http://www.tailgatingideas.com/2007/10/18/baltimore-top-tailgating-city/#more-43
Congratulations Baltimore
Baltimore, a city esteemed for its crab houses, Inner Harbor and home of one of the NFL’s most rugged defenses, now has another claim to fame: it’s the best football tailgating city in the United States. Runners-up were Denver, Houston, San Diego and Cincinnati. This ranking was funded and backed by DirecTV and KVH Industries, Inc. Both are companies that have a stake in encouraging more fans to go high-tech in their tailgating ventures. Which ones were ranked the worst by these “experts”? St. Louis, Detroit and Seattle all ranked at the bottom. See where your city ranked.
The main criteria in forming this ranking included stadium parking lots, overall tailgating environment, tailgating-fan enthusiasm and the sales of tailgating accessories like in-car live TV systems and mobile programming. Taking into account all these factors, these experts visited 31 NFL cities (both the Giants and the Jets share the same stadium) plus NFL-hopeful Los Angeles. Apparently it took this group of experts four years to compile all the information and to visit all of the cities to gather this information and make their rankings. With all the criteria considered, Baltimore came out on top.
Rounding out the top 10 were Miami (sixth), Tampa (seventh), Kansas City (eighth), Buffalo (ninth) and Philadelphia and Phoenix (tied for tenth). The complete 32-city ranking can be found at the bottom of this article. Other factors that would help a particular stadium and city’s “tailgating-friendliness” quotient included stadium parking lot sizes, fees, accessibility, hours of operation and special facilities and programs for tailgaters. Oh yeah, the sale of DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket packages and TracVision mobile satellite TV systems for cars and RVs in 2006-2007 also played a role.
Baltimore’s top ranking is attributed to its high scores in all four categories while Tampa, Miami and Buffalo benefited from high tailgating expert ratings and superior stadium or parking facilities boosted Denver, Houston and Cincinnati. Ongoing construction of the Meadowlands Xanadu and Patriots Place projects limited the scores of New York and Boston, respectively, while parking or tailgating restrictions in Green Bay, Chicago, Detroit, and Seattle similarly affected their tailgating scores. In Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and Rose Bowl were used for evaluation.
Keep in mind that this “study” was funded by two large corporations that want to encourage the consumption of their products and programming. We’re not saying the results were skewed or are we questioning the integrity of the rankings but please know where the information is coming from. think your city and stadium should be ranked higher? Maybe you should get your fellow tailgaters to buy more portable satellite TV systems and subscribe to DirecTV. That may help your rankings. If you are unconcerned on how your city ranks, keep up that attitude and create your own tailgating style.
The following is a complete list of all 32 cities ranked most “tailgating-friendly” cities in the U.S. by KVH Industries, DirecTV and tailgating experts:
1. Baltimore
2. Denver
3. Houston
4. San Diego
5. Cincinnati
6. Miami
7. Tampa
8. Kansas City
9. Buffalo
10. Philadelphia (tied)
10. Phoenix (tied)
12. Washington, D.C.
13. Green Bay
14. Jacksonville
15. Oakland, CA
16. Indianapolis
17. Nashville
18. New York (tied)
18. Pittsburgh (tied)
18. Boston (tied)
21. San Francisco
22. Cleveland
23. Charlotte
24. Los Angeles
25. Minneapolis
26. Dallas
27. Chicago
28. Atlanta
29. New Orleans
30. St. Louis
31. Detroit
32. Seattle
Showing posts with label DirecTV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DirecTV. Show all posts
Friday, November 16, 2007
Friday, August 17, 2007
DirecTV to Sell Powerline Broadband
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/15/ap4022847.html
DirecTV to Sell Powerline Broadband
Associated Press
08.15.07
NEW YORK - The DirecTV Group Inc. Wednesday said it will market Current Group LLC's broadband over powerline service, to be available in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
The BPL service, which allows customers to get Internet service through modems plugged into power outlet, is expected to cover about 1.8 million homes and businesses over the next several years.
