Barbara Walters is the creator of this exciting, controversial and addicting daytime tal
k show. Five ladies with very different backgrounds and opinions are put together to bring all sides and opinions to the table. However, because of the distinct personality differences there has been many disagreements from fans of the show, as well as between the co-hosts themselves.
k show. Five ladies with very different backgrounds and opinions are put together to bring all sides and opinions to the table. However, because of the distinct personality differences there has been many disagreements from fans of the show, as well as between the co-hosts themselves.“The View” first aired on August 11th, 1997 starring Meredith Vieira, Star Jones Roberts, Debbie Matenopoulos, and Barbara Walters. Joy Behar initially took turns with Barbara to appear on the show. According to Salon.coms review of the show, The View is comparable to “The Rat Pack.” However the key demographic was women ages 18 to 49, and many women with diverse backgrounds find themselves addicted to this daytime talk show.
In the ten years that the show has aired, they have also had ten co-hosts. Beginning the trend was Debbie departure in 1999 leaving a vacancy for a young co-host. This position was quickly filled by Lisa Ling. Lisa sat in as co-host until 2002 and tryouts were held for the new young co-host spot. Elizabeth Hasselbeck, who became well known for her role as a contestant on “Survivor,” was chosen for the position. Since then, Elizabeth continues to hold her own with the ladies.
In the ten years that the show has aired, they have also had ten co-hosts. Beginning the trend was Debbie departure in 1999 leaving a vacancy for a young co-host. This position was quickly filled by Lisa Ling. Lisa sat in as co-host until 2002 and tryouts were held for the new young co-host spot. Elizabeth Hasselbeck, who became well known for her role as a contestant on “Survivor,” was chosen for the position. Since then, Elizabeth continues to hold her own with the ladies.
Meredith Viera was next to announce her departure on April 6th, 2006, because she 
was offered a position on the “Today Show.” This left an opening for a moderator on the show. Unexpectedly , on April 28th Barbara Walters made the announcement that Rosie O’Donnell, a well known controversial talk show host, would be starting the new season as moderator on “The View.”
was offered a position on the “Today Show.” This left an opening for a moderator on the show. Unexpectedly , on April 28th Barbara Walters made the announcement that Rosie O’Donnell, a well known controversial talk show host, would be starting the new season as moderator on “The View.”
Star Jones, in the mean time was in contractual negotiations with ABC. Rumors surrounded her 
because of her drastic weightloss and comments made about her by Rosie O’Donnell in the past. July 27th Star made an announcement that she would be leaving at the end of July because she and ABC were unable to come to an agreement for a new contract. Surprisingly, even to Barbara, the announcement came 2 days earlier than planned. The next day Star did not return to “The View,” Barbara made the announcement that she would not be returning to finish up thru July.
because of her drastic weightloss and comments made about her by Rosie O’Donnell in the past. July 27th Star made an announcement that she would be leaving at the end of July because she and ABC were unable to come to an agreement for a new contract. Surprisingly, even to Barbara, the announcement came 2 days earlier than planned. The next day Star did not return to “The View,” Barbara made the announcement that she would not be returning to finish up thru July. Until September a wide variety of celebrity co-hosts filled the empty seats. However, as the new season began on September 5th Rosie O’Donnell began in her new position. Ratings skyrocketed and November sweeps brought in the highest ratings in the shows history. With her came many controversies. These ranged from her very public dispute with Donald Trump, her very heartfelt political views, her untactful jokes about the Chinese, to her short yet viscous fight with Co-host Elizabeth Hasselbeck. Rosie’s extreme liberal views were always on the forefront against Elizabeth’s conservative views.
With Rosie came a lot of press. Her very public argument with Donald Trump was
heated and long running. This dispute started December 20th 2006 with Rosie making comments about Donald Trumps press conference giving the Miss USA title holder a second chance. In exchange for her comment Donald had a few of his own. This full blown fight became widely covered and the battle continues. Though not as extreme, you will still hear the banter between them.
Once again ABC found themselves having contract problems with a co-host. Rosie’s contract was to be renewed in June 2007. Rosie announced on April 25ththat she would be leaving because they were unable to meet eye to eye on contract length and other issues. However she would come back time to time for commentary. Then, May 23rd she and Elizabeth had their last disagreement on air. Rosie did not return after, as she had previously stated she would. Barbara was left once again to announce that Rosie had requested and ABC had decided to let her out of her contract early.
In the weeks to follow her departure, ratings dropped. Rosie was controversial yes, but the fans enjoyed watching her on the show. She brought an exciting dynamic to “The View” that would be hard to replace. The search for a new moderator was on, and the replacement had to be a good one.
Many people filled the slot from day to day. In August 2007, The announcements were made that Whoopi Goldberg as well as Sherri Shepard would be joining the show as the new co-hosts. Whoopi is well known for her political views, and volunteer work, as well as her many amazing roles in multiple movies.
According to TVWeek.com ratings are actually up 16% compared to when Rosie O’Donnell started in 2006. November sweeps are just around the corner, and that will be the true tell all.
In the ten years that the show has aired the dynamics have never really changed. The show continues to open every episode with “Hot Topics.” This is where the differences in the ladies truly shines. Daily news topics are often debated from, sometimes four different spectrums. Following these round table discussions are interviews with celebrities and other people of interest. Many times the show is also full of a smaller segments about food or fashion. Just as it was back when it first aired. Salon.com stated that this show was a benchmark for Barbara Walters ten years ago. Today that statement still rings true.
No comments:
Post a Comment