David Gregory has tantrum; angry with Scarborough and Stephanopoulos; MTP's ratings on a free fall

[SuperTrouper]

MSNBC host Joe Scarborough was all set to appear this Sunday on ABC's "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos until yesterday, when Scarborough canceled because David Gregory, the host of NBC's "Meet the Press," allegedly threw a fit.

"What is David Gregory so afraid of?" asked one network insider.

Stephanopoulos was first pitched to have Scarborough as a guest by Scarborough's "Morning Joe" co-host on MSNBC, Mika Brzezinski.

"About three weeks ago, George got a handwritten note in the mail and a copy of Scarborough's book, 'The Last Best Hope,' " said our source. "The note said, 'Would you consider putting Joe on your show?' "

Last week, the booking was finalized. "She said she checked with all the high-ups at NBC," said our source.

But on Wednesday night, Stephanopoulos was alerted there might be a problem. Scarborough is said to have informed him, "I'm terribly sorry, but David Gregory had a fit." Yesterday morning, Scarborough canceled his appearance, leaving Stephanopoulos scrambling to find a replacement guest.

Stephanopoulos declined to comment, but an ABC source said, " 'Meet the Press' has lost more than half a million viewers on David Gregory's watch. That explains his tantrum, but it does not excuse it."

Since Gregory took over on "Meet the Press" last December after Tim Russert's death, viewership of the still top-rated Sunday morning show has plummeted. "Meet" topped "This Week" by 2.2 million a year ago, compared to 240,000 this past Sunday.

An NBC rep told Page Six: "NBC News never approved an appearance by Joe on George's show. But it's flattering to know that when ABC needed a smart political analyst, they turned to us. As far as any issue between David and Joe, he's hosting a book party for Joe night in DC."

(yeah, right, looks like trouble in paradise for David "Rove's Dancing Partner" Gregory. I say, shit-can David Gregory and give the MTP job to a bright, young reporter like David Shuster, WSJ's Jon Hilsenrath, or Peter Alexander.)

http://www.nypost.com/seven/06262009/gossip/pagesix/bad_week_for_morning_joe_176224.htm

[hobbit709]

1. Too bad. Let him have his little tantrum

I quit watching MTP when they became an asskissing performance for the GOP years ago.

[Drunken Irishman]

2. I thought David Gregory was in his 50s. He's only 38.

Yeesh, guy looks way old.

[TuxedoKat]

26. I was shocked when I looked that up too.

He sort of reminds me of that old cartoon character "Dondi" but with grayish blond hair.

[aaaaaa5a]

27. I was shocked to learn his age. He is the oldest looking 38 year old I know!

[spiritual_gunfighter]

30. Wow

He is only a year older than I am, he looks horrible for his age.

[Cali_Democrat]

38. I couldn't believe it either

WOW!!!!

[Arugula Latte]

60. But if you imagine him with non-gray hair, he doesn't look that old.

My dad went gray in his 20s and always looked older than his years due to that.

[ErinBerin84]

3. I know it's the Post

but I can sort of see this being true. But wtf, is Mika Joe's press agent?

[Cha]

42. When I saw "the Post"..I thought..

"hmmm?".

[davidpdx]

4. We should be starting a pool on how soon Gregory is unemployed

Sounds like he is well on his way.

[bulloney]

58. If that happens, maybe Gregory and Rove can continue careers in that celebrity dancing show.

[flpoljunkie]

5. Shuster knows how to mix it up and ask the tough question and follow-up.

Gregory is an establishment toadie-just like Russert.

[poiuytsister]

43. Shuster is also one of the funniest guys on NBC --

but he is so subtle I think it takes the rest of whatever team he is on to get the jokes. He is quick and much wittier than the rest. BUT...what is up with his co-host in the afternoons? I am usually at work and don't get to see him often, but all of a sudden he has a very pretty gal, whose name I don't know, sorry! cohosting. Did MSNBC think he needed the help?

[csziggy]

50. Tamron Hall is Schuster co-host - she is very good and they make a good team

I think it works because Schuster often subs for Keith Olbermann or Chris Matthews. Tamron Hall is a strong enough personality to anchor a show by herself. I think she subbed for Rachel Maddow a few times.

Since it looks as though the AM shows on MSNBC are all going to be conservatives with Ratigan or whatever the jerk's name is following Scarborough at 9 AM, I like that they are putting fairer if not liberal hosts for their early afternoon show.