Satellite broadcaster DirecTV will be able to market a bundle that includes high-speed Internet and Internet telephone services to its residential customers.
In addition, the agreement announced Wednesday provides DirecTV the ability to add other geographic markets as Current Group builds its network.
Current Group, a privately held company based in Germantown, Md., is a leading provider of BPL products and services to electric distribution companies.
Shares of El Segundo, Calif.-based DirecTV were unchanged at $22.10 midday Wednesday.
DirecTV to Sell Powerline Broadband
Associated Press
08.15.07
NEW YORK - The DirecTV Group Inc. Wednesday said it will market Current Group LLC's broadband over powerline service, to be available in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
The BPL service, which allows customers to get Internet service through modems plugged into power outlet, is expected to cover about 1.8 million homes and businesses over the next several years.
Satellite broadcaster DirecTV will be able to market a bundle that includes high-speed Internet and Internet telephone services to its residential customers.
In addition, the agreement announced Wednesday provides DirecTV the ability to add other geographic markets as Current Group builds its network.
Current Group, a privately held company based in Germantown, Md., is a leading provider of BPL products and services to electric distribution companies.
Shares of El Segundo, Calif.-based DirecTV were unchanged at $22.10 midday Wednesday.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Google eyes high-speed data freeway
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-google21jul21,0,4303522.story?coll=la-home-center
From the Los Angeles Times
Google eyes high-speed data freeway
The search giant may help transform public airwaves, driving down the cost of internet access.
By Jim Puzzanghera
Times Staff Writer
July 20, 2007
WASHINGTON -- If Google Inc. has its way, your cell phone will work on any wireless network and companies will sell high-speed Internet access for cut-rate prices.
Google thinks that would be a wonderful world -- for consumers as well as its own bottom-line -- and is proposing to pony up $4.6 billion in a long-shot bid to create it.
The king of Web search Friday offered to dig into its mountain of cash to transform a chunk of prime public airwaves into a high-speed data freeway. If successful, it could drive down the price of Internet access by creating more competitors to phone and cable companies.
Google promised to bid in an upcoming federal auction of spectrum that is ideal for fast wireless Internet service -- but only if regulators agree to the company's proposals to require open access to those airwaves. That means any device, service, software application or network could operate on it with no restrictions.
"That would be revolutionary," said Bob Williams director of HearUsNow.org, a Web site run by Consumers Union that promotes telecommunications competition. "If you want high-speed Internet service, you basically have a choice of two, and in a lot of places you don't have any choice ... and that situation has to change."
Google told the Federal Communications Commission it would put up the minimum bid of $4.6 billion. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company wanted to prove its seriousness and counter big wireless companies such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc., which say the conditions would make the spectrum virtually worthless.
The offer is unlikely to sway the FCC. The agency thinks the airwaves being given up by TV broadcasters in 2009 as they switch to digital signals could fetch much more for the federal coffers.
But Google is showing its intention to influence one of the biggest spectrum auctions in the nation's history.
Google's offer comes at a time when investors are raising questions about how much money the company is spending to put its ambitious plans in place. Its stock fell more than 5 percent, to $520.12, Friday after big investments on hires and other expansion costs caused its second-quarter earnings to miss Wall Street's expectations.
Despite its promise to bid, Google actually might not want to license the airwaves itself. But it does want to force them open to increase competition with cable and phone companies -- and make it cheaper for people to get on the Web and use Google's growing array of services.
Wireless companies now control all access to the spectrum they license from the government, which is why, for example, Apple Inc.'s iPhone can't be used on any network other than AT&T's. Under Google's plan people could connect any device to any network and run any software they want on their phones, such as free Internet-based calling systems.
But most important for boosting competition, companies would have the right to use the airwaves at a wholesale price to offer their own Internet access.
