Way Too Early

Way Too Early is an American morning news show which aired weekday mornings on MSNBC. It premiered on July 27, 2009 hosted by Willie Geist. It was later hosted by a variety of NBC News on-air talent including Thomas Roberts and others on a temporary basis, including Ayman Mohyeldin. The final host was Chief White House Correspondent Chris Jansing. It ended August 5, 2016, as its lead-in program First Look was expanded back into the full hour and re-branded as Morning Joe First Look to build continuity with the later program, and presumably because the timeslot is now nearly universally programmed as a morning news slot on local television stations in both the Eastern and Central Time Zones, making the title Way Too Early an artifact.

Way Too Early
GenreMorning news show
Presented byChris Jansing
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
Production
Production location(s)New York City
Running time30 minutes
Release
Original networkMSNBC
Original releaseJuly 27, 2009 –
August 5, 2016
Chronology
Preceded byFirst Look
Followed byMorning Joe
External links
Website

The original executive producer was Chris Licht, who was also the co-creator and executive producer of Morning Joe before leaving MSNBC to become executive producer of CBS This Morning and Vice President of Programming at CBS.

The shows were similarly themed, although Way Too Early was not branded "Brewed by Starbucks" like Morning Joe until the sponsorship deal expired in September 2013. Both shows had similar graphics packages, are broadcast from the same set, and frequently reference each other.

History

Phil Griffin, President of MSNBC, announced the show on July 15, 2009, and described it as a "pre-game show" for Morning Joe.[1] Mike Barnicle often filled in for original host Willie Geist, jokingly referring to the show as "Way Too Old (or Elderly) with Mike Barnicle", while Peter Alexander also covered for Geist. On September 24, 2012, NBC News announced that Geist would be named co-host of the 9 a.m. hour of Today, filling the co-host slot formerly held by Savannah Guthrie (who now anchors the 7-9 a.m. portion of the morning program).

On May 8, 2013, MSNBC announced that CNBC reporter Brian Shactman would be the new regular host of Way Too Early. He began his anchoring duties for the show May 13, 2013.

On January 3, 2014, MSNBC announced that Thomas Roberts would be the new regular host of "Way Too Early" starting on January 13. Roberts left in mid-2015 to do various dayside anchor duties, with no guest host announced.

Way Too Early aired its final edition on August 5, 2016, the day the 2016 Summer Olympics began. The next Monday, First Look became Morning Joe First Look, with a few former Way Too Early segments blended into the second half hour.

Segments

Regular segments on Way Too Early included:

  • Three Questions – Beginning the show with three video clips of newsworthy events from the previous day, and poses an open-ended question relating to them.
  • The News – A fast-paced round-up of the previous day's and overnight news.
  • All Up In Your Business – Business and market-related news, with analysis from the CNBC London bureau.
  • The Weather – National forecast from The Weather Channel, currently provided by NBC meteorologist Bill Karins.
  • Sports – Highlights of the top sports stories.
  • Morning Buzz – A "wake-up call" phone segment to a prominent figure, celebrity, correspondent, or politician to discuss a news topic.
  • Sound Smart – Random fact or some other piece of information to help you "sound smart" during the day.
  • The Cooler – Soft news stories and other conversation starters.
  • Louis Burgdorf from the Control Room – Near the end of the program, Burgdorf rounds up feature, offbeat and entertainment headlines from the program's Rockefeller Center control room.

Hosts

Substitute hosts

Substitute hosts for the show have included Luke Russert, Savannah Guthrie, Peter Alexander, Mike Barnicle, Jonathan Capehart and Mark Halperin, along with Bill Karins and Louis Burgdorf hosting the entire program.

References
  1. "'Way Too Early With Willie Geist' to Debut July 27 on MSNBC". NBC. 2009-07-15. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
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