whose opinions are well articulated. He knows how to control the discourse and isn't rude. 

I consider Rachel to be more of a professor type. Her "A" block usually consists of a history lesson of sorts and is always informative and well presented. When she has guests on she has relevant questions for them and generally is well versed in what they are there to talk about. I tend to watch her show every night but there are times when I only watch the A block and then turn it to Stephen Colbert on DVR. I think it will be difficult to replace her if she bolts MSNBC...losing her and Kasie Hunt, who is a quality reporter and would have made a great anchor, would really rock the network. But who knows...I said the same thing when Keith Olberman quit and Ed Schultz left...so what do I know? 

[KayVeeTeeVee]

On 8/11/2021 at 5:42 PM, plumbago blues said:

Nope. The Gold Dust Twins are untouchable. They are truly not team players. But, in reality, I doubt anyone would want the stain of them taking over for a day off. Joe/Mika would scare away loyal viewers of legitimate shows. Also, there's probably little tolerance for cry-reading mush-mouths and pompous know it alls. I'd rather have the mail room guy host a show than either of them.

Is that an option?  Because why not?  Let's try him out!

[Kemper]

Maybe the network could give Rachel M the same kind of sweet contract The Twins have.  They could give her a sometime co-host so she could disappear for entire segments if she desired. She could have many “days off” .. and best of all - they could overpay her. She could also become hysterical when the story called for it. MSNBC …make this happen!

[Lowcountry snark]

Oooh, i can't wait.  Special exclusive interview of the new governor of NY by our Scoop Brzezinski.  She's going to ask... wait for it, wait for it... what is the new governor going to do for women?
My wife and I laughed and laughed and laaaaaaughed.
What a clown.

[oakville]

Joe issued an an apology !

[xaxat]

1 hour ago, oakville said:

Joe issued an an apology !

100% Joe didn't originally read the article, only the headline. 

 

[oakville]

25 minutes ago, xaxat said:

100% Joe didn't originally read the article, only the headline. 

 

Why didn't Joe's staff warn him about posting "hot takes" on Twitter ?

On past shows, Joe mentioned spending a summer in Saigon during the Nixon administration , so he should be aware of what happened in Vietnam.

Joe also told a story of how he spent the summer of 1988 helping the Mujahaddin take back control of Kabul from the Soviets. They were grateful for Joe insights. Joe believed in small government with local tribal controls of the villages & Afghan exceptionalism.

[xaxat]

I wonder what Joe thinks of this?

Inside the Massive MSNBC Deal Paying Maddow to Work Less

Quote

That deal will give Maddow, the highest-rated host on MSNBC, a jaw-dropping $30 million per year to keep her with the company through the 2024 election, according to four people familiar with the matter.

And

Quote

As part of the deal, Maddow’s long-running 9 p.m. nightly broadcast will end next year. Instead, after stepping back from The Rachel Maddow Show, she will host a weekly program set to air roughly 30 weeks out of the year.

And

Quote

Negotiated by powerful talent agency Endeavor and its CEO Ari Emanuel and president Mark Shapiro, the deal will reunite Maddow with her former boss Phil Griffin, who people familiar with the situation said is poised to run her new production company.

So I guess Joe and Phil won't be BFFs any more?

Something tells me he's not going to be tweeting a congratulation to her and Mika won't be praising her for knowing her value.

Edited August 26, 2021 by xaxat

[cased]

Good for Rachel (even though I’m not a fan), but it doesn’t seem like a good deal for MSNBC. 
 

[oakville]

Mika allowed Julia to announce her pregnancy on twitter rather than blurting it out to her on Morning Joe.

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/know-your-value/feature/how-getting-sick-live-tv-7-weeks-pregnant-sparked-know-ncna1051941

Edited August 27, 2021 by oakville

[Lowcountry snark]

On 8/25/2021 at 10:32 PM, xaxat said:

Something tells me he's not going to be tweeting a congratulation to her and Mika won't be praising her for knowing her value.

https://twitter.com/morningmika
Yep, not one mention of Rachel's huge contract.  

[plumbago blues]

53 minutes ago, Lowcountry snark said:

Yep, not one mention of Rachel's huge contract.

Mika only values Women over 50 and who make less than she does. It's that smug superiority complex she has.

Shocked she couldn't find anything to re-tweet about yesterday...I guess this tragedy isn't important enough to her.

[neona]

tbh I'm a bit disappointed by the Rachel Maddow situation

obviously she was ridiculously underpaid and massively deserves the raise

but idk, it feels a bit to me like she's giving up?

She always seemed like the kind of person who lived and breathed her job and didn't give a f about the glamour and fame aspects etc and actually genuinely felt that this was a vocation rather than a job and that she had a duty to dig and fight and spread light... and it very much feels to me like she wasn't *done* with that... again, she deserves the extra money for sure, but for some reason this deal feels very much like a premature retirement, and I don't like it. I mean I don't know the backstory but.... no no no.