[C_U_L8R]

6. Oh how cute

Mika is flakking for her Joe

[rocktivity]

57. I would think that Joe would have his staff try to set up the booking.

Having his co-host do it feels a little pushy. Doesn't Joe have an assistant who handles that sort of thing? Oh....hmmm...well, maybe he doesn't....

Never mind.

:blush:
rocktivity

[goclark]

66. Rumor and the Enquirer : Mika is Joe's sweetheart

Don't know if his wife knows yet.

[nomaco-10]

7. Why would anybody fight over joe scab...

I'd be fighting to keep him off my show.


An NBC rep told Page Six: "NBC News never approved an appearance by Joe on George's show. But it's flattering to know that when ABC needed a smart political analyst, they turned to us. As far as any issue between David and Joe, he's hosting a book party for Joe night in DC."

LOL at a NBC "rep" talking to the NY Post's Page Six. Whadda ya bet, it's mika mouse?

[SuperTrouper]

24. LMAO!! I had the same thought! Mika Mouse doing Joe Scar's bidding

Zbigniew is not gonna be happy with his daughter :rofl:

[Jennicut]

51. Its only because she most likely has the hots for him. They flirt endlessly

with each other. :puke:

[Clio the Leo]

8. Be careful what you wish for, the show would go to Chuck Todd. NT

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

15. Upchuck Todd would be a disaster. I say give KO the gig.

[Clio the Leo]

16. And while WE would all enjoy that.....

.... they're not going to put the king of the "liberal media elite" on one of their flagship shows.

[Cha]

47. Gotchuck!

they all play Gotcha..too bad they're not intelligent enough to ask bright questions.

[AllentownJake]

9. Middle class, press corp

Gregory is a blue blood elite. Has been all his life. Fuck him.

[rosesaylavee]

10. Or give it to Rachel Maddow.

Though anyone who can conduct an interview and moderate discussion would be nice.

[dalaigh lllama]

12. Precisely what I was thinking. Rachel's the best of the bunch. n/t

[JNelson6563]

14. Nah, she's a bit too goofy in her quest to have all like her.

She wants to be liked too badly to be effective on MTP.

Julie

[rosesaylavee]

17. I think her current show has a schtick to it that wouldn't

be employed at MTP. I like her interviews and I think her affability is an important element of an interviewer. Her indepth understanding of what is going on and the varying nuances rivals Russerts and would make her a smarter choice than Gregory.

[fadedrose]

67. Rachel gives her guests a good introduction and actually lets them talk uninterrupted....

Even some controversial Republicans have come on her show and received courtesy and a chance to explain their differences...

[tularetom]

11. Here's what Gregory SHOULD have a tantrum about

That videos of this still exist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYZre8kEsuw

That sumbitch is never going to live that down.

Maybe he can visit his buddy in jail.

[goclark]

69. Buddies - Gregory and Rove --- huum

[JNelson6563]

13. Jon Hilsenrath would be a very interesting choice.

I like him, he shows a lot of promise.

Julie

[SuperTrouper]

25. Jon Hilsenrath is very smart, very inquisitive, very handsome (I know, I am superficial) and

can give and take about many subjects including economics, which is extremely important now. I like him and I think that MSNBC is grooming him for something big...perhaps Meet the Press... you can say that I am a Hilsenrath fan...

[JNelson6563]

49. I like him too.

I remember when he first started appearing on CNBC. I saw he had much promise and he does certainly seem to be growing into a bigger role.

Julie

[Honeycombe8]

18. I read no evidence of a fit. That's just an expression, esp. one that Joe uses.

Like if I tell a friend I can't go to a movie with her on a particular night because my husband "threw a fit" when I told him I had plans on his birthday with someone else. It doesn't really mean that he literally threw a fit. It means he didn't want me to.

I doubt Scarborough would even really say that Gregory asked Scarborough not to, so I suspect it was a joke from the get-go.

This is a non-story.

On the aside: Shuster? A journalist? Shuster? The one who almost fired last year for calling the Clintons pimps? THAT Shuster?

[JamesA1102]

19. Why is Mika acting as Joe's publicist?

And why is she on the book tour with him? That just seems weird.

