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Dooce Talks HGTV With ParentDish
Filed under: In The News
Dooce is headed to HGTV. Credit: Heather Armstrong
We spoke with Armstrong about the new deal with HGTV. Although she couldn't tell us a lot about what she would be doing for the channel, she was forthcoming about everything else, including how she feels about folks who don't like her, why she's starting to write less about her kids and the fact that her TV work will not resemble that of a certain family of eight.
ParentDish: This must be pretty exciting.
Dooce: Yes. Yes it is. We sort of had to spend some time recovering.
PD: Tell me what you'll be doing on HGTV. How is it different from what's on your site?
Dooce: There's not a lot that I can talk about right now. Mixing online with offline. One of the main reasons that they've brought me on is the mom demographic that comes along with me. There's going to be a bit more of a vlogging component than I ever do on my own Web site.
PD: How did it feel to be named one of the 30 most influential women in media by Forbes?
Dooce: (laughs) Yeah, yeah. It is ridiculous, just because I don't have the credentials of Barbara Walters or Oprah Winfrey. I touch a small segment that they may not. Things are changing. I think I was in the right place at the right time. That combined with working my ass off. I don't know if people understand the work that goes into writing consistently for several years.
PD: Do you feel like you're always working?
Dooce: I am always, always, always working. I don't ever take a break. It's a bit of a marathon. It's a great lifestyle, I don't ever take a vacation. Like we went to Florida a year and a half ago and I published every day of it.
PD: As popular as you are, you also have your detractors.
Dooce: Oh yeah. There exists more than a couple of sites dedicated to calling me the most horrible person that ever lived.
PD: Was that hard to get used to?
Dooce: Yeah, that was ... I'm not Oprah. Why are you paying attention to me that way? I guess I look at it as static and noise going on. I choose to ignore it.
PD: Is it ever hard to ignore?
Dooce: What usually happens is I'll go 2-3 months without hearing anything about it and one of my readers will cut and paste [a negative comment from another site]. It's hard to avoid it because people are looking out for me. At the end of the day, they don't know who I am. I'm happily laughing my way to HGTV.
PD: Are you comfortable with putting everything out there?
Dooce: I come from a family that will tell you everything. It's always been my personality to be really honest and open. You can talk about the hate mail all day but that's nothing compared to the good that has come from doing this. [Some] people say [to me], thank God, you've helped me get through life.
PD: What about the kids? How do you feel about people knowing about their lives?
Dooce: I've started to write a lot less about my oldest daughter. [When she was younger] the story that I was telling about her was kind of a universal story of kids [and] parents. You know how the first 3 1/2 years you don't even remember? As she gets older and more individual, I really [only] write about 5 percent of what goes on their lives.
PD: Are you at all concerned about putting your family on TV, after what happened with Jon and Kate?
Dooce: This is not a Jon and Kate situation, let me say that.
Ms. Armstrong is scheduled to being appearing on HGTV in Spring of 2010. Her book, 'It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita', is available on Amazon.com. Her Web site Dooce.com is updated daily.
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ReaderComments (Page 3 of 4)
2-23-2010 @ 1:08PM
Mary Jane said...This does NOT belong on hgtv. Hgtv has forgotten what people turn into them for. Gardening is non existant and I am soooo tired of seeing houses for sale. Personally...they've ruined the real estate market for the seller, new buyers want perfect, perfect house, perfect life...totally unreal. What happened to buying a house just because you liked it and the neighborhood and you knew you could work on it to make it your own, and have fun doing it.
Reply
2-23-2010 @ 1:53PM
cwkpam said...Mary Jane - that was BEFORE the phrase "turn-key" was invented. There was a time when someone bought a "first" house that was anything but their dream home simply to build equity in order to be able to "move up". The sub-prime industry wrecked that concept too.
