Paula Deen’s future with the Food Network was in doubt even before a controversy over her use of racial slurs erupted, say people familiar with the situation, a reflection of changing tastes in food television. Paula Deen’s future with the Food Network was in doubt even before a controversy over her use of racial slurs erupted. For several weeks before the controversy blew up last week, Ms. Deen’s agent had been negotiating with the Food Network to extend her contract, which ends June 30, the people said. One issue complicating the negotiations: her ratings had slid substantially over the past season.The Food Network, majority owned by Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. didn’t cite a reason for its decision to drop her. But people close to the show and the food-television industry say the decision comes as the kind of “dump and stir” instructional food shows in which Ms. Deen and others, like Martha Stewart, specialized have fallen out of fashion. “She represented in many ways a bygone era.”Meanwhile, the Food Network has been increasingly shifting away from traditional cooking instruction toward food-themed reality shows and cooking competitions.
Paula Deen’s numbers down, gets canned due to old school dump and stir.
Tags: dump and stir, Food Network, Julia Childs, julie and Julia, Paula Deen
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