Watching The View

As I posted on my Twitter account, I will be needing volunteers to post recaps during the week of March 23rd. I already received a few responses, but I may want to have a different writer each day, so I thought I would post the request here as well.

You would need to do a recap of the show and have it finished within an hour of the live airing. (Sorry to those who watch it in later time periods!)

If you are interested, please send me an e-mail. (winnieblogs (at) gmail . com )

And if you are curious, no I am not going on vacation. I have a big work event in the first part of the week and then am having surgery on my foot on Thursday of that week. I could probably watch and recap on Friday, but hopefully I will be very drugged. Although, now that I think about it, that might make the show more watchable.

I have added a new feature to the sidebar of Watching the View. If you look under the section in the right hand column, down the page a bit, that says “Blogging Flair” you can read the updates that I post to my Twitter account. As you can see, I have posted some links (Like the LA Times article about whether the View will win an Emmy this year) and thoughts on the show that I did not put on the blog itself today. Keep an eye on that part of the site throughout the day because I have the ability to update that easily during the day, whereas adding new blog posts is not such an easy feat for me during the workday.

As part of the special week of The View from Burbank, Hot Topics producer Jason Kornblott has posted a blog entry on the ABC website. The most notable part of the entry is that this week there will only be one hot topics segment per day. I was wondering how they were going to fit in all those guests.

Here is a portion of his entry, where he discusses how he picks out the potential “hot” topics segments.

As Hot Topics Producer at The View, it is my job to rise before the roosters, read all the newspapers, magazines, and blogs I can get my hands on and compile a list of that day’s hottest news, entertainment and human interest stories. Particularly, I am looking for anything I think our co-hosts can have a good argument about. This, as you may know, is virtually anything, which makes my job (please don’t share this with anyone, as it would crush my mother) rather easy. Having found 30 or 40 potentially flammable argument-starters, and writing them up in a way intended to best push our co-hosts’ buttons, I then bring that list to our morning Hot Topics meeting.

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I would like to apologize again for the frequent disruptions in the ability to access the website in the last few weeks. Believe me when I say that I am just as, if not more, frustrated as all of you when the site goes down. Unfortunately none of the technical support/server problems are within my control, so I, like all of you, must just wait patiently while the powers that be try to remedy the situation.

Longtime readers will recall that I made a Watching the View page on Blogger last year as part of the Project Blog contest that I was a part of. That page has sat idle for the last year, but I would like to suggest to all of you that if you want to chat with your WTV friends during blog outages, you can go there and do so in the comments. You can visit it at Watching the View on Blogger.

I have created a Twitter account strictly for this website. My personal account, which I have posted before, will no longer include View-related things. Instead follow me at: Watching the View on Twitter. There I will post updates about the website (including outages), new blog post annoucements, and personal comments about the show. I encourage those of you on Twitter (or thinking about joining) to follow me and we can use it as another forum to chat about the show.

For all of you who have e-mailed me with comments, criticisms, and suggestions regarding various issues about the site, although I am unable to respond to you all individually, I am taking them all into consideration and am always thinking of ways to improve the site. I welcome such messages and just because I have not responded does not mean that I have not read and considered what you have written.

Here is this week’s schedule for The View, February 9th-13th, 2009, subject to change. I am looking forward to seeing Daniel Dae Kim from Lost.

Monday, February 9th: A day of “Hot Topics”; ABC News’ Diane Sawyer (ABC News’ “20/20″ - A Hidden America: Children of the Mountains” and ABC News’ “Good Morning America”); “Sex and the City” star Mario Cantone.

Tuesday, February 10th: Comedienne Joan Rivers; Daniel Dae Kim (ABC’s Lost).

Wednesday, February 11th: Academy Award nominee Kate Winslet (The Reader and Revolutionary Road); Jane Krakowski (30 Rock).

Thursday, February 12th: The View Special Edition: Love theme show with Miss Piggy; Patti Stanger (Millionaire Matchmaker); Helen Fisher (author, Why Him Why Her).

Friday, February 13th: Clive Owen (The International); Academy Award nominee Melissa Leo (Frozen River)

The View, Helen Fisher, Clive Owen, Melissa Leo, Kate Winslet, Jane Krakowski, Joan Rivers, Daniel Dae Kim, Miss Piggy, Mario Cantone, Diane Sawyer

Elisabeth Hasselbeck announced this morning on The View that she is pregnant with her third child, ending weeks of speculation by viewers.

She is due in August and told viewers that she did not even know that she was pregnant for the first two months. She was tired, but thought it was just “electionitis.”

Elisabeth Hasselbeck, The View

Hello everyone! Just wanted to give everyone some updates and pass on a few links.

Don’t forget that you can still enter my Watching the View giveaway to win a Kimberly-Clark prize pack that includes products and a home design book. To enter and read the rules visit this link: Watching the View and Kimberly-Clark Giveaway.

In case you have not stopped by this week during the time of the live airing of the show (11am eastern), I have been posting the entry for the day early so that you can comment during the show as it is happens. Then I post my recap in that same place. Thanks to Roger from Ohio from the suggestion.

