I thought about making this a gradual thing and sort of petering off my involvement with this site, but then I decided it was better to just pull off the band-aid and be done.
As of today, I am leaving Watching the View.
Now before your minds start churning with ideas of corporate take-down or external pressure, you should know that this decision was all mine. I have just reached the point where I don't like having to watch The View or write about it or even think about it.
When I started this site in January 2007, it was for one specific reason: Rosie O'Donnell had made the show the very essence of must-see-TV. And not because of the "feuds" or the arguments, but because she is one of the most engaging personalities in the world of television and she does not hesitate to give her (real, honest, not spoon-fed or prefabricated) views.
After her departure, I stayed with this site after some hesitation, mostly because I enjoyed the community that had been created here. Because of you. That and because I really thought that The View would get better than it was in the initial wake of her absence. Two years later I am still waiting.
The show unfortunately has been extremely predictable and a caricature, with each host fitting in her pigeon-hole saying things we expect them to say, whether they truly believe it or not. When I think of the show I no longer think about anything positive, but dwell on Whoopi Goldberg's disinterest in the guests, whining about taxes and running out on the stage to steal food in EVERY FOOD SEGMENT, the fact that Joy Behar does not even write the stale one-liners she is so fond of and cannot stop telling Monica jokes, the fact that Barbara Walters might no longer be remembered for being a TV icon, but rather for being that aging journalist who has stayed on way too long and doesn't realize that she is embarrassing herself, Sherri Shepherd spending the majority of the time she speaks talking about how she needs a man when really she needs to be focusing on loving herself and determining what is truly important to her and not letting her religion or others tell her what to believe, and Elisabeth Hasselbeck . . . well she never did have any bright spot for me to begin with. The joy in View-ville is long gone and I do not think it is coming back.
Although the amount of money I make on this site is a barely minimum wage level given the amount of time I have to put into it, I have stuck with it anyway because of a desire to maintain the community and because others seemed to enjoy it more than I did.
Most of you have no idea what goes on behind-the-scenes, but running this blog is no easy feat. I have tried not to care about keeping the peace, not bother weeding out the negativity, ignoring all the hate e-mail and bickering, but I just cannot become detached enough from the blog because I know that what others write can affect many of you negatively and I do not want that.
I know that many of you will be saddened to have lost this place to vent, communicate, and share ideas. You are welcome to continue to post here, although I do not know if they will be hiring a new writer. You can also post comments at my other View blog which will remain up for now, although I won't be posting there either. (I will be re-posting this entry there as well in case the powers that be here take this down for some reason).
While I am certain those at ABC who are aware of this little blog are happy to see me go because it means more people have to actually watch the show to know what happens on it, I hope that you all think about whether you need The View in your lives anymore. There are many other ways you can spend your time that will be healthier, more enlightening, or at the very least more entertaining.
Thank you all for your support over the years. My e-mail address is: winnieblogs @ gmail.com
