TVSquad

Another feud is boiling, this one involving Jon Stewart and MSNBC's Joe Scarborough. There have been things said lately (including The Daily Show taking on Starbucks' sponsorship of Morning Joe), and it continued this morning.

On behalf of short guys everywhere Joe, I take exception to your Napoleon remark.

[via TV Newser]

The other day, Bob mentioned the f-bomb Joe Scarborough accidentally dropped during an edition of Morning Joe on MSNBC (video after the jump). Oops! Apparently, Scarborough didn't even realize he dropped the word -- he thought he said "eff you" instead of the full phrase -- and spent the rest of the show alternately apologizing and having his balls busted by Mika Brzezinski and his guests. Since it was on cable, which is not subject to FCC content regulation, It seemed like the story was closed.

But in yet another "closing the barn door" move, MSNBC has decided to put a seven-second delay on the show, mainly in response to the f-bomb. And guess who was instrumental in influencing that decision? The fun folks at the Parents' Television Council, that's who! They wrote a note to NBCU chief executive Jeff Zucker calling for the delay, and voilà! Delay instituted. The next time I need to collect a check, I should ask the PTC to make the call for me. They seem to get pretty quick results.

1. I really enjoy Suze Orman's show (it's a major part of my Saturday night, which tells you a lot about my social life), especially the "Can I Afford It?" segment, where viewers call in to get her OK to buy something like a sports car or a Lear jet or a coffee maker. But I was wondering, what if someone called in and asked, "Suze, I don't have a job and I have student loans to pay off, but I'm thinking about buying 100,000 copies of your latest book, can I afford it?" What would she say then?

2. Two different TV shows in the past week, one a news program that had an analysis of the election and one a design show, used the phrase "do the math." I don't want to do the math. That's why I got into writing.

So, you probably heard that the NBC Universal empire will be expanding by one, once it has added The Weather Channel to its media outlets. On MSNBC this morning, the subs on Morning Joe were crowing about CEO Jeff Zucker, sucking up royally, and even hyping GE stock.

It was all really uncomfortable, obvious and out of place when you are tuning in for news, politics, some pop culture and get NBCU corporate cheerleaders in full pom-pom mode.

Okay, enough ranting; there is some news to report. If the deal goes through -- and it will -- Today weatherman Al Roker may be relocating or he'll be repurposed, becoming the face of The Weather Channel.

Have you been wondering where Joe Scarborough has been on Morning Joe the past few weeks? The titular star of the show has been off the air, missing all the doings with Senator Hillary Clinton suspending her campaign for president and Senator Obama Barack becoming the presumptive Democratic candidate.

For months and months of the primaries, Joe and the Morning Joe team were in the thick of it every morning ... and then Joe was gone.

Well, the reason for Scarborough's absence is due to a family illness. In May, Joe's wife Susan gave birth to their son Jack. Unfortunately, Jack wasn't due to arrive until August. He was severely premature, weighing just 2 lbs., 3 oz. He had to be kept at the hospital in an incubator and fattened up. As of this Monday, his weight was up to 4 lbs., 10 oz. and the doctors declared he was ready to go home.

Morning Joe regulars Willie Geist and Mika Brzezinski went on the air Tuesday with the story and assured viewers that Joe will be back on camera soon. I wish the Scarboroughs well and hope baby Jack continues to thrive.

MSNBC correspondent and anchor David Shuster finds himself in not one but two controversies today.

First, while filling in for Tucker Carlson yesterday, Shuster made the comment "Doesn't it seem like Chelsea's sort of being pimped out in some weird sort of way?" referring to Chelsea Clinton's campaigning for her mother Hillary and making phone calls to superdelegates and The View. Well, Democratic officials (and MSNBC execs) aren't happy with the remark, and have threatened to pull out of the February 26 MSNBC debate. Shuster apologized this morning and also plans to go back on Carlson's show today to apologize again. (Update: Shuster has been suspended for his comment!)

But that's not the only controversy Shuster is in the middle of this week...

It looks like the rumors are true: Joe Scarborough is getting the Don Imus spot on MSNBC.

Howard Kurtz at The Washington Post is reporting that Scarborough and MSNBC are in final negotiations to make his Morning Joe show the permanent show in the 6am to 9am slot on the network. Scarborough has been filling in (with other hosts, such as David Gregory) since Imus went bye-bye, and has been getting good buzz (though not ratings). Some CBS radio stations might pick up the show as well.

So now we're talking about people who refuse to talk about Paris Hilton.

MSNBC anchor Mika Brzezinski came really close to flipping out on air the other day when her producers kept placing the Paris Hilton story as her lead during the Morning Joe show. She was egged on/patronized by Joe Scarborough and his preppy-looking sidekick.

As you'll see in the video I placed after the jump, Mika starts out really pissed off and then starts to stage a coup on air.