I have been without internet access in my home due to a recent move, so I am very slow in responding to moderated comments. I know that the filter has been working extra hard for some reason and putting comments into moderation based on the inclusion of one link. (And in some cases no noticeable reason at all). If you post a comment and it does not show up, the best thing to do is e-mail me directly and I will try to approve it as soon as I can. I will be able to get it faster if you e-mail than if you just mention it the comments. (reminder: my e-mail is winnieblogs (at) gmail.com)

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Defamer has their take on Sherri Shepherd’s anti-gravity yoga demonstration.

Huffington Post has a video of Whoopi Goldberg reenacting the PETA “Veggie Love” commercial.

Here are a few more photos of Sherri Shepherd at the Trumpet awards. These photos are from during the ceremony. I really like her purple dress, although I personally am partial to purple in general.

watching the view, sherri shepherd, The view, Whoop Goldberg

Kimberly-Clark, along with celebrity designer Thom Filicia, is partnering with The View again this year for the Room-a-Day Giveaway contest. They will be giving 16 lucky winners $25,000 to makeover a room in their house. You can learn more about the contest at Room-a-Day Giveaway or at the official View website and submit your entry online there. Entries can be submitted through March 6th, although they will begin choosing winners in early February. The website also gives design tips from Filicia, as well as blog entries. He is the same designer who helped redesign The View guest dressing rooms earlier this season.

Although I cannot give away $25,000 prizes, here at Watching the View we are going to be having our own Kimberly-Clark contest! We will be giving away, courtesy of Kimberly-Clark, a prize pack that includes Kimberly-Clark products and Thom Filicia’s book Thom Filicia Style: Inspired Ideas for Creating Rooms You’ll Love. You can read about his book at Amazon if you want to see what it is all about. Kimberly-Clark products include Kleenex, Huggies, and Cottonelle.

How do you enter the Watching the View and Kimberly-Clark contest? It’s easy. Just post in the comment section below what kind of segment you would like to participate in on The View. Do you have a talent you want to showcase? Is their a cause near to your heart that you would love to spread the word about? Are you obsessed with a particular actor that you would love to interview on the show?

Official Rules for the Watching the View contest:

1. All entries must be received by Sunday February 1st at 11:00 p.m. central time.

2. To enter, comment on this blog entry and let me know what segment you would like to participate in on The View, per the description above. You must put a valid e-mail address in the “e-mail” box of the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not share your e-mail address or use it for any other purpose but this contest.

3. I will select one random winner from all eligible entries. The winner will be contacted via e-mail and must respond to the e-mail with their mailing address within 48 hours or a new winner will be chosen. The prize pack will be sent directly from Kimberly-Clark.

4. If you are a first time commenter, your comment may initially go into moderation. I will be sure to include all comments made prior to the deadline in the drawing, including those in moderation, and those that may have inadvertently ended up in the spam filter.

Questions? E-mail me at winnieblogs (at) gmail.com (change at to @ and remove the spaces)

Thanks to Kimberly-Clark for sponsoring this giveaway!

EDITED TO ADD: ABC News just announced that Rod Blagojevich and his wife Patti will be on Monday!

Here is the The View schedule for January 26th-30th, subject to change.

Monday January 26th: Day of Hot Topics; ETA: Rod Blagojevich, Patti Blagojevich

Tuesday January 27th: Liza Minnelli, Padma Lakshmi

Wedneady January 28th: Liam Neeson, Jason O’Mara (Life on Mars)

Thursday January 29th: Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice

Friday January 30th: Julianne Moore, Whitney Port (The City), musical guest Peter Cincotti

The front page story on my local Chicago Sun-Times newspaper is the rumor that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich wants to appear on The View. The appearance would be part of his campaign to take his story to the media and be able to tell his side.

The Sun-Times was unable to confirm whether Blagojevich was actually booked on the show because they were told by the show’s spokesman that the show doesn’t discuss bookings, per their policy. I wonder if he was not booked, or in the process of being booked, the spokesman would have just said that was the case?

I am sure that Barbara Walters is beside herself with excitement over the possibility of obtaining this “big get.” It would certainly be a ratings boost for the show, especially if it is the first major media program that he appears on.

The article suggests that Blagojevich may want to go on the show because he was “reportedly moved by what he felt was a touch of sympathy from (Whoopi) Goldberg.”

However, I also remember the hosts being pretty harsh on him in the hot topics, not to mention repeatedly mispronouncing his name, so I don’t know how sympathetic they will be. Especially because they will want to ask tough questions of him in order to ensure media coverage of their interview. It certainly would not be a walk in the park for him.

What do you think? Should Governor Blagojevich appear on The View? What kind of questions do you think they hosts will ask him? What would you like to ask him?

Photo: Chicago Sun-Times

The View, Whoopi Goldberg, Barbara Walters, Rod Blagojevich

There is no episode of The View today, of course, because it is Inauguration Day! Feel free to talk to one another in the comments about any of the festivities, the speeches, the swearing in, the parade, or anything else related to your thoughts about today.

