MSNBC's Learning Curve

MSNBC moved failing 9a anchor Dylan Ratigan to the afternoons to make way for another "Morning Joe" type team:  Chuck Todd and Savannah Guthrie.  Joking Joe Scarborough calls it "Savannah and Mister Goatee."  The pair start in January. Read the MSNBC press release.

Ratigan's "Morning Meeting" was a ratings flop.  A programming non-sequitur. MSNBC's weird tinkering doesn't appear to be well thought out. Ratigan's show slides into 4p with an original name:  "The Dylan Ratigan Show."  I predict the next casualty is the strangely scheduled "Dr. Nancy" at high noon.

Wash Post Howard Kurtz: As if they didn't have enough to do covering the White House, Chuck Todd and Savannah Guthrie are launching a 9 a.m. program for MSNBC.

"It fits the rhythm of our day," says Todd, who also blogs, tweets, reports for NBC and serves as its political director. He sees the "Daily Rundown" as "something that has the feel of a signature Washington show for us" heading into 2010. "We're not going to ignore the water-cooler story of the day, but we're not going to dwell on it, either."

Both insist the extra work won't diminish their reporting, and the plan is for one of them to anchor from the road when President Obama is traveling. "Chuck and I have a great relationship, and we're hoping it will translate on the air," Guthrie says. "It's a matter of making all the pieces fit together."

Todd, who was passed over for "Meet the Press" in favor of David Gregory, chuckled when asked if he was fully prepared to be a host. "I've been in TV all of 2 1/2 years," he says. "Every day's a learning curve."

Related:  B&C's Marisa Guthrie