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I'm Brian Stelter. My other Tumblr is The Deadline.
I'm writing a book about morning TV -- about "Today," "G.M.A." and the other morning shows that collectively set the nation's breakfast table every day.
Called "The Top Of The Morning," it's slated for release in 2013.
This Tumblr will be a companion -- part reporter's notebook, part scrapbook, part personal journal.
Share your questions and suggestions here.
Or e-mail me: themorningbook@gmail.com
This fall, NBC quietly started to repeat the fourth hour of the “Today” show, starring Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb and usually seen at 10 a.m., the next day at 2 a.m.
Ms. Gifford and Ms. Kotb, of course, are known to share a drink on the air on a regular basis, perhaps making their show well-suited for a repeat after last call.
Actually, it had nothing to do with alcohol and everything to do with NBC’s sudden need to fill an overnight time slot vacated by “Poker After Dark.” That program was removed from the schedule on a Friday at the end of September, days after federal prosecutors accused the program’s sponsor, Full Tilt Poker, of defrauding customers.
NBC slid Ms. Gifford and Ms. Kotb into the time slot the following Monday.
The repeat is a testament to NBC’s dependence on “Today” — already four hours each weekday — and to the endurance of the top-rated morning show. With the 2 a.m. repeat, “Today” now makes up fully 20 percent of NBC’s weekday schedule.
