INSIDE TV & RADIO; DeGeneres Mishandled Power - and Responsibilities - of TV Celebrity

Oct 19, 01:59 PM

Current Headlines: By TIM CUPRISIN

Daytime talker Ellen DeGeneres screwed up big time this week.

Her on-air sob story on Tuesday's show about an adopted dog that she gave away to her hairdresser's daughters has spawned threats against the dog shelter where she originally got the Brussels Griffon terrier mix named Iggy.

"It's gotten out of hand," she said on Thursday's show, airing here at 3 p.m. weekdays on Channel 58. "The people that have Iggy, or had Iggy, I don't know, are receiving death threats, I am told. That is not OK."

But a couple days into Iggy-gate, DeGeneres still didn't seem to understand that she unleashed this beast.

The Mutts and Moms shelter, in Pasadena, Calif., reclaimed the dog, saying that DeGeneres had signed an agreement to return it if she didn't want it. The shelter also has a rule against allowing puppies to go to children younger than 14.

At one point in the opening of Thursday's episode, she said, "It's really all about the dog, that's what everybody's lost, you know, track of."

Actually, it's not about the dog. Not at all.

It's about a talk show host who apparently doesn't understand the responsibility of hosting a successful show. Her words - and her tears - have an impact far beyond her personal business.

She set off her own rabid fans who turned her TV pity party into an issue worthy of death threats against Marina Batkis, who runs the shelter.

On Thursday's show, she said it was the last time she'd talk about Iggy, unless the dog was returned.

Actually, with Batkis' lawyer involved and making the rounds of the network morning shows Thursday, DeGeneres may have to talk about this one more time. Only this time, she'll have to apologize formally for the mess she made all by herself.

CHANNEL SURFING: Comedy Central has launched a new "Daily Show" Web site - at www.thedailyshow.com - promising 13,000 video clips stretching back to 1999.

-- North shore entrepreneur Kathleen Meisinger peddles her new product, the "CakeVase," on QVC at 7 a.m. Sunday. You can get more information at www.cakevase.com.

-- There's another one of those presidential debates airing Sunday. This time, it's the Republican hopefuls on the Fox News Channel at 7 p.m.

-- Fake presidential candidate Stephen Colbert is scheduled to spar with Tim Russert on the real "Meet the Press" at 9 a.m. Sunday on Channel 4.

-- Former CNBC'er Liz Claman has joined the Fox Business Network.

-- Turner Classic Movies marks the death of Deborah Kerr by airing 1953's "From Here to Eternity" at 7 p.m. Sunday, followed at 9:15 by 1958's "Separate Tables."

"ONLINE" GOES OFFLINE: The second new show of the fall to drop off the schedule is the CW's "Online Nation." Don't worry if the show doesn't ring a bell; very few people saw it.

Unlike Fox's "Nashville," which may come back at some point (or not), "Online Nation" is as dead as Marley's ghost.

So far, no new scripted shows have been axed. But, then again, "Viva Laughlin" didn't debut until Thursday.

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Reach Tim Cuprisin at (414) 224-2397 or tcuprisin@journalsentinel.com. Read his blog at blogs.jsonline.com/ cuprisin.

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