Ex-ShopNBC Host Charla Rines, Tell Us What You’re Up To, Your Loyal And Irate Fans Want To Know

Charla Rines, your fans are pissed at ShopNBC

We wish we had heard the same kind of outcry and outrage when we got canned a year ago that Charla Rines has received from fans since ShopNBC let her go.

Our blog on Rhines’s unceremonious exit in January has received 33 comments so far. And they are still coming.

The posts are are from angry ShopNBC customers who say the loved Charla and her brassy humor. They are complaining that the No. 3 home shopping channel, under the leadership of ex-QVC exec Keith Stewart, has gone downhill, with pedestrian or shoddy merchandise. They say they have spent thousands of dollars for ShopNBC goods, but that they will no longer be watching the network.

Best of all, these Charla fans wish her well, and predict that she will land at a ShopNBC rival soon.

Wow, Charla must be feeling the love. After we got our pink slip, only about a half dozen people in the cable TV industry reached out to us immediately, including: Ed Carroll, COO of Rainbow Entertainment Services; Henry Schleiff, then head of Hallmark Channel; and Russell Howard of National Geographic Channel.

Did we hear any encouraging words, like Charla? No, we heard, “You’ll never find work in this economy” and “What are going to do?” When we asked PR “friends” if they thought we could do PR, the answer was no, we had no experience pitching stories to editors. No, just 30 years doing it as a reporter.

And in our volunteer PR work, we’ve gotten stories placed just on the strength of the press releases we’ve written, without even having to call and pitch anyone. But we shouldn’t take credit for that. The brave patients that we had interviewed, and their eloquent stories, sold the press releases to editors.

Anyway, we look forward to seeing all you cable folk in May at the cable show.

But back to Charla. People want to know what you’re up to. Contact us here, and we’ll get back to you offline.

HSN Introduces Kurgo ‘SkyBox Booster Seat’ For Dogs And Other Pet Products, To Match ‘Dog Whisperer’ Cesar Millan And Ellen DeGeneres’ Offerings On QVC

Taking a page out of QVC’s book, HSN is now selling a line of higher-end pet products from Kurgo, including car seats.

Even in a recession, Americans are still spending on their dogs and cats, which is probably why HSN has decided to start offering the Kurgo goods.

The merchandise, ranging in price from $23 to $80, includes harnesses, back-seat restraints and a travel carrier. Our favorite, however, was a Skybox Booster Seat for small pooches, like our parents’ min-pin Max or our neighbor’s Yorkie.

QVC offers a collection of pet products from the Cesar Millan, the animal behaviorist whose show “Dog Whisperer” airs on the National Geograpihc Channel.

My mom just bought a fancy dog-bowl “Neater Feeder Spill Proof Feeding System” for Max, for $27, on QVC.

The set holds bowls in place so that water and dog food from Max’s dishes won’t ruin my mom’s new wood kitchen floor.

Even Ellen DeGeneres is selling a line of premium dog food on QVC named Halo.