Good Morning America just became Goodbye America for me. The ABC morning news program that has been my faithful companion along with my cup of coffee every morning for more years than I care to count has added a “TV personality” to its morning show that is a definite deal-breaker for my continued viewing of the show; Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Yes, it is the same whiney, polarizing, ultra-conservative, cry-baby and argumentative woman from ABC’s The View.
Who makes these “executive” decisions? Oh right, the ABC executives of course. Who have evidently decided in their infinite wisdom that a woman who was on a reality program (Survivor Australian Outback) and then moved on to a style program (The Look For Less) and then landed on an entertainment/talk/argue venue was perfect for a news program. Credibility? Who cares?
I am trying not to cloud my judgement by the fact that Diane Sawyer is my idol and that her move to World News left a huge gap in the GMA show. I like her replacement in George Stephanopoulos, he brings a serious sense of credibility to the team of Robin Roberts, JuJu Chang and Sam Champion but where does someone like Hasselbeck fit into this scenario? She is supposedly going to do “hot button” topics on lifestyle and child-rearing issues.
So, as viewers we are supposed to find someone who made horribly insensitive comments on National TV about sports reporter Erin Andrews costume on Dancing With The Stars, as a credible, reliable resource for child rearing issues? Or consider Hasselbeck’s objectivity on lifestyle issues when her high-profile conservative opinions fill the ABC airwaves over at the view? Her drama on the view is relentless and her high-pitched screeching voice annoying. Did anyone at GMA do a poll on how many viewers think she is goofy as a bug and can’t stand watching her? In a word; many.
So, while ABC still lags behind NBC’s Today Show by at least a million viewers a day, Meredith Vieira and Matt Lauer are tops in their time slot and sure don’t have to worry about losing ratings to ABC unless they choose to bring in Snookie as a lifestyle reporter. Without Diane Sawyer around the bigger stars are not as easy to get on GMA and with the addition of Hasselbeck the ratings have nowhere to go but down. I like the rest of the GMA crew but you can’t tell me they weren’t shocked by the decision to hire Hasselbeck. I’m only one person but after many years I am signing off as a viewer, it’s been nice but the joke isn’t going to be on me. I like current news with my coffee and Hasselbeck is decidedly old news, not fit for me to view.
Newsy1 blog 