A review by stormwhisper
Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV by Brian Stelter
4.0
Top of the Morning is a snapshot in time, exploring in-depth the circumstances regarding Ann Curry's bungled dismissal from The Today Show and Good Morning America's meteoric rise to #1 after more than a decade and a half of runner-up status. It does its job well, providing a compelling behind-the-scenes look at the surprisingly cutthroat world of morning television where producers sleep outside hotel rooms to prevent guests from being poached, animal guests are bitterly fought over, and staffers accuse the competition of exploiting a star's fight with a life-threatening illness. With millions in advertising dollars at stake, everything is fair game, at least to those in the trenches.
The book's main limitation isn't its fault: it was published in 2013. It was written before Me Too revelations rocked the world of morning television and the media landscape at large, and prominently features a number of now-disgraced individuals without touching on credible accusations of harassment and assault which were then considered rumour and spoken of only in hushed tones. While its take on the drama of the early 2010s is compelling, the spectacles of yesterday can't help but feel unimportant compared to what we now know are the real, criminal scandals of morning television. Still, the book does a good job of exploring its material, truncated though it is.
However, Top of the Morning isn't completely without current relevance. Its rich illustration of the culture of morning television sets the stage for naked immoral and seemingly inexplicable decisions made in later years. Why wasn't Matt Lauer shown the door years before his purported crimes became public? Because he was a cash cow who made millions of dollars for his bosses, and the blame for every problem always landed squarely on the shoulders of the woman sitting beside him.
The book's main limitation isn't its fault: it was published in 2013. It was written before Me Too revelations rocked the world of morning television and the media landscape at large, and prominently features a number of now-disgraced individuals without touching on credible accusations of harassment and assault which were then considered rumour and spoken of only in hushed tones. While its take on the drama of the early 2010s is compelling, the spectacles of yesterday can't help but feel unimportant compared to what we now know are the real, criminal scandals of morning television. Still, the book does a good job of exploring its material, truncated though it is.
However, Top of the Morning isn't completely without current relevance. Its rich illustration of the culture of morning television sets the stage for naked immoral and seemingly inexplicable decisions made in later years. Why wasn't Matt Lauer shown the door years before his purported crimes became public? Because he was a cash cow who made millions of dollars for his bosses, and the blame for every problem always landed squarely on the shoulders of the woman sitting beside him.