Posted by
Shogrensus on Saturday, April 28, 2007 8:44:10 PM
On Thursday, the women opened with a discussion of how shocked they were that pretty much every news program in America covered the story about her not being renewed/ not renewing her contract.
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Rosie: Yesterday’s announcement was a tad bit bigger than I expected. It was insane was it not?
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Please- she not only expected it, she hoped and planned for it. Her feigned expressions as they listed the shows on which her departure was discussed were ridiculous. Joy then comments:
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Joy: It’s ironic. You don’t really like that sort of thing yet you are the object of it.
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If Rosie didn’t want to be the center of a media news storm, she didn’t have to be. The way Rosie chooses to raise issues causes Rosie to become the focus of the attention. Rarely do her actual policy positions get attention following her diatribes or insults or accusations.
Does Rosie notice that her approach to presenting her view, generally infused with anger, isn’t very effective in swaying public opinion? Her outbursts garner her attention and misinform viewers through their very selective presentation of information. They fortunately haven’t had an influence on public policy.
Rosie is right: It is sad that she is such big news while there are so many other really important things going on in the world.
By the way, she is news for many reasons: Millions of people watch this show. Rosie has pushed the envelope in a way that has garnered media coverage that ABC could never buy. Whether you love her or hate her, it is difficult to ignore her.
Additionally, after the Imus insanity, everyone is paying more attention to entertainers. Democrats are talking about fairness on the airwaves and conservative talk show hosts are under fire for their bias. Conservatives are concerned that while those whose espouse conservative views are under scrutiny, those on the left are not because the media “elites” agree with the more liberal positions so don’t see them as a threat. The pressure being placed on ABC and Disney has been exerted in part as a response to the fear of increasing scrutiny of conservative entertainers.
Also, people are curious about the details, which we will never be told, about why she won’t be back. The show has over 3 million viewers. That draws in a lot of advertising dollars and impacts a lot of local affiliates.
The success of the View after Rosie will depend on whether or not ABC Daytime can find a replacement who is smart, interesting and engaging. The new host doesn’t have to be liberal, although it will be more interesting for me if she is.
When Rosie leaves, Joy will try to pick up the slack, although she doesn’t push the extremes in the same way. Elisabeth won’t have to work so hard and Barbara can go back to being friends with Donald Trump.