"In short, when Americans can use the software and handsets of their choice, over open and competitive networks, they win," Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt wrote in a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin on Friday.
The effort is backed by public-interest groups and a coalition of major technology companies, including Intel Corp., eBay Inc., Yahoo Inc., DirecTV Group Inc. and EchoStar Communications Corp. But it faces huge obstacles in Washington, where the politically powerful phone companies have been fighting it.
Last week, Martin supported Google's plan to allow people to use any device or software on a network but not the more controversial open-access requirement that many view as the key to creating a viable nationwide competitor to phone and cable companies in broadband access.
Martin worried that imposing the conditions could make it difficult for auction winners to get funding to build their networks.
The FCC is still drawing up the rules for the airwave auction, and Google's plan is a longshot.
AT&T slammed Google's bid offer Friday, saying it was just an attempt to pressure the FCC to "stack the deck in its favor."
Under the traditional auction rules, Google says it and other companies can't outbid the big phone companies because of their built-in advantage of existing networks of cellular towers and pools of customers.
"It doesn't matter whether or not Google has the deep pockets -- at some point you've got to say this is just an unreasonable investment," said Richard Whitt, Google's telecom and media counsel in Washington. "We're just trying to un-skew things enough to give Google ... or a DirecTV or an EchoStar or a Yahoo or whoever comes in there at least a decent shot for the spectrum."
The spectrum is being given up by TV broadcasters in 2009 as they switch to digital signals and is considered ideal for providing wireless high-speed Internet access.
Rob Sanderson, an analyst with American Technology Research, said Google had much to gain from lowering the price of high-speed Internet access. But he doubted Google wanted to buy any airwaves and provide the service itself.
"They're really trying to encourage an environment where others ... can step in and become competitors," he said.
From the Los Angeles Times
Google eyes high-speed data freeway
The search giant may help transform public airwaves, driving down the cost of internet access.
By Jim Puzzanghera
Times Staff Writer
July 20, 2007
WASHINGTON -- If Google Inc. has its way, your cell phone will work on any wireless network and companies will sell high-speed Internet access for cut-rate prices.
Google thinks that would be a wonderful world -- for consumers as well as its own bottom-line -- and is proposing to pony up $4.6 billion in a long-shot bid to create it.
The king of Web search Friday offered to dig into its mountain of cash to transform a chunk of prime public airwaves into a high-speed data freeway. If successful, it could drive down the price of Internet access by creating more competitors to phone and cable companies.
Google promised to bid in an upcoming federal auction of spectrum that is ideal for fast wireless Internet service -- but only if regulators agree to the company's proposals to require open access to those airwaves. That means any device, service, software application or network could operate on it with no restrictions.
"That would be revolutionary," said Bob Williams director of HearUsNow.org, a Web site run by Consumers Union that promotes telecommunications competition. "If you want high-speed Internet service, you basically have a choice of two, and in a lot of places you don't have any choice ... and that situation has to change."
Google told the Federal Communications Commission it would put up the minimum bid of $4.6 billion. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company wanted to prove its seriousness and counter big wireless companies such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc., which say the conditions would make the spectrum virtually worthless.
The offer is unlikely to sway the FCC. The agency thinks the airwaves being given up by TV broadcasters in 2009 as they switch to digital signals could fetch much more for the federal coffers.
But Google is showing its intention to influence one of the biggest spectrum auctions in the nation's history.
Google's offer comes at a time when investors are raising questions about how much money the company is spending to put its ambitious plans in place. Its stock fell more than 5 percent, to $520.12, Friday after big investments on hires and other expansion costs caused its second-quarter earnings to miss Wall Street's expectations.
Despite its promise to bid, Google actually might not want to license the airwaves itself. But it does want to force them open to increase competition with cable and phone companies -- and make it cheaper for people to get on the Web and use Google's growing array of services.
Wireless companies now control all access to the spectrum they license from the government, which is why, for example, Apple Inc.'s iPhone can't be used on any network other than AT&T's. Under Google's plan people could connect any device to any network and run any software they want on their phones, such as free Internet-based calling systems.
