'The View' Names de la O First Female Director

Sarah de la O has been named The View’s first female director, ABC said Thursday. She replaces Ashley S. Gorman and will start with the show’s 19th season this September.

De la O has directed such shows as VH1’s Make a Band Famous and Big Morning Buzz, Spike’s E3 All-Access Live and Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live. She’s also directed episodes of ABC’s Bachelor Pad, After the Final Rose and Bachelorette Men Tell All.

She comes to The View at a particularly challenged time in the show’s history, with ratings falling amid constant host changes. Next season, the panel will be composed of moderator Whoopi Goldberg, the one panel member who’s remained consistent, as well as Raven-Symone and comedian Michelle Wallace. The show also plans to tap into a rotating cadre of co-hosts, including Molly Sims, Stacy London and former View panelist Sherri Shepherd, among others. Both Nicolle Wallace and Rosie Perez are departing, although Nicolle Wallace may return from time to time.

Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.