[CTyankee]

32. I think it's in her contract. I think Joe likes have a pretty blonde by his side, pretending

to be a liberal in contrast to his conservatism. It's a dumb act, to be sure, but I'm betting that's the deal...(and no, I don't think she's pretty but some MEN do).

[spooky3]

20. Replace DG with Rachel or Keith.

[Thrill]

21. Anyone who has watched MTP over the yrs. Knows what a disgrace Gregory is to the show

He's a RW tool. And he can't see why his ratings are in the toilet.

[Cass]

22. David Gregory really sold out over the years.

I first noticed it when he did that dance with Karl Rove at one of those press club dinners. I don't know, maybe I just saw him in a new light afterward, but he seemed to change right after that and lost his gusto for busting their chops when he had an opportunity to do so. I think these little press club dinners where they all party together removes the objectivity a good reporter needs to cover government officials.

Gregory could have had Scarborough on his show, evidently he didn't. That was his choice, why pitch a fit like a toddler? People who write books often make the rounds on the talk shows so there's nothing strange about this (well except for Mika interjecting herself as Scarborough's booking agent).

Personally I'd like to see Shuster take over MTP.

[Honeycombe8]

55. What do you think of Colin Powell, who also danced? Shuster? hahahaha.

I'm amazed at the people who think Shuster would even be considered for a serious journalistic show. He's infotainment material. He's not journalistic material. Nice young fella. He's great as a fill-in for KO and others. But he will never have his own serious show. He's not of that caliber.

[Cass]

68. Did you ever see his reporting on the Plame case?

I thought it was impressive. Who would you like to see hosting MTP?

What I was referring to about Gregory dancing with Rove was that when a journalist gets too cozy with those he covers he loses his objectivity. Colin Powell isn't a journalist so the comparison between him and Gregory isn't a good one.

[ericgtr]

23. First of all Scarborough is hardly a "smart political analyst" he's a freaking tool

and since Gregory took over MTP I have not watched a single episode, he is a terrible replacement.

[Hieronymus]

28. Maybe we'll see a change of host on MTP.

[MarjorieG]

29. John Harwood is quick, thoughful, fair, with an MTP style of moderation.

[PatSeg]

53. I agree, he would be an excellent choice

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

31. If you want to see how really awful Gregory is, google the December Condi Rice "Interview"

I mean monologue, because that is what it was. Here is someone who has MUCH to hide on both 9/11 and torture fronts and Gregory essentially let her just motormouth her way through the entire hour with an occasional "Hmm" injection from him.

It was really, really pathetic.

[tishaLA]

33. Gregory sucks, but it's disingenuous of the Post to compare

the ratings of last week's MTP vs. This Week. MTP was on an off schedule because of the US Open golf tournament and I think it aired very early or not at all here in the LA market. Yes, the gap has narrowed significantly, but the Post, which is joining all Murdoch-owned media in a war against NBC, is being unfair here.

Oh, and Fox News Sunday comes in a distant 4th in Sunday chat show ratings. It gets only half the viewers (often fewer) MTP gets.

[PassingFair]

34. They should give it to Eleanor Clift.

She's the real deal.

[Berry Cool]

35. Sorry, folks, I don't believe a word of any of this.

This is the New York Post. They lie through their teeth about NBC and MSNBC because they are Murdoch tools. Their job is to do anything they can to make Fixed Noise look good by comparison. That means tearing down NBC/MSNBC and CNN as much as possible.

They publish shit about Keith Olbermann all the time, but no one at DU believes it as quickly. But when they publish shit about people who have no respect whatsoever on DU, like Scarborough and Gregory, people eat it up with a big spoon.

Wake up. You're being played. They are no more trustworthy when they spread gossip about Scarborough and Gregory than they are when they spread it about KO. It's all a means to the same end.

[ErinBerin84]

64. I've thought about it

and I can believe that Mika sent the "note" to George (she did write a letter to the editor on behalf of Joe recently to defend his stupidity), but I've decided I don't buy Gregory flipping out, on this at least. It's not like Joe is some hot commodity.

[gkhouston]

36. Sounds like more Murdoch propganda. Or, possibly, some Scarborough propaganda.

Personally, I'd rather see Shuster in the position than Gregory but I think this article is hogwash.

[FrenchieCat]

37. Controversy sells book.....

My, my, how Joe is so blessed.

I don't watch his own program because he is such a tool...
Why should I have to watch him on other programs?
WTF is that all about?