But most important for boosting competition, companies would have the right to use the airwaves at a wholesale price to offer their own Internet access.
"In short, when Americans can use the software and handsets of their choice, over open and competitive networks, they win," Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt wrote in a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin on Friday.
The effort is backed by public-interest groups and a coalition of major technology companies, including Intel Corp., eBay Inc., Yahoo Inc., DirecTV Group Inc. and EchoStar Communications Corp. But it faces huge obstacles in Washington, where the politically powerful phone companies have been fighting it.
Last week, Martin supported Google's plan to allow people to use any device or software on a network but not the more controversial open-access requirement that many view as the key to creating a viable nationwide competitor to phone and cable companies in broadband access.
Martin worried that imposing the conditions could make it difficult for auction winners to get funding to build their networks.
The FCC is still drawing up the rules for the airwave auction, and Google's plan is a longshot.
AT&T slammed Google's bid offer Friday, saying it was just an attempt to pressure the FCC to "stack the deck in its favor."
Under the traditional auction rules, Google says it and other companies can't outbid the big phone companies because of their built-in advantage of existing networks of cellular towers and pools of customers.
"It doesn't matter whether or not Google has the deep pockets -- at some point you've got to say this is just an unreasonable investment," said Richard Whitt, Google's telecom and media counsel in Washington. "We're just trying to un-skew things enough to give Google ... or a DirecTV or an EchoStar or a Yahoo or whoever comes in there at least a decent shot for the spectrum."
The spectrum is being given up by TV broadcasters in 2009 as they switch to digital signals and is considered ideal for providing wireless high-speed Internet access.
Rob Sanderson, an analyst with American Technology Research, said Google had much to gain from lowering the price of high-speed Internet access. But he doubted Google wanted to buy any airwaves and provide the service itself.
"They're really trying to encourage an environment where others ... can step in and become competitors," he said.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Beast of the Month - July 2007
Beast of the Month - July 2007
The View, Annoying Daytime TV Talk Show
"I yam an anti-Christ... "
John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) of The Sex Pistols, "Anarchy in the UK"
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." So said Charles Dickens at the start of A Tale of Two Cities, and it could easily describe the boobtube landscape during the decade of zeroes. Far from The Boss' dire prediction of "57 channels and nothin' on" in a 1992 song, thanks to DirecTV and TiVo, there's 500-plus channels to surf with almost always something worth watching. Of course, that sometimes may be hard to believe with the countless inane reality shows that seemingly dominate the dial. Still, with all due respect to Temptation Island, Joe Millionaire, and Britney & Kevin: Chaotic (as well as the atrocious family drama 7th Heaven) the most annoying TV show of the decade, hands down, would have to be The View, the female gabfest talk show created by Barbara Walters and The Konformist Beast of the Month.
About here we should insert a disclaimer about gender bias. Yes, a look at Konformist Kontributing Editors over the years would reveal a male-dominated species. Fair enough. So with that acknowledged, the general consensus view of The Konformist staff is thus: for all the crimes against humanity unleashed by Michael Bay in Armageddon and Pearl Harbor, we still firmly believe a pop-culture decided by nine-year old boys is infinitely superior to one dominated by middle-age women. (As proof, we present as exhibits Josh Groban, Michael Bolton and Steel Magnolias.) Further, we bluntly declare that the whole so-called purpose of The View, to allow a group of women to speak what's on their minds, is misguided. Frankly, we think women spend way too much time speaking about what they're thinking and feeling to begin with. If that be sexist, so be it.
(And in a similar vein, we cite Grey's Anatomy, an insufferable experience for any man to watch - made all the more insufferable due to the only reason any guy watches it is he's being forced to by some woman. By the way, here's a tip to networks on how to make shows more appealing to men: don't have characters with nicknames like "McDreamy" and "McSteamy" in the cast.)
