OH, SUCH AMATEURISM – AT 3:21 P.M. ET:   Unacceptable in a show, even a light show, that claims to be journalistic.  From Page six: 

MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” tried to fool viewers into thinking Friday’s pre-taped show was live and host Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski even discussed their Thanksgiving meals – even though the holiday hadn’t occurred yet when they taped the show.

Brzezinski opened the show by saying, “Day after Thanksgiving… I’m stuffed,” while Scarborough nervously laughed as if he knew the engaged-to-be-married co-hosts were being dishonest. The opening to the show is still available on MSNBC’s website.

The move, which TV insiders consider disrespectful to viewers, specifically because the network tried to create a deceit that high-paid morning show stars would come to work in the early morning hours following a national holiday. The Washington Post reported that the show was taped on Wednesday.

An MSNBC spokesperson declined comment when reached by Fox News.

The second segment of Friday’s “Morning Joe” brought the fraudulence to another level, when Brzezinski joked that she forgot to remove the guts from the turkey before cooking it and that is was still a little frozen when she served it.

COMMENT:  You just don't do that.  You just don't.  When I worked on the Tonight Show, everyone knew the show was taped.  Johnny never tried to fake it.  We taped at 5:30 p.m. and the tape was aired at 11:30.  During the taping, there were pauses for commercials that would be inserted later, so the tempo of the show would be maintained.  The band's play-in music, introducing the show segments after commercial breaks, would change during the show, into music more appropriate for later in the night.  That helped produce the right mood in the audience.  But never was there any suggestion that what went out on the air was live.

I don't know why broadcasters engage in fraud.  It's completely disrespectful, and harmful to credibility.

November 25, 2017