In the beginning of the 1960’s, talk shows were usually devoted to either light entertainment containing comedy, celebrity guests, and music or more serious discussions of the news and politics. They were created based on “controlled spontaneity.” Talk shows covered a variety of topics from the news to gossip, sports to religion, and hobbies to advice (Gregg, McDonogh, Wong). Hosts like Geraldo Rivera pursued formats that were similar to this; however, when Oprah was brought into the picture, she set herself apart from other talk shows of that time and changed daytime talk shows from being gossipy to intimate (News discovery). Oprah began her career from the bottom and worked her way up. She started broadcasting at WVIK radio in Nashville’s while she was still in high school. When she went to Anchor Nashville’s WTVE-TV news at age 19, Oprah became the first African-American and the youngest person to anchor there. After her success on Nashville’s WTVF-TV, she left collage and relocated to Baltimore to co-anchor WJZ-TV evening news. Oprah could not distance herself from the stories and the emotional connection so she was fired. A new manager at the station saw Oprah’s potential and made her a co-host of the 1977 talk show. “People Are Talking”. She managed to make the show an instant success with her uncommon ability to connect intellectually and emotionally with a wide variety of topics. After a couple of years, Oprah moved on to hosting WLS-TV’s morning talk show, AM Chicago, in 1984. About a year later, the show expanded to an hour long broadcasting and was renamed “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” (Oprah’s official) The other talk shows during 1994 began to become increasingly trashy and exploitative. Oprah did not want to be suc... ... middle of paper ... ...lly raped at the age of nine. Afterwards, there were constant episodes of sexual molestation and physical abuse from relatives from when she was 10 to 14. To overcome the ordeal, Oprah explained that she had t believe in a power greater than herself. “She also said in the discussion with Letterman that she spent much of her life attempting to rebuild her self-esteem. In the end though, Oprah overcame poverty, parental neglect, sexual abuse, and racism to become one of the richest and most powerful women in the entertainment industry. Oprah is a dedicated children’s rights activist. She became motivated by her childhood abuse and proposed a bill that established a national database of convicted child abusers. She testified before a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee for a National Child Protection Act. Later on, President Clinton signed off on the “Oprah Bill” in 1993.
As technology has developed over the years, society has become extremely reliant and addicted to the media. According to A.C. Nielsen Co., a global information and measurement firm, the average American youth watches twenty eight hours of television per week. Within a sixty-five year timeframe an individual will have spent a total of nine years watching TV (Herr). Both of these sects contribute millions of jobs providing individuals with ample opportunities, a gateway to success. It certainly provided the break for one African American woman to attain a status she could have only dreamt of as a child growing up in an unstable, emotionally debilitating, and unpromising environment. Oprah Winfrey is arguably one of the most influential women in modern times. She sprang up from seemingly nowhere becoming a media mogul, named most influential and wealthiest woman numerous years in a row by both Forbes and The Time. Oprah was brought to fame for her critically acclaimed talk show, which swiftly boosted her from rags to riches, and over the years resulted in her crowning as the “Queen of Talk.” Oprah Gail Winfrey, named the first African American female billionaire, was nominated for an academy award in her performance in The Color Purple, and through hard work and persistence forged her way into a position as CEO of her own television network and production company. Her self-entitled talk show, which would become the highest rated of its kind, served as a pioneer for many TV shows that emerged in the late 1980’s following the premiered of her show on daytime television. “I’m Oprah Winfrey, and welcome to the very first national Oprah Winfrey Show!” she exclaimed as the studio audience cheered enthusiastically (Brown). However, what pe...
Perhaps the most notable triumph of Oprah Winfrey is her job as host of her own television show, "The Oprah Winfrey Show". Because anyone is free to decide what they choose as a career, she had the opportunity to create this show. The viewings and acceptance of the consumers to her show allowed it's prosperity. Keep in mind that Oprah had no control of the success her show would receive, although she had free decision to do what she pleased with it, it was the decision of the consumers
Oprah’s childhood was not the greatest. Her unmarried parents split up, and she grew up on a farm with her grandmother. She developed rapidly and could read before she was three. Also, she was tested out of kindergarten and second grade, thus only taking first grade and skipping to third grade. When she turned six, she started to live with her mother and was very lonely. However, she began her speaking profession around that time. “She was invited to recite poetry at black social clubs and church teas, where she became known as ‘the little speaker.’ At 12, during a visit to her father in Nashville, she earned $500 for a speech she delivered at a church” (“Winfrey, Oprah”). As you can tell, Oprah started young in her profession and was determined to make a living off of this since her prior experiences.
Who could have imagined that a girl born in poverty and having had her tender childhood years torn apart from multiple sexual abuse, would have created an award winning, high-rated talk show and owned her own television network? Oprah is the wealthiest African-American woman who never forgets people’s angst, and has the power to change generations. Her success came at an early age, after being fired from a co- anchor job in Baltimore, Maryland, where she hosted a TV chat show called “People Are Talking”. The show became a hit and Winfrey continued with it for eight years, but then was recruited by a Chicago TV station to host her own morning show, “A.M. Chicago”. The.
Oprah Winfrey is an inspiration to many all around the world. She did not have a very good home life up until the age of 14. She was abused as a child and did not see her mother very often because she was a housemaid who was gone almost every day all day. Vernon Winfrey, Oprah’s father, was a big service in her life when it came to keeping her in a nonviolent manner. Oprah also had her career going for her when she became Miss Black Tennessee at age 17. When Oprah became Miss Black Tennessee she was offered a radio broadcasting job and a full scholarship to Tennessee. Oprah had quite a few talk shows yet she made the most money off her own show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and now has her individual network called The Oprah Winfrey Network. Oprah Winfrey’s influential style greatly impacted those who came after her in the entertainment industry.
