Rosie's Riveting Stay at The View Coming to End?

TMZ has now confirmed the buzz that we exclusively reported last night: Rosie O'Donnell will announce on today's show that she is leaving "The View." And TMZ has confirmed that "View" honchos are already searching for her replacement.

So, if she's indeed leaving The View, what are the circumstances? Is it Rosie's choice to leave or is she being forced out. And, if she's being forced out, what is the reason behind it?

Don Surber jumps to the conclusion that she was being forced out. From what little we know thus far, I don't know what to think, though if she is indeed leaving the show, bloggers the world over lose a ripe target for scorn, derision, and good comedic material.

I'd wait to see what Rosie has to say for herself along with what Barbara Walters has to say to know what really went down.

I'm no fan of Rosie, but she does what she needs to do bring attention to the show. She's extremely good at it - from her kerfuffle with Donald Trump to her nonsensical ravings about 9/11 conspiracies.

She's every much a shock-jock style personality as Howard Stern or Don Imus are. Half the folks who turn in are watching her because they're fans, while the other half can't wait to slam her. And that means ratings. Ratings are what keeps shows such as The View on the air.

Yet, if she's being fired because of what she's said, then something is truly wrong with the media business. If it was a personality conflict with others on the show, then that's a valid concern, but if she was fired over what she was said, then her own concerns about the speech police holds valid.

Businesses have the right to determine what is or isn't said on their property - in this case, the programs they air. However, there is a definite concern that businesses like ABC are making poor business choices by limiting speech because of pressure from groups that want to impose their speech codes on others.

UPDATE:
This ABC News piece suggests the split is amicable, though it appears that there were issues over renewal of her contract that couldn't be overcome. Money talks and Rosie walks because they couldn't come to terms.

UPDATE:
That ABC News article claims to be an exclusive, and yet the TMZ piece predated the ABC report. That's some exclusive ABC News got. Sister Toldjah has a good roundup.