SOD: Biggest Story of Year? Decade?

From Lynn Leahey in the Soap Opera Digest Insider email for subscribers:
"It's the biggest soap news of the year, if not the decade: Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn have been let go from DAYS. In an exclusive interview in the new Digest, Executive Producer Ken Corday explains that NBC renewed the show, but at a 'greatly reduced' fee that necessitates major cuts. Hall and Hogestyn are two casualties, with more likely to come. It's unfortunate, because DAYS is on an upswing in ratings (it's the only show that's actually improved since last year), but the rocky economy is taking its toll. 'The state of NBC and DAYS is not the same as it was six months ago,' laments Corday. 'We're lucky that we're still on the air for 20 months, with possibly another year after that.'"

Biggest story of the year? Maybe I can buy it. Maybe it's my backstage drama fatigue showing, but in terms of sheer internet response, I think Carolyn Hinsey getting fired from Weekly was a bigger story. Possibly even that Josh Griffith/Dena Higley crazy weekend a few months ago, at least by fan reaction. In terms of importance, the writer's strike was a bigger story. This firing has received a lot of mainstream press, but not a tenth as much as the Nuke fans gay kissing ban international media blitz earlier this year, largely ignored by Digest. I'll have to think about it more for my year end list of the biggest stories of the year. Check back then to find out where this one ranks.

And for those anxiously awaiting my regular Digest cover rant about Eric Braeden, apparently Hall and Hogestyn are on the cover this week (my issue has not yet arrived). This is only their seventh and eighth covers of the year, respectively.