When Axios broke the news Wednesday night that MSNBC was extending "Morning Joe" by an hour and replacing Brian Williams at the 11pm ET hour with Stephanie Ruhle, even top producers were caught off guard.
- Network executives weren't planning to announce lineup changes for another few weeks in February. Negotiations were ongoing.
Why it matters: The leak sent leaders at MSNBC scrambling to address questions internally about what a fourth hour of "Morning Joe" would look like, including which producers would be responsible for the additional programming, and how a 9am hour would cater to a West Coast audience.