The View, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Joy Behar, Sherri Shepherd, Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, Barack Obama

I have updated the comment policy for Watching the View. Please read the new version here: Watching the View comment policy. A link to the policy also appears in the sidebar should you wish to refer to it in the future. Violations of the policy will not be tolerated. Although I do not like to remove people from the site, I won’t hesitate to do so if I deem it necessary.

As of today, I will no longer be providing off-topic threads for comment posting. What I started as a service for those of you who wanted to post about the election and other non-View related topics has become something that I do not feel comfortable having associated with this site. While the vast majority of you use the thread for a positive exchange of information, the thread has also become fraught with negativity that is just not acceptable.

Of course everyone is encouraged to comment on the on-topic threads, provided you stay on topic (anything about The View or the issues talked about on the show is fair game) and follow the other comment policy rules.

I understand that this move will cause me to lose readers, as several of you have little interest in talking about The View, but I feel I have to do what I feel is right for the site and my community here. I value my readers too much to sacrifice what I believe in for the sake of higher page views.

If you want to communicate with people off the site, I am happy to pass your e-mail address on to any other poster that you would like. Of course I will never give your e-mail address to anyone without your permission.

If you have any questions about what I have written here today please e-mail me at winnieblogs at gmail.com (change at to @ and remove the spaces)

IToday on The View, it was a “special edition” because it featured three comedians as guests. Joy was absent again because she will be on The Tonight Show tonight.

A high turnout of minority voters may have lead to more socially conservative issues to pass like Proposition 8 in California which bans gay marriage. Barbara Walters said that church groups supported it because they did not want to get sued if they refused to perform gay marriage ceremonies and did not want gay marriage taught in schools. Whoopi Goldberg said that marriage is not taught in schools, why would they teach gay marriage? Barbara said that it could discussed or in the curriculum. Elisabeth said that a priest in Sweden was arrested for refusing to perform a gay ceremony. Elisabeth said that supporters are saying that it is good that the victory came from the people rather than the court. Whoopi said that she has always said that if you don’t support gay marriage, don’t marry a gay person. Whoopi said that most gay people would not want to go get married in a church that would not support them.

My television cut out when Sherri was explaining her position. Anyone who saw it, could you fill us in with what she said in the comment section? When the TV came back on, they were at the first commercial break.
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First and foremost, I want to thank all of you who have come to Watching the View this month, as October 2008, has recorded the most visits and page views of any month since the blog began in January 2007.

Due to the extremely heated and off-topic nature of the commenting lately as a result of the upcoming election, I have decided to take the advice of several readers and make a separate post area where you all can come to comment on things that don’t pertain to The View. That way those people who come here to actually talk about The View and what they discussed on the show will not have to wade through hundreds of comments of talking points, links, and rumors. The comment section on my View recaps and articles will be more strictly enforced, without me worrying about stifling anyone’s right to speak their mind. Today’s off-topic thread is here: Watching the View Off-Topic Thread October 30th.

As most of you know, since this blog’s inception I have been able to post recaps for The View on a daily basis as soon as the show ends, usually with the exception of one day a week. This has been due to my very liberal work schedule. Unfortunately, through no fault of my own, that schedule will soon be changing. As a result, the way that the recaps are handled is going to have to change as well. Some days I may be able to get a recap of the hot topics section up in the morning, sometimes the entire episode, and sometimes nothing at all. I will do my best to keep up with the site because I appreciate all of my loyal readers and want to keep this site at its current level of participation.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me.

The View, Watching the View

You may recall that my New Year’s resolution this year was to make it on The View. I wrote at the time that it was a “dream goal” to be a guest-host on The View and I posted the picture above. I knew that it would never happen, but it pays to dream big, right?

Earlier this summer, my husband and I decided to take a trip to New York City for our anniversary. Although I knew I could not actually get on the show, I thought I could at least get tickets to sit in the audience. I have since tried several routes to get tickets and I thought we had gotten in, but then I was told that all the VIP tickets for that day (this coming Monday, September 29th) were taken. At least I should be glad I was considered VIP, I suppose, although it is not much consolation.

I had day-dreamed of getting to meet all of the hosts and thought about what I would say to each of them, especially Elisabeth. I had imagined what I would say if, by some stroke of luck, I got to speak on camera (maybe as the audience participant at the halfway point in the show or something). I thought about making my husband wear a “Watching the View” t-shirt or making up cards to hand out to other audience members to get more readers. But, alas, now my Monday morning will be spent at a museum rather than hanging out with Sherri Shepherd, Joy Behar, and the rest.

However, the most disappointing part of not getting to see the taping is that I was so looking forward to coming back and telling you all what happened behind-the-scenes. I thought that I could even make a series out of it, doing postings over the span of a few days, showing pictures and writing about my experiences. Instead, maybe we will get up at the crack of dawn to go see the Today Show or something.

The View, New Year’s Resolution, Sherri Shepherd, Joy Behar, Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, NYC