History
Morning Joe began as a fill-in program after Don Imus' Imus in the Morning was canceled. Former Florida Congressman Joe Scarborough, then-host of the nighttime MSNBC program Scarborough Country, suggested the idea of doing a morning show instead. He put together what would become Morning Joe with Scarborough Country executive producer Chris Licht and screenwriter John Ridley. On May 9, 2007, the show debuted as one of a series of rotating programs auditioning for Imus's former slot, with Scarborough joined by co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Ridley. Scarborough had personally asked Brzezinski to co-host with him the night before the first audition, while she was a 'cut-in' presenter during MSNBC's primetime schedule on a freelance basis.
Ridley quickly dropped out as main co-host but continued as a regular guest, while Willie Geist was tapped as co-host. The program permanently took over the slot in July 2007, though the decision was not officially announced until that October.
During the first quarter of 2009, Morning Joe earned higher ratings in the age 25-54 demo category than CNN's competing program, American Morning. It still had fewer viewers overall. Both programs regularly finish behind Fox News's Fox and Friends during the same time period.
As of March 2010, the show's ratings remained behind those of Fox and Friends, while it earned higher ratings overall than its other cable competitors American Morning, Morning Express with Robin Meade, and Squawk Box.
On June 29, 2009, along with the rest of the network, the show launched in 1080i high definition.
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