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‘Morning Joe’ Stars Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski Reportedly Feel Part of MS Now’s ‘Slow Phase-Out’

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  • Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski reportedly feel humiliated after MS NOW cuts an hour from their show without their input.
  • The network's scheduling changes, including moving other anchors into daytime slots, have led Scarborough and Brzezinski to believe this is the beginning of the end for their show.
  • Despite MS NOW claiming it was the hosts' choice to reduce airtime, insiders suggest Scarborough and Brzezinski see the move as a slow phase-out and are not taking it quietly.

After it was reported this week that cable news network MS NOW has taken an hour off of Morning Joe, hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski are reportedly “humiliated.”

According to a Friday, March 20, report in journalist Rob Shuter’s Naughty But Nice Substack, the shakeup at MS NOW (formerly MSNBC) was “not their idea,” an insider said.

“They didn’t ask for this — they were told,” the source added.

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Earlier this week, it was reported that the network has shuffled around its scheduling, including moving anchors Stephanie Ruhle and Alicia Menendez into daytime, and adjusting the Morning Joe hours.

The morning news talk show, which currently airs weekdays from 6-10 a.m. ET, will now be three hours instead of four.

Though the Associated Press reported that MS NOW said it was the show’s choice to cut back, a source told Shuter that Scarborough, 62, and Brzezinski, 58, “see this as the beginning of the end. A slow phase-out.”

Sarah Silbiger – Pool via CNP / MEGA

According to a Naughty But Nice source, “There’s a new generation coming in. And the message is clear — it’s their turn now.”

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“There’s a lot of talk about who’s being elevated and why,” the source said. “And it’s not subtle.”

Scarborough and Brzezinski — who were married on November 24, 2018, and have been staples on the news program for years — reportedly feel hurt by the shakeup.

“After everything they’ve built, this is how it happens?” a source questioned.

While one staffer pointed out to Shuter that the pair are getting “less hours, same pay,” they explained, “This isn’t a job you want less of. They live for every minute on air. That’s the currency.”

“They’re not going quietly,” a source said. “But they know exactly what’s happening.”

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