After a months-long on-air search for a co-host, producers of ABC’s midmorning talk show, “The View,” starring Barbara Walters, have narrowed their choices to three women, one of whom will fill the slot left vacant by the January departure of Debbie Matenopoulos.
But, no, one of them is not Monica Lewinsky. A spokesman for the show says the White House ex-intern is definitely not being considered, despite a tryout invitation that Walters and co-host Star Jones extended this month.
To date, the show has invited seven twentysomething women to try out as hosts. Of those, Lauren Sanchez, an anchor for Fox Sports, and Rachel Campos, a participant in MTV’s San Francisco-set “Real World,” are the front-runners.
The third contender is reporter Lisa Ling of cable’s Channel One News, a public-school-based news service, who is trying out Thursday and Friday.
Walters and her producers are expected to make their choice some time next month, a few weeks later than previously anticipated. The new co-host will join Walters, Jones and co-hosts Joy Behar and Meredith Vieira.