2-23-2010 @ 1:04PM
leafgirl said...As someone who has been reading Heather's blog for 5 years now, I will definitely be staying tuned for her show. I am one of those people that have been changed by things she has posted online and friendships made in her new online community. Its sad for me to read so much hate about someone that people know nothing about. I guess I'll go back to her site where there is just a tad bit more kindness.
Reply
2-23-2010 @ 1:11PM
David S. said...Never heard of her, but what is so horrible about her? I mean, did she commit mass murder in a former life? WTF?
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2-23-2010 @ 1:16PM
Tom said...And the winner is Dick Cheney -- the worst person that ever lived
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2-23-2010 @ 1:42PM
sherim said...Who? I watch HGTV to get away from the psycho-babble.
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2-23-2010 @ 1:37PM
Kmmetcalf said...Children do not belong on reality programs. They don't belong as the focus of blogs. When will people STOP selling out their kids to make a buck?
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2-23-2010 @ 1:43PM
Tom said...ugghh, too much coffee and bran, excuse me while I go drop a dooce
Reply
2-23-2010 @ 1:52PM
sherim said...Who? I watch HGTV to get away from the psycho-babble.
Reply
2-23-2010 @ 1:44PM
cwkpam said...Don't think I'd have much interest in her blog or show - my experience of having and raising a baby didn't suck (did it 3 times too) EVEN during the first 3 1/2 years; never felt the need to cry about any of it so perhaps this woman should have been a grown up before embarking on being a mom? (there's always birth control) Certainly never needed alcohol as a crutch to deal with any of it. The title of her books sounds like she's a major wimp - wait till she hits menopause - it'll be suicide time!
Reply
2-23-2010 @ 1:48PM
datruth said...I feel sorry for the kids of all you silly hens out there that actually think an even sillier hen is some one that should have any influence at all in this world.
your kids are rhe ones that are going to suffer because while your paying attention to this nonsense , their future is being taken away from them by an even dumber administration that you probably voted in.
There is going to be two classes in this country soon, the rich , made rich by ignorent hero worshipers who actually think oprah is relevent, and the rest looking for help paying their mortgages.
If you think I'm an idiot for saying all this, just wait until your husband loses his high payig IT job to an offshore company.
Hit a nerve ? trust me I know.
Good Luck , you will need it.
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2-23-2010 @ 1:56PM
me said...@cwkpam, do you often go around and make fun of people that have sufferd from PPD?? That is mighty big of you.
It amazes me the rude and horrible things people can say. She is somebodys Wife, Mother, Daughter, Sister...what if someone said these nasty things about you or your loved ones?
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2-23-2010 @ 2:02PM
CeeDee said...And you're George Cloony?
Reply
2-23-2010 @ 2:09PM
Carol said...For ......NEWBIE.......who "replied" to my comment.....
Do you know how to SCROLL on down the line ?? Yep...
it's real easy to do.....
So......if you don't wish to read past "line 3".....that's fine
with me......
But you need a refresher course in "good manners" as it is
RUDE to e-mail someone and tell them to "STFU".....
just because you don't like the "length" of something that
NO ONE is forcing you to read.............
Or maybe your "attention span" won't carry you past
"line 3"........
Reply
2-23-2010 @ 2:19PM
nicepar4 said...She looks like a man!!! Scary stuff.
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2-23-2010 @ 2:20PM
fymayawf said...There's nothing "real" about "reality" TV...I'm tired of the media pissing down my neck and telling me it's raining...
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2-23-2010 @ 2:21PM
cliffsee said...Choke the Bitch!
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2-23-2010 @ 2:24PM
Kim said...wow you are all really rude and inconsiderate.
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2-23-2010 @ 2:32PM
M.A.Korman said...If she didn't have children I would swear that she was a man. She is one of the most masculine women I have seen in a long time.
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2-23-2010 @ 2:45PM
Kevin said...I have no idea who she is .... never once heard of her so I can't say anything good or bad about her. All I can say is I'll giver her show a chance, if I like it I'll watch it if not oh-well.
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