Making The View all the more unappetizing to men: any female on the show that even begins to appeal to guys soon leaves. The most noted example: Lisa Ling (who is still often referred to as "the hot Asian chick on The View") was perhaps the only non-obnoxious female besides Babs to co-host the show, after she replaced the annoying Debbie Matenopoulos. Despite her harmless personality and disarming looks, she left after only three seasons. Her replacement, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, though a noted babe since her stint on Survivor, prattles on about her right-wing political beliefs that neutralizes any appeal she may have. (Though she comes off as a more attractive but less shrill Ann Coulter, that's still not a compliment.) Then there's the curious case of Star Jones, who for years was an obese, controversially combative member of the cast. In 2006, her contract was not renewed, coincidentally when a diet and exercise regiment (and by that we mean gastric bypass surgery) turned her suddenly a sexy svelte. Looking at all this, one has to wonder if The View is some kind of twisted joke created from the nightmares of Sam Kinison in hell to torture all men.
That seems to be the explanation for what happened after the bland Meredith Vieira left the show at the end of the 2006 season to replace Katie Couric on The Today Show. (She, along with Walters, Jones and the shrill Joy Beyhart, was a co-host of the show since its debut 1997 season.) Where oh where could they find someone that could turn what was already a black joke on men even worse? They seemingly found the perfect answer in Rosie O'Donnell, the loudmouthed former talk-show host and alleged comedian. Here was someone with an uber-obnoxious personality that was like Star Jones on steroids, minus the dark skin and weight loss.
Perversely, the hiring of O'Donnell worked, as oddly this hefty, adversarial lesbian has a huge following among soccer moms. (Again, evidence that middle-aged women shouldn't control our popular culture.) Ratings skyrocketed to record levels, fueled by a media catfight between Rosie and a hissy Donald Trump. And then surprise hit, which turns the whole tale of The View into a truly Beastly affair.
At some point in 2007, Rosie, long a critic of George W. Bush and the Iraq Quagmire, apparently became interested in 9/11 conspiracy theories, and in late March repeated some of the juiciest 9/11 con claims and evidence on the show. She elaborated on it further on her blog. Though right-wing mouthpieces (most notably the falafel-loving Bill O'Reilly) demanded show boycotts and her firing for her utterance, The View suffered no loss of popularity following the controversy.
Despite the record ratings, deemed overwhelmingly due to O'Donnell's giant fan base, it was publicly announced less than a month later her one-year contract would not be extended by ABC. Officially, the sticking point was money and contract length: Rosie wanted a one-year, $10 million contract, ABC three years for $18 million. But in closer examination, this doesn’t make sense. To begin with, like her or not, $10 million still would be a bargain for someone with a proven following like Rosie. As for the contract length, there's no reason this should be a deal-breaker, as one season of Rosie guaranteed is still better than none. All in all, the gap between the two parties was pretty normal for contract negotiations.
One widely believed rumor is that ABC had demanded that Rosie clamp down on her 9/11 conspiracy talk, to which she rightfully refused. This, and not money, was the big issue. Making this theory all the more plausible: according to the New York Post Page Six, Rosie had booked the makers of the 9/11 conspiracy documentary Loose Change for the May 24 episode.
Unfortunately, the Loose Change makers never got their chance to promulgate con theories to soccer moms, as on May 23, Rosie had a televised meltdown in a now infamous battle of words with Hasselbeck on the show. The knock-down drag-out was instigated by right-wing mouthpieces that were increasingly trashing Rosie for her high profile criticism of the Iraq War, twisting her words to claim she viewed American soldiers as "terrorists." Rosie denounced Elisabeth as "cowardly" for not sticking up for her in a heated exchange that lasted well past what should have been the commercial break. (As the argument enfolded, the two were shown together on split screen.) After the episode, it was announced that her contract with ABC would end early and she would no longer appear on the show.