She's a relatively young person, she had a genuinely influential platform, she was actually making a difference to actual humans, and though she may be tired, she's got miles miles to go before she sleeps

*cries* I don't like it at all.

[meowmommy]

On 8/29/2021 at 11:06 AM, neona said:

obviously she was ridiculously underpaid and massively deserves the raise

I have a very, very hard time seeing anyone who makes $7 million a year as ridiculously underpaid, no matter how well she does her job.  The same way I cringe when I hear about star athletes making ten, twenty, thirty million being underpaid. 

[neona]

yes i agree meowmommy, so true!!! It's all happening in this ridiculous and inflated parallel universe lol

at the same time there are these reports out there of Sean Hannity making like $40+ million... and if Rachel really was at $7 million, no way was Hannity worth like 6 times as much as Rachel, ugh. So i'm glad she's getting hers, financially...but also disappointed she's kinda checking out prematurely while everything is still a shitshow and we really need her.

 

 

[Lowcountry snark]

1 hour ago, meowmommy said:

I have a very, very hard time seeing anyone who makes $7 million a year as ridiculously underpaid, no matter how well she does her job.  The same way I cringe when I hear about star athletes making ten, twenty, thirty million being underpaid. 

With respect, I will never understand this frame of mind.  The Cowboys franchise is valued at $5.6 billion.  In 2019 the franchise earned $1 billion in revenue, and cleared $425 million as profit.  The NFL players' salary cap is $182 million per franchise for players' salaries that year.  That's 18.6% of Cowboys' revenue.  
Jerry Jones will tell you the Cowboys' product they sell is the mystique of the brand.  I'd tell you it's football.  The Cowboys' product that people paid a billion dollars to enjoy is the players.  They are the product.  If there remains $425 million in profits, then it's possible they're underpaid.  If every Cowboys player was paid 2x more, the franchise would still be profitable.
Does labor deserve to be paid commensurately to the revenues they generate?  They're not "greedy" per se, they are asking for an equitable slice of the pie they produced.  Both sides want more of the pie, and that's how it ought to be, though i'd argue the side with $425 million in profits can afford to be more generous.

Is there the same antipathy for the Cowboys' owners as towards the players?  NBC's top executives and investors?  These businesses generate phenomenal wealth.

[Kemper]

 

Rachel M is the one person on the network who consistently generates ratings; who can sometimes win her time slot over the Fox juggernaut. That is something! And she is a woman!  Besides, Joe has to be envious; he likes to think he is the face of the network. And if her salary eats into any raise The Twins hope to get…we all win. 

 

[meowmommy]

3 hours ago, Lowcountry snark said:

Is there the same antipathy for the Cowboys' owners as towards the players?  NBC's top executives and investors?  These businesses generate phenomenal wealth.

Yeah, actually, there is.  And not just because I loathe that franchise with every fiber of my being.  They make so damn much money because they get other people to pay for their product, whether those people want it or not.  They blackmail taxpayers into paying for their stadiums and demand massive tax breaks from the localities.  They jack up ticket prices beyond what any normal family could afford.  They charge outrageous fees for TV to carry their product, and that gets reflected in the cable and satellite fees we pay whether we watch them or not.  Both the NFL franchises and NBC also collect obscene amounts of advertising revenue, and that cost is ultimately paid by consumers.

And yeah, as someone who's in chronic pain from years of breaking my back taking care of sick people for paltry wages, I resent prima donnas like the Twins (getting back on topic) doing minimal work, doing it badly, and making more in a few months than I made in my entire career.

[chick binewski]

4 hours ago, Lowcountry snark said:

With respect, I will never understand this frame of mind.  The Cowboys franchise is valued at $5.6 billion.  In 2019 the franchise earned $1 billion in revenue, and cleared $425 million as profit.  The NFL players' salary cap is $182 million per franchise for players' salaries that year.  That's 18.6% of Cowboys' revenue.  
Jerry Jones will tell you the Cowboys' product they sell is the mystique of the brand.  I'd tell you it's football.  The Cowboys' product that people paid a billion dollars to enjoy is the players.  They are the product.  If there remains $425 million in profits, then it's possible they're underpaid.  If every Cowboys player was paid 2x more, the franchise would still be profitable.
Does labor deserve to be paid commensurately to the revenues they generate?  They're not "greedy" per se, they are asking for an equitable slice of the pie they produced.  Both sides want more of the pie, and that's how it ought to be, though i'd argue the side with $425 million in profits can afford to be more generous.

Is there the same antipathy for the Cowboys' owners as towards the players?  NBC's top executives and investors?  These businesses generate phenomenal wealth.

