Aug 27, 2:42 PM EST

The Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Meredith Vieira says she doesn't watch The View now that she's poised to become the co-anchor of NBC's Today show on Sept. 13.

"I needed to think ahead," she said in an interview published in Time magazine on Sunday. "But I have to admit, the day after Star made her announcement, I watched. I feel very sad for everything that's happened and for everybody involved."

Star Jones Reynolds left The View in June after the announcement that Rosie O'Donnell will take over the moderator chair of the program.

Vieira, who was The View moderator for nine years, said she was proud of her work at the popular daytime talk show and feels it has taken a turn for the worse.

"It's hard to watch. It sort of became a joke," she told the magazine.

Though she turned down a job on CBS's Early Show in 2002, Vieira said, she couldn't turn her back on the opportunity to co-host the Today show.

"It's an institution," she said. "I'm not somebody who loves getting up at four in the morning, so this might kill me, but we'll see."

Well, call me crazy but I think "The View" may make a turnaround. I JUST saw a promo for the new "View" with Rosie and it looks like they're going to largely draw from O'Donnell's now-defunct "Rosie O'Donnell Show," with the broadway musicals and the general "fun" of it all. The mystery, however, is working that into an adults-only medium where they'll talk about heavy, hard hitting issues, and get on each other's nerves. That's going to be the tough part. But after seeing that promo, I was IMMEDIATELY taken back to the first promos for the Rosie show. Hell, I completely forgot Rosie was gay and moreover, a MEAN, !@#$%^&*]Y, unpleasant woman! I'm actually interested to watch the new "View." It should be fun.

I don't see her calling 'The View" "a joke" anywhere in that interview...

Nevertheless, good interview.

You didn't, Actor?

Well, I don't blame you. It's late.

Take a closer look:

""It's hard to watch. It sort of became a joke," she told the magazine."

Clearly, she said the show became a joke, though to be fair, the correct quote is "sort of became a joke," but the meaning is virtually the same.

I don't see her calling 'The View" "a joke" anywhere in that interview...

Nevertheless, good interview.

"It's hard to watch. It sort of became a joke," she told the magazine.

........*sigh*..........

Yes, Ryan. I saw that....

But IMHO, she didn't direct that like..."The show became such a joke". I think she meant it more like "The uproar in the media has made this all seem like such a joke."<<as in the media made it seem more than it was.

*Yawn*.........

*Grrrr...*......

^^See?! I can make sounds too!

Eh,

JSF do you think Meridth is right in your opinion?

You can go ahead and change the title of the topic I started if it's that bothersome ............

It's fine just the way it is Rhiannon.

^^What he said...

I was just speaking my honest opinion. Didn't mean to make you re-think your title-ing of the topic.

It's ok.....I've been a bit on edge lately....

I didn't actually come up with the title myself, it was originally used on the MSN home page; and I used it as the title for my post here......

Didn't mean to get all defensive about the title....

Well as much as I love Rosie, I still won't be watching.

The Price is Right comes on at the same time and IMO is 100X more entertaining than The View

In a manner of speaking, she's right. And I think when Rosie comes on, and decides to do her Broadway, celebrity-fawning schtick, it'll be even more of a joke.