Let it be said that though Loose Change is (unsurprisingly) very popular among most Konformist Kontributors, it does have its critics over both its methods and conclusions. This shouldn't be a surprise, as there is among the Konformist editors widely different views about what happened on 9/11 and who was behind it. But if the merits of Loose Change can be summed up in one phrase that unites the Konformist staff varying viewpoints, it's that while it may not have all the right answers, it definitely asks all the right questions, questions that have both a right and a need to be asked.
Likewise, The Konformist may prefer to have someone besides Rosie be the face of 9/11 conspiracies (someone noted for their good judgment, classy sophistication and intellectual depth - like, say, Charlie Sheen) but like it or not, she's become it, and has done more than anyone since Michael Moore to encourage questioning and examination of the 9/11 story. For this, she should be saluted. The evidence suggests that it was her speaking her mind (which was what she was hired to do) that ended her relationship with The View, a relationship that had shown no signs of faltering or advertising backlash. In other words, ABC had no legitimate reason to release her from the show. While there is room for speculation, it appears that ABC wimped out to appeal to the right-wing mob mentality, much like its parent company Disney did with Michael Moore and Fahrenheit 9/11.
The punch line is, like with the Mickey Mouse Fahrenheit wimp-out, the cave-in has backfired. Within two weeks of Rosie's departure, the show's audience has tanked over 400,000, with advertising revenues surely soon to fall. (This is contrast to the Don Imus firing, which was preceded by a sudden bailing of big advertisers over his racist snickerings.) But, as with the Michael Moore flick, it appears Disney is more interested in schmoozing right-wing political interests for governmental favors than present a popular, albeit provocative, viewpoint.
While speculation continues over where Rosie will go next (a solo talk show, perhaps, or maybe The Price Is Right) or who will replace her (one disturbing name floated by Babs: Paris Hilton) The View clearly has jumped the shark culturally and lost any worth as something more than women babbling about Dancing with the Stars. It's kind of sad: despite her dubious credit as creator and co-host, Ms. Walters has long been among the most thoughtful and empathic voices in the mainstream media (male or female.) Thanks to Rosie, Babs' show was finally presenting something that made it almost worth watching. But just when it got interesting, it switched gears and removed the one thing that wasn't shrill brain-rot for bourgeoisie housewives. But hey, what else can you expect from a bunch of women?
In any case, we salute The View as Beast of the Month. Congratulations, and keep up the great work, ladies!!!
Special Konformist Note: For the writing of this article, Konformist Editor Robert Sterling was forced to do something men don't normally do, which is watch The View (via clips on Youtube.com.) While he sacrificed his own health for the good of Konformist readers, he doesn't advocate other men do the same, for they may suffer the effects of estrogen poisoning. If, for some reason, you are someday forced to watch The View (most likely by the same woman who forces you to watch Grey's Anatomy) we recommend that you keep something nearby that will give you the necessary hormonal boost to counteract the effects of the show. In particular, Jean-Claude Van Damme action films on video seem to do the trick.
The View, Annoying Daytime TV Talk Show
"I yam an anti-Christ... "
John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) of The Sex Pistols, "Anarchy in the UK"
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." So said Charles Dickens at the start of A Tale of Two Cities, and it could easily describe the boobtube landscape during the decade of zeroes. Far from The Boss' dire prediction of "57 channels and nothin' on" in a 1992 song, thanks to DirecTV and TiVo, there's 500-plus channels to surf with almost always something worth watching. Of course, that sometimes may be hard to believe with the countless inane reality shows that seemingly dominate the dial. Still, with all due respect to Temptation Island, Joe Millionaire, and Britney & Kevin: Chaotic (as well as the atrocious family drama 7th Heaven) the most annoying TV show of the decade, hands down, would have to be The View, the female gabfest talk show created by Barbara Walters and The Konformist Beast of the Month.
