An unfolding mystery at MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” has given the term “fake news” a whole new meaning.
Viewer’s questions on the whereabouts of the show’s hosts, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, even while they were still appearing on air, piqued the interest of the Washington Post’s Paul Farhi who launched a bit of an investigation.
I’ve been hearing about this for the past week or so, so I looked into it. Herewith, the “mystery” of “Where in the World is Morning Joe?” solved. Thread: https://t.co/R2wLXMAEXi
— Paul Farhi (@farhip) January 24, 2019
Farhi noted that the couple, who were married in November, appear to be in different locations though no on-screen information reveals where that could be.
First, it’s not entirely clear from these shots where Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski are. There’s no on-screen graphic (or “chyron”), marking their locale, as most TV news programs do, and no announcement, as is typical on other news programs. pic.twitter.com/lzVpUoX99S
— Paul Farhi (@farhip) January 24, 2019
In a series of tweets, Farhi went on to show that while the “Morning Joe” panel was in the New York City studio – despite the confusing Washington, D.C. backdrop, the show’s hosts were in fact in Florida.
But “Morning Joe” does use backdrops that suggests the hosts are in Washington. See? White House, Capitol–Washington. So Joe and Mika are in D.C., right? pic.twitter.com/2bdIiDwDHu
— Paul Farhi (@farhip) January 24, 2019
And the panel, they’ve got a Washington backdrop, too. So they’re in Washington, too? pic.twitter.com/KBb6Z1UuRx
— Paul Farhi (@farhip) January 24, 2019
Nope. The panel is on the “Morning Joe” set at 30 Rock in New York.
— Paul Farhi (@farhip) January 24, 2019
So where are Joe and Mika? Well, MSNBC says they’re in Florida. pic.twitter.com/olmy4aJ0jl
— Paul Farhi (@farhip) January 24, 2019
Though MSNBC would not give Farhi more details, he noted that the couple have parents in the state and they own a home in the town of Jupiter in the same Palm Beach County where President Trump’s private resort Mar-a-Lago is located.
Why Jupiter? Well, for one thing, the weather is much nicer there than New York City this time of year. But Mika and Joe own a home there. And both have parents living in Florida that they’re looking after.
— Paul Farhi (@farhip) January 24, 2019
As for the on-screen shot that appears to show the hosts in different locations, Farhi offered the technical explanation for the camera shots.
What you don’t see in these shots: Joe and Mika are actually sitting a few feet away from each other. But they each address their own camera rather than turning to speak to each other (because doing that would expose the fact that they’re sitting on a makeshift set).
— Paul Farhi (@farhip) January 24, 2019
The “awkward” set-up makes for more challenges for producers of the show but Farhi added that the lack of transparency about the couple’s whereabouts and the set backdrops were “not the usual MO of news or news-discussion programs.”
Farhi’s request for a comment from Scarborough has so far gone unanswered.
P.S.: Scarborough didn’t respond to my request for comment. End. pic.twitter.com/2Uwe6eM6Tx
— Paul Farhi (@farhip) January 24, 2019
But there was no lack of commentary on Twitter where the reactions and general mockery rolled in while viewers of the show probably raised some concern at the network.
I love how these people have shows. Org their names on them but they never ever show up… The Colbert. Show is like this too.. It’s on Monday through Friday. Orbthe Friday show is filmed. On. Thursday.. Then he goes on vacation every two weeks outrageous.
— David Carbone (@deecee3737) January 23, 2019
So even the locations are fake news!??
— Jeff (@jeffsstorm) January 24, 2019
They don’t bother any more. I used to watch all the time. Lost a lot “charm” without both of them not bothering to show up and most guests not together, either. Show not important enough for them to show up. Been watching taped Racheal and Deadline after 30 minutes lately.
— gaj724 (@gaj724) January 15, 2019
#WakeUpWithWillie I’m not even sure if Mika and Joe are in the same location, but either way, if Morning Joe, the show, isn’t good enough for them to show up, it’s not good enough for me to watch. I’ve started watching CNN in the morning
— Tonya P (@Tonya_Philpott) January 24, 2019
Thanks for this. I watch #morningJoe, and was wondering why Mika and Joe are never on set in DC or NewYork. I thought maybe they smelled and were quarantined
— Rich- (@RichDeermeat) January 24, 2019
Lol when was the last time Joe and Mika were actually in the studio? #morningjoe
— TanGyal (@TanGyal) January 24, 2019
@Morning_Joe Will Joe and Mika ever be in studio with their guests again, or will we live on split screen forever?
— K Mortier (@kkmortier) January 24, 2019
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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