By Nathan Tabor
Thursday, June 21, 2007
According to the LA Times, the producers of CBS show "The Price is Right" are considering Rosie O'Donnell as a replacement for Bob Barker, who retired after 35 years of hosting the show. This news comes on the heels of Bob Barker's endorsement of Rosie as a suitable host for the show. This news begs the question: What on earth are Barker and the CBS producers thinking?
The longest-running daytime game show in history, The Price is Right is purely family entertainment; the idea of Rosie O'Donnell as host, a public figure whose anti-family views are well-known, is problematic, to say the least. If CBS executives are counting on Rosie to host the show while leaving her lifestyle out of the picture, they are engaging in wishful thinking--discretion has never been Rosie's strong point.
From her earlier dust-ups over gun control and the termination of her 1999 contract with Kmart to her diatribes on "The View," Rosie has demonstrated political and moral views on a variety of topics that are out of step with mainstream America; furthermore, she has insisted on foisting them on viewers regardless of the larger consequences. Though Bob Barker is no less liberal than Rosie, his on-screen persona was almost grandfatherly in its cordiality and respect. Rosie has shown herself incapable of a similar performance. While "The View" retained Rosie because the producers thought controversy would boost ratings, they almost certainly were not expecting Rosie's descent into the paranoia and ugliness of accusing US soldiers of "terrorism" in Iraq, or blaming 9/11 on the federal government. Despite the fact that these beliefs are abhorrent to most Americans, and immoral in the extreme, Rosie continued to foist her bizarre and distasteful theories on the public.
Rosie as emcee is a big step down for CBS: from Barker's grandfatherly manner and superb business sense to Rosie's extremism and grandstanding. This is the point that must be made to CBS executives before they meet with O'Donnell: retaining Rosie to host "The Price is Right" is bad business sense, and will lead to a drop in ratings. Rosie has shown that she is willing to torpedo a show's credibility in order to give voice to her political views--CBS need not make the same mistake as ABC did when they brought Rosie on "The View."
If you agree that Rosie is wrong for "The Price is Right" and for family entertainment, contact CBS here and email the producers and marketers of the show here:
Lynne-Mei.Lee@fremantlemedia.com
megan@lippingroup.com
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