About here we should insert a disclaimer about gender bias. Yes, a look at Konformist Kontributing Editors over the years would reveal a male-dominated species. Fair enough. So with that acknowledged, the general consensus view of The Konformist staff is thus: for all the crimes against humanity unleashed by Michael Bay in Armageddon and Pearl Harbor, we still firmly believe a pop-culture decided by nine-year old boys is infinitely superior to one dominated by middle-age women. (As proof, we present as exhibits Josh Groban, Michael Bolton and Steel Magnolias.) Further, we bluntly declare that the whole so-called purpose of The View, to allow a group of women to speak what's on their minds, is misguided. Frankly, we think women spend way too much time speaking about what they're thinking and feeling to begin with. If that be sexist, so be it.
(And in a similar vein, we cite Grey's Anatomy, an insufferable experience for any man to watch - made all the more insufferable due to the only reason any guy watches it is he's being forced to by some woman. By the way, here's a tip to networks on how to make shows more appealing to men: don't have characters with nicknames like "McDreamy" and "McSteamy" in the cast.)
Making The View all the more unappetizing to men: any female on the show that even begins to appeal to guys soon leaves. The most noted example: Lisa Ling (who is still often referred to as "the hot Asian chick on The View") was perhaps the only non-obnoxious female besides Babs to co-host the show, after she replaced the annoying Debbie Matenopoulos. Despite her harmless personality and disarming looks, she left after only three seasons. Her replacement, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, though a noted babe since her stint on Survivor, prattles on about her right-wing political beliefs that neutralizes any appeal she may have. (Though she comes off as a more attractive but less shrill Ann Coulter, that's still not a compliment.) Then there's the curious case of Star Jones, who for years was an obese, controversially combative member of the cast. In 2006, her contract was not renewed, coincidentally when a diet and exercise regiment (and by that we mean gastric bypass surgery) turned her suddenly a sexy svelte. Looking at all this, one has to wonder if The View is some kind of twisted joke created from the nightmares of Sam Kinison in hell to torture all men.
That seems to be the explanation for what happened after the bland Meredith Vieira left the show at the end of the 2006 season to replace Katie Couric on The Today Show. (She, along with Walters, Jones and the shrill Joy Beyhart, was a co-host of the show since its debut 1997 season.) Where oh where could they find someone that could turn what was already a black joke on men even worse? They seemingly found the perfect answer in Rosie O'Donnell, the loudmouthed former talk-show host and alleged comedian. Here was someone with an uber-obnoxious personality that was like Star Jones on steroids, minus the dark skin and weight loss.
Perversely, the hiring of O'Donnell worked, as oddly this hefty, adversarial lesbian has a huge following among soccer moms. (Again, evidence that middle-aged women shouldn't control our popular culture.) Ratings skyrocketed to record levels, fueled by a media catfight between Rosie and a hissy Donald Trump. And then surprise hit, which turns the whole tale of The View into a truly Beastly affair.
At some point in 2007, Rosie, long a critic of George W. Bush and the Iraq Quagmire, apparently became interested in 9/11 conspiracy theories, and in late March repeated some of the juiciest 9/11 con claims and evidence on the show. She elaborated on it further on her blog. Though right-wing mouthpieces (most notably the falafel-loving Bill O'Reilly) demanded show boycotts and her firing for her utterance, The View suffered no loss of popularity following the controversy.
Despite the record ratings, deemed overwhelmingly due to O'Donnell's giant fan base, it was publicly announced less than a month later her one-year contract would not be extended by ABC. Officially, the sticking point was money and contract length: Rosie wanted a one-year, $10 million contract, ABC three years for $18 million. But in closer examination, this doesn’t make sense. To begin with, like her or not, $10 million still would be a bargain for someone with a proven following like Rosie. As for the contract length, there's no reason this should be a deal-breaker, as one season of Rosie guaranteed is still better than none. All in all, the gap between the two parties was pretty normal for contract negotiations.
