Oprah Winfrey - The TV Talk Show Queen
One of the hot topics from the USA this past week has been: Oprah Winfrey’s bombshell like announcement that she is calling it quits to her most successful TV program after 25 years in 2011. When she started the program back in September of 1986, no one imagined this black and fat lady to last more than a week. But against all odds, she not only proved all her critics wrong but also made billions while being a successful host and entertainer on small screen TV. In that process, she created millions of fans who regularly tuned into her program and even wished that they were sitting in front of her when the show aired. She also gave millions away to her audience. For the spectacular launch of the show's 19th season, nearly 300 deserving audience members received brand-new cars. No TV talk show host has ever done anything close to that kind of publicity stance.
The magic with Oprah all began back in 1973. As a 19-year old young girl at the time, Oprah got her television start covering local news in Nashville, TN. She was both the youngest news anchor and the first black female news anchor at Nashville's WLAC-TV. She then moved on to Baltimore’s WJZ-TV in 1976 to co-anchor the six o'clock news. After being demoted from anchoring the Baltimore news, Oprah finally found her niche as the co-host of a local morning show called People Are Talking, which premiered on August 14, 1978. From the beginning, Oprah says, she preferred telling people's stories to reporting straight-up news.
Then, after hearing that a morning show in Chicago needed a new host Oprah became obsessed with getting the job. In 1983, Oprah relocated to Chicago to host WLS-TV's low-rated half-hour morning talk-show, AM Chicago. The first episode aired on January 2, 1984. Within months after Oprah took over, the show went from last place in the ratings to overtaking Donahue as the highest rated talk show in Chicago. It was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show, expanded to a full hour, and broadcast nationally beginning September 8, 1986.
At midnight on September 8, 1986—exactly eight hours before her very first national television show—Oprah wrote an auspicious journal entry. "I keep wondering how my life will change, if it will change, and what all this means. Why have I been so blessed?" The rest is history! She says she is indebted to movie critic Roger Ebert who helped her in syndicating the show.
In 1985, Oprah co-starred in a film adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Color Purple. She earned immediate acclaim as Sofia, the distraught housewife and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, which she did not win. In October 1998, Oprah produced and starred in the film Beloved, based upon Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name.
In 1998, Oprah began Oprah's Angel Network, a charity that is aimed at encouraging people around the world to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged people. To date, Oprah's Angel Network has raised more than $51 million. In 2005 she became the first black person listed by Business Week as one of America's top 50 most generous philanthropists, having given an estimated $303 million in charity. Oprah invested $40 million and some of her time establishing the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls near Johannesburg, South Africa; the school opened in January 2007. She has also been repeatedly ranked as the most philanthropic celebrity of all times.
Oprah opposed invasion of Iraq. In a February 2003 series she had done, she showed clips from people all over the world asking America not to go to war. The program, however, was interrupted in several east coast markets by network broadcasts of a press conference in which President George W. Bush, joined by Colin Powell, summarized the case for war. After her program “Is War the Only Answer?” aired, she was severely criticized by war mongers within the USA. In 2006, Winfrey recalled: “I once did a show titled Is War the Only Answer? In the history of my career, I've never received more hate mail-like 'Go back to Africa' hate mail. I was accused of being un-American for even raising the question.” That savage attack on Oprah says a lot about America, arguably the freest country in the world. The country was not comfortable about dissenting opinions, especially, anything deemed unpopular with the War Party and its affiliate the “Amen Corner”, questioning the merit of war or the support for the rogue Israeli government. One can only hope that with the election win of Obama, the mood of the country has changed for the better. It’s no-brainer that Oprah actively endorsed Obama for the presidential position. Her endorsement was crucial to win the democratic primaries for Obama against Hillary Clinton.
