Morning Joe, Evening Abe: "MSNBC Live With Dan Abrams" Starts Tonight, At Least For Now

Well! After weeks of Joe Scarborough hosting "Morning Joe" on MSNBC early a.m. in the slot formerly held by Don Imus, we seem to be inching closer to some resolution either way, courtesy of Howard Kurtz:

MSNBC executives have decided that Scarborough is the next Don Imus -- not that anyone could replace Imus -- and are finalizing the details for "Morning Joe" to permanently take over the 6-to-9 morning slot. The network this week is removing the "Scarborough Country" name from his old 9 p.m. program, now being hosted by MSNBC's general manager, Dan Abrams. And CBS Radio, which syndicated Imus until his April firing, is negotiating whether some of its stations will carry the "Joe" show, as well.

By now, removal of the name "Scarborough Country" is but a formality, since it's been all but Abrams' since the show's namesake took over in the morning. TVNewser postulated and ETP confirmed that the show has been provisionally re-titled "MSNBC Live with Dan Abrams" while the MSNBC general manager remains the fill-in host. According to sources at MSNBC, the key phrase here is "fill in"; "MSNBC Live" or "MSNBC News Live" denotes the neutrally-titled daytime programming block (which includes the morning block, according to Time Warner and my DVR, though the show itself reflects the name change).

Sources within MSNBC have been cautious about the move, saying that "Scarborough Country" is on "hiatus"; even with Kurtz's report that the deal is all but done. "Joe's been doing a fantastic job in the morning and we continue to assess our final plans," said MSNBC spokesperson Jeremy Gaines, neutrally. Asked if there was a target date by which to have made a decision, he said that "no timetable" had been set. This gels with the studied nonchalance projected by the parties over the past six weeks, when "Morning Joe" has been a reliable fixture on the dial; assumed to be all but a done deal but still, no body will go on the record to confirm (analogy: It's like dating someone for months and being totally in a relationship but still their Friendster profile says "single." Er, I mean, I've heard that happens).

As for Abrams, though he is clearly having a blast hosting the programme, he is the general manager of the network, and though it's an easy interim solution (no new faces; no reassignments), sources have agreed that it would be impossible for him to do both in the long term. Having just completed his first year on the job, Abrams has so far given no indication that this is anything other than a stopgap measure — except for the fact that he's been doing it for weeks and tonight the show's name changes to include his. So who knows.

As for the sidekicks — John Ridley, Mika Brzezinski, and Willie Geist — nothing there has been cast in stone, either. Willie Geist will continue to take his turn on both "Morning Joe" in addition to his duties on Tucker (he must be getting used to no sleep; he and his wife recently had a baby); and, despite some early turns by Scarborough-regular Courtney Hazlett from OK! and MSNBC's Contessa Brewer, Brzezinski seems to have settled firmly in place for the duration (though having the most popular video on Technorati thanks to Paris Hilton certainly doesn't hurt for the future). Similarly, Scarborough himself far outlasted the competition: Columnist/talking head Michael Smerconish and NBC utility player David Gregory (who, several sources have suggested, was not well-suited for the job because he was more circumspect and might be less freewheeling and forthcoming a host).

The upshot: As close as Scarborough and MSNBC may be — and Abrams may seem — the fact that MSNBC will still not go on the record indicates that their neutral language may not just be posturing, but may, in fact, be actual caution. Time will tell, I suppose — since MSNBC won't.