One widely believed rumor is that ABC had demanded that Rosie clamp down on her 9/11 conspiracy talk, to which she rightfully refused. This, and not money, was the big issue. Making this theory all the more plausible: according to the New York Post Page Six, Rosie had booked the makers of the 9/11 conspiracy documentary Loose Change for the May 24 episode.
Unfortunately, the Loose Change makers never got their chance to promulgate con theories to soccer moms, as on May 23, Rosie had a televised meltdown in a now infamous battle of words with Hasselbeck on the show. The knock-down drag-out was instigated by right-wing mouthpieces that were increasingly trashing Rosie for her high profile criticism of the Iraq War, twisting her words to claim she viewed American soldiers as "terrorists." Rosie denounced Elisabeth as "cowardly" for not sticking up for her in a heated exchange that lasted well past what should have been the commercial break. (As the argument enfolded, the two were shown together on split screen.) After the episode, it was announced that her contract with ABC would end early and she would no longer appear on the show.
Let it be said that though Loose Change is (unsurprisingly) very popular among most Konformist Kontributors, it does have its critics over both its methods and conclusions. This shouldn't be a surprise, as there is among the Konformist editors widely different views about what happened on 9/11 and who was behind it. But if the merits of Loose Change can be summed up in one phrase that unites the Konformist staff varying viewpoints, it's that while it may not have all the right answers, it definitely asks all the right questions, questions that have both a right and a need to be asked.
Likewise, The Konformist may prefer to have someone besides Rosie be the face of 9/11 conspiracies (someone noted for their good judgment, classy sophistication and intellectual depth - like, say, Charlie Sheen) but like it or not, she's become it, and has done more than anyone since Michael Moore to encourage questioning and examination of the 9/11 story. For this, she should be saluted. The evidence suggests that it was her speaking her mind (which was what she was hired to do) that ended her relationship with The View, a relationship that had shown no signs of faltering or advertising backlash. In other words, ABC had no legitimate reason to release her from the show. While there is room for speculation, it appears that ABC wimped out to appeal to the right-wing mob mentality, much like its parent company Disney did with Michael Moore and Fahrenheit 9/11.
The punch line is, like with the Mickey Mouse Fahrenheit wimp-out, the cave-in has backfired. Within two weeks of Rosie's departure, the show's audience has tanked over 400,000, with advertising revenues surely soon to fall. (This is contrast to the Don Imus firing, which was preceded by a sudden bailing of big advertisers over his racist snickerings.) But, as with the Michael Moore flick, it appears Disney is more interested in schmoozing right-wing political interests for governmental favors than present a popular, albeit provocative, viewpoint.
While speculation continues over where Rosie will go next (a solo talk show, perhaps, or maybe The Price Is Right) or who will replace her (one disturbing name floated by Babs: Paris Hilton) The View clearly has jumped the shark culturally and lost any worth as something more than women babbling about Dancing with the Stars. It's kind of sad: despite her dubious credit as creator and co-host, Ms. Walters has long been among the most thoughtful and empathic voices in the mainstream media (male or female.) Thanks to Rosie, Babs' show was finally presenting something that made it almost worth watching. But just when it got interesting, it switched gears and removed the one thing that wasn't shrill brain-rot for bourgeoisie housewives. But hey, what else can you expect from a bunch of women?
In any case, we salute The View as Beast of the Month. Congratulations, and keep up the great work, ladies!!!
Special Konformist Note: For the writing of this article, Konformist Editor Robert Sterling was forced to do something men don't normally do, which is watch The View (via clips on Youtube.com.) While he sacrificed his own health for the good of Konformist readers, he doesn't advocate other men do the same, for they may suffer the effects of estrogen poisoning. If, for some reason, you are someday forced to watch The View (most likely by the same woman who forces you to watch Grey's Anatomy) we recommend that you keep something nearby that will give you the necessary hormonal boost to counteract the effects of the show. In particular, Jean-Claude Van Damme action films on video seem to do the trick.
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