As supervising producer and host of the top-rated, award-winning “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” Oprah has entertained, enlightened and uplifted millions of viewers for the past two decades. Her accomplishments as a global media leader and philanthropist have established her as one of the most respected and admired public figures of our time. She has been ranked the richest African American of the 20th century, one of the most philanthropic African American of all time, and was once the world's only black billionaire. Some analysts even assess that she is the most influential woman in the world today. Suffice it to say that when she retires, we shall miss her greatly. But in the meantime, let’s enjoy her program.
The magic with Oprah all began back in 1973. As a 19-year old young girl at the time, Oprah got her television start covering local news in Nashville, TN. She was both the youngest news anchor and the first black female news anchor at Nashville's WLAC-TV. She then moved on to Baltimore’s WJZ-TV in 1976 to co-anchor the six o'clock news. After being demoted from anchoring the Baltimore news, Oprah finally found her niche as the co-host of a local morning show called People Are Talking, which premiered on August 14, 1978. From the beginning, Oprah says, she preferred telling people's stories to reporting straight-up news.
Then, after hearing that a morning show in Chicago needed a new host Oprah became obsessed with getting the job. In 1983, Oprah relocated to Chicago to host WLS-TV's low-rated half-hour morning talk-show, AM Chicago. The first episode aired on January 2, 1984. Within months after Oprah took over, the show went from last place in the ratings to overtaking Donahue as the highest rated talk show in Chicago. It was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show, expanded to a full hour, and broadcast nationally beginning September 8, 1986.
At midnight on September 8, 1986—exactly eight hours before her very first national television show—Oprah wrote an auspicious journal entry. "I keep wondering how my life will change, if it will change, and what all this means. Why have I been so blessed?" The rest is history! She says she is indebted to movie critic Roger Ebert who helped her in syndicating the show.
In 1985, Oprah co-starred in a film adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Color Purple. She earned immediate acclaim as Sofia, the distraught housewife and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, which she did not win. In October 1998, Oprah produced and starred in the film Beloved, based upon Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name.
In 1998, Oprah began Oprah's Angel Network, a charity that is aimed at encouraging people around the world to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged people. To date, Oprah's Angel Network has raised more than $51 million. In 2005 she became the first black person listed by Business Week as one of America's top 50 most generous philanthropists, having given an estimated $303 million in charity. Oprah invested $40 million and some of her time establishing the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls near Johannesburg, South Africa; the school opened in January 2007. She has also been repeatedly ranked as the most philanthropic celebrity of all times.
Oprah opposed invasion of Iraq. In a February 2003 series she had done, she showed clips from people all over the world asking America not to go to war. The program, however, was interrupted in several east coast markets by network broadcasts of a press conference in which President George W. Bush, joined by Colin Powell, summarized the case for war. After her program “Is War the Only Answer?” aired, she was severely criticized by war mongers within the USA. In 2006, Winfrey recalled: “I once did a show titled Is War the Only Answer? In the history of my career, I've never received more hate mail-like 'Go back to Africa' hate mail. I was accused of being un-American for even raising the question.” That savage attack on Oprah says a lot about America, arguably the freest country in the world. The country was not comfortable about dissenting opinions, especially, anything deemed unpopular with the War Party and its affiliate the “Amen Corner”, questioning the merit of war or the support for the rogue Israeli government. One can only hope that with the election win of Obama, the mood of the country has changed for the better. It’s no-brainer that Oprah actively endorsed Obama for the presidential position. Her endorsement was crucial to win the democratic primaries for Obama against Hillary Clinton.
As supervising producer and host of the top-rated, award-winning “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” Oprah has entertained, enlightened and uplifted millions of viewers for the past two decades. Her accomplishments as a global media leader and philanthropist have established her as one of the most respected and admired public figures of our time. She has been ranked the richest African American of the 20th century, one of the most philanthropic African American of all time, and was once the world's only black billionaire. Some analysts even assess that she is the most influential woman in the world today. Suffice it to say that when she retires, we shall miss her greatly. But in the meantime, let’s enjoy her program.
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