• Media Life, Monday, April 10, 2006 11:15 AM

It's not the most important story in media these days, but suddenly it is among the most talked about: Who will take Meredith Vieira's seat on ABC's hit daytime talker “The View”?  Vieira has been the unofficial lead host of the show since its inception, and her saucy sense of humor and deft approach to scores of topics brought her a level of celebrity she had not previously known as a newswoman, despite an impressive resume. Media Life runs down a list of her possible replacements, starting with ABC's Elizabeth Vargas, who currently anchors “World News Tonight.”  "She is pregnant and will go on maternity leave this fall. Her return to the news is cloudy," Media Life says, meaning that perhaps she'd best move along.  "Vargas has a famous husband, singer and songwriter Marc Cohn, and a background in hard news. She’s the right age, 43, and already works for the network."  Other prospects: “Everybody Loves Raymond”’s Patricia Heaton ("a folksy manner and a big name"), Argentine Fuse VJ Marianela Pereyra, NBC News’ Campbell Brown, and, no kidding, Kirstie Alley.  As a bit of a lark, Media Life writer Toni Fitzgerald also throws Janeane Garofolo and Monica Lewinsky into the mix. (Lewinsky "would certainly get ‘The View’ loads of attention.")  ABC has several months before it must make a decision, as Vieira won't leave the show right away, and in any case there's no need to replace her immediately on the multi-host gabber.

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