I don’t watch The View. I never have, and I don’t plan to in the future. But, as I understand it, the show was set up so that Elizabeth Hasselbeck played the role of Alan Colmes, only she was outnumbered 4-1. Is this correct?
If it is, then I am confused about why she is getting fired because people don’t like her and think she is too conservative. I mean, I guess Alan Colmes was able to be amiable enough that his audience at Fox News didn’t hate him. Maybe. But his role wasn’t to be liked, it was to be a punching bag for an audience who disagreed with everything he said.
From the very few video clips I have seen of Hasselbeck over the years, she appeared to be naïve and none too intelligent. Maybe that’s a better reason to terminate her contract than that the audience didn’t agree with her views. Because they’ll probably want to replace her with some other foil who is outnumbered 4-1. That’s the formula the audience expects, right?
I’ve watched a few times depending on who they had, but yes…I never thought, “She’s too conservative.” I always thought, “She sounds like every right-winger I’ve ever met who says stuff that they’re told to say, and doesn’t totally understand why they’re saying them.”
As you said, naive, and not too intelligent.
Anyway, I’m not a core target audience and I don’t have a real opinion of who should replace her or what. Don’t particularly care, either.
The fact that I even know what shows like “The View” are fills me with an indescribable self-loathing. The fact that this sort of format (regardless of political bias) is how many Americans inform themselves about their world just makes me sad.
I wouldn’t feel badly about knowing about the existence of a television program that plays five days a week on a major network.
Why does knowing the existence of “The View” fill you with…”an indescribable self-loathing”? I never watch it but still like to follow along as to what’s happening in pop culture and those who watch morning shows.
Making this big, sanctimonious moral pronouncement changes nothing. Do you know what else I’ve never seen: “American Idol”, “Survivor”, “Dancing with the Stars”, the “Bachelor/ette” Shows. I did see an episode of “The Apprentice”. Can’t say I was filled with “self-loathing” more like “this is not how I spend to waste my time”.
Maybe because he lives in the same country with it, or is a member of the same species that created it.
Not the same species. But the same society, with the same values.
Here’s how much I care: my priority for a replacement would be that she has legs as good as Elizabeth’s. And I’m not even passionate about that.
I don’t have the picture that Hasslebeck was hired as the designated conservative. It’s more like the cast was encouraged to “be themselves” when discussing topics, and Hasslebeck’s conservatism started leaping out as the show moved forward. She did give out the air of a woman who was unaccustomed to having her false assumptions questioned. Sounded like one of the curses of beauty to me.
The other notable thing to me about the cast’s politics is that Whoopi Goldberg is inconsistent and rather careless in her generally left views, but takes an extremely sharp right turn and acute interest when it comes to taxes. She wants everyone to keep their hands off her moneeeeee!!!
OTOH, I learned from being led to that website that James Franco is directing an adaptation of Bukowski’s “Ham on Rye”? Oh dear, I’m not optimistic about that. At least he’s not playing the lead role as well.
There is more to this story that we will not know. The “fired because she was too conservative” sounds like right-wing spin to me. Was she fired or was it that her contract was not renewed? She’s not the first to sit in the “designated conservative” seat.
Barbara Walters created the show and my impression was that the “designated conservative” seat was a concession to management to try to appease critics of the “liberal media”.
According to US Weekly, she was fired because viewers hated her. The few times I’ve watched the show, she shouts down the other panelists and bullies them to get her points across. When hosts/guests push back hard, she gets hysterical or starts crying. She is also incredibly rude to guests, if she doesn’t like their political viewpoints. Since 90% of Hollywood is liberal, that is a problem.
Hollywood is only 90% liberal when it comes to social issues(marriage, pot .. and the like). As someone stated above with the Whoopi Goldberg example, it’s no where near 90% when you start talking about economic issues.
I agree, this was based on marketing. The View got stale and I would guess they were losing some share. Hasselback was eye-candy who had a point of view. I doubt they ever set out to have a political formula, they just want to appeal to the audience who is most likely to tune in. She doesn’t appeal to that audience anymore, so she got the boot. It’s TV, not politics.
She’s getting long in the tooth…so are the other hostesses seasons ago.
There is no doubt that it will be spun as another winger sacrificed on the media altar because evil liberals are intolerant and hateful of views they don’t like.
Wouldn’t be surprised to see her hosting a panel at CPAC on the overwhelming bias of liberal media. And, of course, an appearance on Hannity and O’Reilly is guaranteed, so they can slobber all over themselves while staring at her legs. After all, victim-hood is a badge of honor on the right. It gets you elevated to semi-sainthood status for a time.
And while normally that crew doesn’t think much of the opinions of women, that very much changes when they’re conventionally beautiful.
From what a former viewer tells me, Hasselbeck was the wingnut, fundie extremist among a panel of fundie creeps, including, sadly, Whoopie Goldberg. It is the show that unmasked Barbara Walters as the Thing With No Mind.
From the few bits I’ve seen, most of the show consisted of a bunch of halfwit women twittering on and on about which celebrity narcissist of the moment they wanted to have a baby with. You can hear much more intelligent “conversation” on a bus or at a demo derby.
You could take five random women off the street and create a better show than The View. It’s hackneyed and Barbara Walters is a has-been. Whoopi shows her ass regularly. Complete waste of time. Even still, to not have Hasselbeck on there is a good thing.
The show has been on a long time and continues to be relevant if by no other evidence that about four times a year one of the panelist says something that stays in the news cycle for a few days. That Obama was on it last year I would say is also evidence. That doesn’t mean it is serious journ alism or analysis – just that the View has. Voice people listen to.
To do that year after year requires shaking things up from time to time to keep it fresh. I understand Joy Bahar is also leaving because she wants to do something new and get back to doing stand up. (as much as those ideas seem in opposition.
Frankly I think Hasselback was more of a prop for the other players. She also seems was best known as the wife of her NFL QB husband. Seem swapping her out for a new prop is about as meaningful as getting a new set Joy always seemed to grab more airtime the few times I tuned in. FWIW YMMV.
I thought Hasselbeck got the job primarily because of her popularity from the second season of “Survivor” (Australian Outback), not because she was known for her views as a winger. I figured maybe they picked her to provide a somewhat different “View”point, but the problem turned out to be that the producers relied on a former reality show contestant to provide semi-serious debate.
I didn’t see her as a “Colmes”, I thought Hasselbeck was more of a “Lanny Davis” type, because she was about as reliable on spouting conservative talking points as Jen Rubin is. But don’t expect an original thought.
Doesn’t The View still have Sherri Shepherd to bring the crazy?
Female point of view, here. Fox viewers didn’t mind Colmes because they enjoy hating liberals. The View is intended for an audience of middle-aged, middle-class women. We don’t generally enjoy confrontation. We prefer that everyone be happy and get along. I wouldn’t watch the View much under any circumstances, but I certainly won’t watch with Hasselbeck. She was unpleasant and unlikeable. If I wanted that, I would be watching Fox News.