NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Author and journalist Megan Stack recently sparked a major online debate after writing a critical opinion piece about ABC talk show ‘The View’ in a New York Times article titled, “’The View’ Has Narrowed.” The story published on June 2 claimed how the talk show, which draws millions of viewers each day, and its content have recently “narrowed” and the debates have become one-sided.
“The co-hosts don't argue nearly enough. At least, not substantively. Not anymore,” she wrote. “The freewheeling discussions that once evoked a spectrum of American opinion on everything from reproductive rights to foreign policy — those have mostly fallen silent,” Stack continued. “‘The View’ has become a chorus of conformity. The title of this show I’ve loved for years used to suggest messy and fearless debate. Lately, it seems like a command,” she added.
Who is Megan Stack?
Stack is a journalist and author. She is a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times and has previously served as a correspondent in China, Russia, Egypt, Israel, Afghanistan, and the US-Mexico border area. According to her bio in Penguin Random House, Stack has reported on war, terrorism, and political Islam from twenty-two countries since 2001.
She also served as the Moscow bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times and earned the Overseas Press Club’s Hal Boyle Award in 2007 for best newspaper reporting from abroad. She was also a finalist for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in international reporting. Stack is the author of ‘Every Man in This Village Is a Liar', which is described as a “narrative account of the post-September 11 wars” by the New York Times. The book was a finalist for the National Book Award in nonfiction.
Megan Stack's views on ‘The View’
Stack writes in her piece that she has been a “regular Viewer for years, starting when I was a foreign correspondent salving late-night homesickness via satellite TV.” Stack also said that she “amassed an encyclopedic knowledge of the hosts’ marriages and hobbies, and a habit of analyzing the “Hot Topics” discussions as a bellwether of centrist America’s political and cultural trends” and described it as a “solitary fixation.”
Stack went on to describe the hosts as “centrist Democrats (Ms Hostin and Ms Behar), centrist Republicans (Ms Farah Griffin and Ana Navarro) and one centrist independent (the TV journalist Sara Haines)” and said that they no longer debate on crucial issues. “But, anyway, they agree. They agree (or at least pretend to agree) that Mr Biden is basically a good president. Even on topics notorious for splitting American opinion — the need for ‘common-sense gun reform,’ protecting LGBTQ rights and funding the war in Ukraine — they don’t find much to debate one another about,” she wrote.
Stack went on to claim that “current events haven’t always anchored ‘The View.’” “Since the program’s 1997 debut, celebrity interviews, gossip, and relationship advice had vied for time against news and politics. In its current iteration, though, ‘The View’ carries itself like an earnest journalistic platform — a must-do interview for establishment politicians and a reliable midmorning destination for nuggets of news analysis,” she claimed.
The author further referred back to several discussions from ‘The View’ and compared it with a 2007 debate between Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Rosie O'Donnell about “torture, morality and America's reputation abroad,” which was fiery but ended on a positive note. “‘The View’ isn't like that anymore,” Stack noted. She reiterated her views on Twitter and wrote, “I always knew my View habit would become an essay one day; here it is. I wrote about how the ladies mostly agree now, how our ideologically siloed culture encourages these fantasy versions of our contentious country, and my nostalgia for tougher debates.”
“The View has always been subject to dismissive, misogynistic framing; even legitimate debate got framed as “cat fights.” But some of the most controversial groups had the best discussions. @rosie + @ehasselbeck said uncomfortable things, put voices to real people’s ideas,” Stack tweeted. “Now it’s very hard to have that kind of show. You can’t subject a bad idea to discussion without getting accused of platforming evil. The ethos is to ignore what you don’t like. The View becomes less an exploration, more a choral recitation of acceptable centrist politics,” she added.
‘How will we as a nation go on?’
Stack’s opinion on ‘The View’ left social media users divided and sparked an online debate. Some agreed with the author and called out the show. “Great analysis. I hope the ladies read it. The praise for Biden is too much. Whoopi shuts down conversations often. They all agree way too much. I wish Sara and Alyssa weren't interrupted and at this point Whoopi refusing to call Trump his name is childish,” one wrote. “They promote hate,” added another.
“The women on this show spew more hate and vitriol than any group I know of. I doubt this is what Barbra Walters had in mind,” a third tweeted. “It’s an excellent & timely article. The squashing of alternatives to Biden will be counter-productive. I get out the vote for Dems in the Latino community & no one wants to vote for Biden again (they’re warming to Trump!). It’s a disaster for Dems to squash alternatives,” another praised.
However, several others sided with the talk show and called out Stack’s opinion. “What an appalling MAGA fuelled attack your article is about! Why don’t you write a critique about Tucker, Sean, Laura & your Murdoch loving tribe who are full of hatred & lies! Your attack was on their defence of the Biden family was pointless. You are divisive & petty. SHAME!” one said. “The View has the courage speaking out the truth. Such as anti abortion, gay rights, voting rights, etc. And what have you done?” added another.
One noted, “The United States ‘isn’t like that anymore’” while another added, “The country isn’t like that anymore.” One said, “I don’t know if you can criticize bias by writing an incredibly biased oped. It’s pretty foolish” while another mocked, “Oh no The View is ruined. How will we as a nation go on?”
This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.