Oh, and I don't watch Gregory, and I did used to watch Russert.
So if I have contributed in MTP being a bust these days,
I'm patting myself on the back.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

39. When I think about the good life you gave me I cry like a baby!!! n/t

Just like da ol song says.

[Festivito]

40. How about having the PRESS on again instead of one overlording clown.

The way Spivak did. Members of various press organizations and a moderator. None of this knowing beforehand what won't be discussed.

[Cha]

44. Yeah, like the old clips they

show when I'm guessing it was more real and popular.

I would think nbc isn't going to put up with a show that's tanking..they took "Life" off the fall lineup without giving it a chance.

[Cha]

41. The best news out of this is..

gregory's losing viewers acting like a rw shill..any speculation why he wouldn't want joe scarb to go on stufanop's corporateshill show?

[marlakay]

45. I hope the show goes even lower

NBC will be lucky to be able to keep it by the time they get rid of David. I would bet they have a contract they can't get out of with him...

and with the economy its not like the old days where they would pay people out of their contracts if they did bad just to get rid of them.

[indepat]

46. Hear, hear the idea of shit-canning David Gregory; hopefully, this shit-canning idea

will get legs and snow-ball like an avalanche. :P

[Torn_Scorned_Ignored]

48. Gregory usually has on mostly his republican friends

anyway. Not much honest debating anymore, and I don't watch either.


Plus, he's been spotted dancing naked around the fire here;

https://secure.wikileaks.org/wiki/Bohemian_Grove_Guest_List_2008

[Jennicut]

52. Lurch needs to go. David Shuster would be so much better.

[Honeycombe8]

54. Shuster is not a top rate journalist. He will never have a heavy weight journalistic

program like MTP. Capiche? (He was almost fired last year for saying the Clintons were pimping their daughter. Not something a Tom Brokaw or Walter Cronkite or David Gregory would've let slip.)

Shuster is good entertainment. But he's not a serious journalist.

[quiller4]

56. Actually Shuster may be less diplomatic but he does most of his

own research and writing which makes him a more serious journalist in my book. David Gregory needs both a writer and researcher on staff. He isn't up to doing it himself.

[Jennicut]

62. And Gregory is? He is a hack. Shuster has more integrity and intelligence in his pinky

then Gregory does.

[Cha]

59. Gregory also "accidently" says Jon Huntsman has "affair"..

Cross post from GD..

checks-n-balances (1000+ posts) Sun Jun-28-09 05:10 PM
Original message

(David) Gregory Accidentally Accuses Jon Huntsman Of Having An Affair"

Gregory Accidentally Accuses Jon Huntsman Of Having An Affair, Effusively Apologizes


The Republican Party is in such a state of disrepair and scandal that television news hosts can't keep track of which prominent figures are dealing with marital problems and which are simply abandoning ship.

On Sunday, "Meet the Press" host David Gregory offered an innocent but humorous slip-up, accidentally accusing former Republican Utah Governor and current China Ambassador Jon Huntsman of having an affair.

Gregory was going through the list of potential Republican presidential candidates and their various shortcomings when he exchanged Huntsman's name for that of Senator John Ensign (R-N.V.), who has admitted to an affair with a former staffer.

"Jon Huntsman has hurt his chances with an affair that came out," said Gregory. "Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Ensign, Huckabee. Excuse me. I said Huntsman. I meant Ensign. There was no affair with Jon Huntsman. He was taken out, has gone over to China to be ambassador. Excuse me. Excuse me."

More at
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/28/gregory-accide...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5946994

[namecallerholic]

61. Let the ratings sink. They should have given the job to Keith Olbermann.

Or are they too afraid that Republicans would no longer want to come on Meet the Press if they did?

[high density]

63. I think both Meet the Press and This Week would be better as half hour programs

The second half hour of these shows is often nothing more than corporate gasbags spouting tired, uninformed beltway opinions. Who wants to hear pretentious bullshit from George Will or Peggy Noonan? At least Will doesn't have that stupid wispy voice.

[cwydro]

65. I can't stand Gregory.

[old mark]

70. I really liked Russert's show. I can't stand to watch Gregory, and I

have not watched an entire program since he took over.
I don't even like to see him as a guest on another show. He is just irritating and uninteresting.
mark

[SuperTrouper]

71. Irritating and uninteresting are the words. Gregory =epic fail. nt