Most of the owners these days have invented nothing yet have a great deal of influence along with the top-heavy salaries of the corporate offices. Both the NFL and MLB only gave up their tax exempt status over the past 10-15 years. Part of their phenomenal wealth comes from charging everyday fans an arm and a leg for an afternoon out. And it's not like you can just catch a game on TV anymore bc the leagues & networks rule who can see what when. There are a few monstrously wealthy folks who rule all.

I will say when I was a kid my dad used to say "One day all you'll see when you watch a game is a bunch of millionaires running around a field" and he...was not wrong. This was way back when maybe Reggie and Catfish were probably the only ballplayers in NY where salary was mentioned in the papers and some athletes still had jobs during the off-season. But you could go to the stadium several times a season and not feel like you were robbed at gunpoint for the price of a ticket, a souvenir and a snack. 

 

7 minutes ago, meowmommy said:

Yeah, actually, there is.  And not just because I loathe that franchise with every fiber of my being.  They make so damn much money because they get other people to pay for their product, whether those people want it or not.  They blackmail taxpayers into paying for their stadiums and demand massive tax breaks from the localities.  They jack up ticket prices beyond what any normal family could afford.  They charge outrageous fees for TV to carry their product, and that gets reflected in the cable and satellite fees we pay whether we watch them or not.  Both the NFL franchises and NBC also collect obscene amounts of advertising revenue, and that cost is ultimately paid by consumers.

And yeah, as someone who's in chronic pain from years of breaking my back taking care of sick people for paltry wages, I resent prima donnas like the Twins (getting back on topic) doing minimal work, doing it badly, and making more in a few months than I made in my entire career.

I think my final straw was maybe the third Sunday game I had tickets to over two seasons - all three got moved to Sunday night bc that's the deal they made with ESPN and I believe the team could not refuse the first 5 (?) requests per season.

As a fellow chronic pain sufferer I can say it really feeds into my frustration as well. I live in a small apartment in an area where athletes own their fourth or fifth homes. I can deal with sick wealth, but the compensation for stuffing a ball through a hoop in comparison to how the rest of the world lives is too much.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I wonder if M & J have the kind of contract that if they're replaced, they still get paid?    Since their contract was done when there was different management, I'm wondering if we'll be stuck with them until the contract runs out, and they will go to another streaming channel, and we'll get a real show in the mornings. 

 

[oakville]

6 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I wonder if M & J have the kind of contract that if they're replaced, they still get paid?    Since their contract was done when there was different management, I'm wondering if we'll be stuck with them until the contract runs out, and they will go to another streaming channel, and we'll get a real show in the mornings. 

 

I think Mika & Joe's contract runs out at the end of the year. Their agent, Ari Emmanuel is a good agent . He was able to Rachel Maddow an excellent deal, so he might be able to negotiate a similar arrangement for Mika & Joe.

However, MSNBC was willing to let  M&J's protege Kasie Hunt go to CNN for a relatively minor difference in salary. This could be a sign of their reduced influence on the network.

 

 

[millennium]

I stopped watching all news a couple/few weeks ago when coverage and commentary assumed the aspect of a feeding frenzy.  But I stopped watching Morning Joe sometime before that.

The frequent absences were annoying.   I find the show boring as hell without Scarborough.  Whenever I heard Mika say, "Joe has the morning off," I would promptly give my TV the morning off too.   Yet when Scarborough's on, I often find myself getting aggravated, mostly by the smug and defiant way he subjects viewers to his and Willie's Bro Sportscast for 10-15 minutes at a stretch.  He approaches it like his audience overwhelmingly consists of man-boys whose lives were forever changed by Field of Dreams.  

At first I tried switching channels for those segments but more often than not I would forget to switch back in time and wound up missing entire segments on news topics that interested me.   It was infuriating.  Sure, it was my fault for forgetting to return to the show but it was Scarborough's "FU, I'm gonna talk about baseball and British sports whether you like it or not" attitude that forced me to change the channel in the first place.   Every morning.  It began to feel abusive.

So I quit.  I haven't watched the show in more than a month now.

Edited September 6, 2021 by millennium

[plumbago blues]

4 hours ago, millennium said:

So I quit.

Me too. I've come to the conclusion that there's no reason for me to tune in anymore. It's obvious that they have no interest in the show...why should I? It's dull and repetitive. I'm not giving them a ratings boost by hate-watching anymore. It's been a fun run snarking on them for years and I've had a lot of laughs but all of our complaining falls on deaf ears while their egos inflate seeing how much we talk about them. (All press is good press, as they used to say.) I had hopes for Joe to come to his senses but that patronizing tweet to a viewer last week was the final straw. I love the community here and will probably read the comments now and again but I'm signing off.