Oprah Winfrey is the most powerful African American woman who has prospered into making a difference in this world. She has become an inspiration for many helping not only financially but also touching many hearts; aiding the poor and influencing others with her words. Starting at the very bottom she has proved to everyone that she could become something more in this unfair world. Despite her harsh childhood, Oprah Winfrey became a successful, international mogul, creating a name for herself in history, and providing aid and hope for many people.
Oprah’s rejection has brought about a new type of media communication, which has made her one of the foremost female talk show hosts. Her show focuses on real life confessions, human stories, and self-improvement that create awareness and changes in the life of other people. She is often praised for overcoming adversity to become a benefactor to people around the world.
Oprah Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954. (“Oprah Winfrey Biography”). Oprah had a rough childhood (“Oprah Winfrey Biography”). She constantly moved from her mother’s house to her father’s house (“Oprah Winfrey Biography”). When Oprah lived with her mother she was raped (Lies, 2011). When Oprah lived with her father, she excelled (“Oprah Winfrey Biography”). Oprah’s rough childhood and thriving high school and college years definitely influenced her contributions to the world later showing ethical leadership (“Oprah Winfrey Biography”).
Oprah was born on a farm in 1954 to a poor family. Winfrey enjoyed reciting African American poetry, and became known as the "little speaker" in her town. When she was 12, Winfrey won $500 for a speech she gave at her father 's church. From then on she wanted to "be paid to talk." When Winfrey was a teenager, her dream was put on hold. Some of the trusted men of her family began to sexually abuse her. She lashed out in anger at the world by lying to her mother, running away from home, and stealing. Unaware of what Winfrey was going through, her mother sent her away to live with her father. If her mother never sent her away, Oprah 's life would have been much different. At age 17, Oprah Winfrey won the Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant and was offered an on-air job at WVOL, a radio station for the African American community in Nashville. Oprah continued to work at WVOL in her first years of college, but her broadcasting career was already taking off. She left school and signed on with a local television station as a reporter and anchor. In 1976, she moved to Baltimore to join WJZ-TV News as a co-anchor. There, she co-hosted her first talk show, People Are Talking, while continuing to serve as anchor and news reporter. In January 1984, she was invited to Chicago to host a half-hour morning program on WLS-TV. In less than a year, she turned AM Chicago into the hottest show in
She was in a beauty pageant there was three girls left she was the last one to be asked a question. The question was if you won one million dollars what would you do with the one million dollars. The first one said ¨it would help the poor¨ the second one said ¨i would help my family¨ and Oprah said ¨i would be a spending fool¨ after that they announce the winner it was Oprah Winfrey won because she was honest to the judges (kramer 15). A while later she became a talk show host for the news on A.M. Chicago. She made her own show called ¨The Oprah Winfrey Show¨( mar 17). Soon she made her own business called ¨ HARPO¨. Harpo is Oprah spelt backwards. HARPO oprah makes her own television shows and movies ( mara 22). Still she, started her own magazine called O, The Oprah Magazine. Oprah has been successful as a tv host, actor, and magazine
Soon after she moved to her own network, the Oprah Winfrey network, a joint venture with Discovery communications. She knew then that she wanted to be “paid to talk”. Her father wanted her to complete weekly book reports, and she went without dinner until she learned five vocabulary words each day. In September 1996 Oprah started an on-air club.
Oprah saw how miserable the lives were for young girls in South Africa. On the daily they struggles with the lack of education, the constant sight and feelings of violence and torture, and the struggle of aids with no treatments. Oprah’s goal was to take all that money she had, and ambition and turn it into something that would forever give hope to young women in africa who do not have much. Throughout the years she has also given over $400 million towards educational programs and in total has given out more than 400 scholarship (O’Connor 2). Even though people do not agree with it, life is a lot of black and white, and there is not a ton of grey area.
Winfrey has brought so much change to the world that one cannot just write a simple paragraph about. She has used her platform to discuss topics that are truly life changing such as Weight Issues, Reading, Give Big, and Taboo. Topics about weight have always interested the public, and Oprah was one individual who discussed it for the world to put their input in. She has talked about her own weight and made it clear how diet and exercise is important for the body. She strived to put the message in people’s ear’s that being healthy is what’s right. The next topic is reading, and this came from her “Oprah 's Book Club”. Oprah has always believed that reading is a fundamental skill and she wanted others to hop on the bandwagon and expand their knowledge. She started this book club for many reasons and it surely brought change to society. Give Big is the next topic of discussion and this changed society in a positive way. In 1997, Oprah wanted her viewers to make a difference in other people’s lives by donating their spare change. Shortly after that, she transformed that into the charity known as “Oprah 's Angel Network”. This charity was a huge success and has helped a lot of individuals in need. The final topics that will be discussed are taboo topics such as abuse, infidelity and addiction. These types of topics are what made Oprah Winfrey’s show such a success. She was so open about her childhood and other obstacles she had to face in her life that people began to trust
Oprah did not have such a great upbringing, but despite the odds, she rose up and became who she had wanted to be. Oprah had dealt with many accounts of sexual abuse, the lack of attention from her mother, and moving from place-to-place for most of her early years (Fry, web). Not only did Oprah face sexual abuse, but she also became pregnant in one of the instances (Fry, web). This made things even more difficult for the young Oprah. Despite all of her troubles, Oprah is now very successful.
One of the most powerful women in the world is Oprah Gail Winfrey. Oprah is one of the richest businesswomen in the world, but she wasn’t always rich and successful. She had a very tough life growing up and didn’t have much money. She has always been a hard worker, and she had a passion for hosting and acting. Oprah is very good at what she does and that’s how she raised to the top of being one of the most influential women in the media.