Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV

Top of the Morning takes readers behind the scenes of America's most competitive television time slot - the morning news shows. The book focuses on the fierce rivalry between NBC's Today Show and ABC's Good Morning America during a pivotal period of ratings battles and personnel changes. The narrative centers on the major players and power brokers who shape these influential programs, including anchors, producers, and network executives. Through extensive research and interviews, Stelter documents the intense pressure, strategic decisions, and high-stakes drama that define the morning television landscape. The book examines how morning shows balance news coverage with entertainment, chronicling both the on-air content and off-air machinations that drive these billion-dollar enterprises. The narrative pays particular attention to the complex relationships between co-anchors and the careful engineering of their public personas. The work illustrates broader themes about ambition, loyalty, and the intersection of journalism and entertainment in modern media. Through this specific lens of morning television, Stelter captures the evolution of broadcast news and changing viewer expectations in the 21st century.

Readers found this behind-the-scenes look at morning TV shows entertaining but somewhat superficial. Many noted the book focuses heavily on the Ann Curry/Today Show drama while giving less attention to other networks and time periods. Liked: - Fast-paced narrative style - Inside details about TV personalities - Clear explanation of ratings battles - Strong research and interviews Disliked: - Biased tone favoring certain hosts - Too much focus on NBC/Today Show - Lacks depth on industry-wide issues - Writing style can be overwrought One reader called it "gossipy but incomplete," while another said it "reads like an extended magazine article." Ratings: Goodreads: 3.5/5 (3,300+ ratings) Amazon: 3.7/5 (280+ ratings) Barnes & Noble: 3.5/5 (40+ ratings) Several readers mentioned the book delivers entertainment value but falls short as a comprehensive industry analysis. The 2013 publication date means many major developments in morning TV aren't covered.

The Late Shift by Bill Carter Chronicles the battle between Jay Leno and David Letterman for NBC's Tonight Show through interviews and behind-the-scenes details.

Live From New York by James Andrew Miller, Tom Shales Presents the complete history of Saturday Night Live through interviews with cast, writers, and producers.

Ladies Who Punch by Ramin Setoodeh Reveals the backstage conflicts and power struggles that shaped ABC's The View over two decades.

The War for Late Night by Bill Carter Documents the network television conflict between Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien for The Tonight Show position.

Morning Glory by Brian Kellow Traces the career of television pioneer Barbara Walters from her early days in morning television through her rise to broadcasting legend.

🌅 The book reveals that ABC's "Good Morning America" actively hired a CIA-trained forensic linguist to analyze Ann Curry's on-air performance and interactions with Matt Lauer before her departure from NBC's "Today" show. 📺 Author Brian Stelter wrote this book at age 27, while working as a media reporter for The New York Times, having previously founded the influential TV news website TVNewser when he was just 18. 💰 Morning shows are incredibly lucrative for networks - during the period covered in the book, "Today" was earning approximately $500 million in annual advertising revenue for NBC. 🏆 "Top of the Morning" was later adapted into the Apple TV+ drama series "The Morning Show," starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, though the show's creators maintain it's not directly based on the book. ⏰ The book details how morning show anchors typically wake up at 3:30 AM, but many admit to never fully adjusting to the schedule even after years on the job, often taking afternoon naps and going to bed by 8:00 PM.