Oprah Winfrey: Inspirational Entertainer
When daytime talk show programs first appeared on television in the 1950s, they mostly consisted of celebrities gathered around a coffee table discussing secrets about trivial things, such as how to make the best sponge cake. It is unlikely that these shows promoted positive changes in the lives of their viewers in any substantial way. In the early 1970s, Phil Donahue introduced a new variety of talk show. His show was characterized as "an exercise in sociopolitical discourse," but was, in actuality, more successful for its coverage of titillating issues than important ones (Moorti sc 2-3).
Donahue's show impacted the talk show world, but not nearly as much as Oprah Winfrey would with the beginning of her show a few years later. In 1983, Oprah Winfrey applied for a position as a talk show host on a morning show in Chicago. Dennis Swanson interviewed her for the job, which she desperately wanted. She asked Swanson before he hired her if he had any concerns about her. He answered, "Not that I can think of." She responded, "Well, you know I'm black." And he replied, "Yeah, I figured that out." She said, "You know I'm overweight." And he answered, "So am I. I don't want you to change your appearance. If I did I would have hired someone else (Sellars sc 4)." Swanson convinced Oprah that she could make it in the television business by being who she was: overweight, black, and female (Sellars sc 4). In its first five months on the air, the "Oprah Winfrey" show became the third-highest syndicated show on TV (Moorti sc 3). Oprah continues to have astounding success today. She is among the highest paid and most influential entertainers in the business. Although...
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... Academic Search Elite. Palni Site Search. Goshen College Good Library. 3 Nov. 2002.
Moorti, Sujata. "Cathartic Confessions or Emancipatory Texts? Rape Narratives on the Oprah Winfrey Show." Social Text 57 (1998): 83-102. J-STORr. Goshen College Good Library. 3 Nove. 2002.
Nelson, Maria Z. "Oprah on a Mission." Christian Century 25 Sept. 2002: scr 3-9. Academic Search Elite. Palni Site Search. Goshen College Good Library. 3 Nov. 2002.
"Oprah Winfrey.” Business Week. 14 Jan 2002: 56
Sellars, Patricia. "The Business of Being Oprah." Fortune Aug 2002: scr 2-5. Academic Search Elite. Palni Site Search. Goshen College Good Library. 3 Nov. 2002.
Stross, Randall E. "Oprah's Bare Nightstand." U.S. News and World Report 29 April 2002: 36. Academic Search Elite. Palni Site Search. Goshen College Good Library. 3 Nov. 2002.
...n Oprah for Time 100's Most Influential People of the Century. Her article highlights Oprah's achievements throughout her career, and explains how Oprah managed to steal the spotlight from other talk show host through her reinvention of "rapport-talk," to one based on back and forth discussion everyday issues and friendship. She states that Oprah's legacy is that she evokes a sense of caring because she herself cares about her audience. Tannen appeared frequently on the Oprah Winfrey show and had the opportunity to be featured on the show when she released her book, "You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation" which Oprah praised and related to.
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
Winfrey, Oprah, and Bill Adler. The Uncommon Wisdom of Oprah Winfrey: A Portrait in her Own Words. New York: Carol Pub. Group, 1997. Print.
One of the many arising problems of America’s students is they are becoming sleep deprived. The busy daily schedules of children and teens are not allowing them to get enough sleep. “Less sleep is unhealthy especially with the new research that as teenagers move through teenage years, they need increasing amounts of sleep. Nine hours per night is the necessary amount to avoid behaviors associated with sleep deprivation” (Final Report Summary, 2001). Among other things, sleep deprivation is causing students to sleep during class instead of being awake and aware. When the students are sleeping in class, they are not retaining information being taught to them. Researchers have now proven that the majority of adolescents retain more information later in the day. Contrary to this information, America’s school systems are programmed to begin early in the day, which according to the sleep rhythms of most teenagers, they should still be sleeping.
Another reason that causes the negative relationship between sleep deprivation and academic performance is the impact of high-stress level that is caused by sleep deprivation. As mentioned earlier, sleep deprivation could decrease a student’s critical thinking and problem-solving skills. However, it can also make the students feel more stressful. According to the survey conducted in Ball State campus, there are 15 students that often do their homework before they go to bed. 10 students play video games, computer games, and mobile games before they go to sleep. 8 students use their electronic devices to do social activities. 5 students watch movies and television series and 2 students read books before they go to bed. This information proves
Studies conducted over a nearly 30 year span have consistently shown only a small fraction of adolescents get the 9 or more hours of sleep they require to function at their best. While teenagers are notorious for causing their own sleep difficulties, sleep loss among adolescents is confined primarily to school nights. “Sleep deprivation is epidemic among adolescents, with potentially serious impacts on mental and physical health, safety, and learning. Most teenagers undergo a biological shift to a later sleep-wake cycle, which can make early school start times particularly challenging.” says
It’s seven thirty in the morning, the time that most American high schools begin class. Instead of being chipper and ready to learn, most teenagers, at this time of the morning, can barely remain awake. These puffy eyed pupils are by no means ready to learn. Sixty percent children under 18 reported being sleepy during the day, with another fifteen percent reporting that they had fallen asleep during the school day within the past year (National Sleep Foundation, Dozing). Though adolescents require a larger amount of sleep than younger children, they usually receive much less (Indiana University Center for Adolescent Studies). The amount of sleep a teenager receives affects him or her both physically and mentally. Sleep deprived teenagers are more likely to be irritable, be depressed, not perform up to their capabilities in school, and have a decreased ability to handle complex tasks (National Parent Information Network). Though teenage sleep deprivation is a big problem, some simple solutions such as rescheduling the school day to fit teenagers’ biological needs, setting consistent sleep schedules, and teaching children the importance of proper sleep habits can easily remedy this problem.
Researchers have found a way to connect sleep with education. Gary Scarpello who wrote "Lack Of Sleep Could Be Trouble For CTE Students” , did a research study with liberty mutual showed that teens had an average of 7.2 hours of sleep on school nights and 33 to 75 % of all students have sleep problems. In the article it had stated that not getting enough sleep can cause impaired hand eyed coordination, reaction time and brief mental lapses. (Scarpello). The same researchers also found out that Sleep helps restores brain functions such as alertness, metabolism, and memory and regulate hormones (Scarpello). Researchers Mary A. Carskardon and A.R. Wolfson studied 3,120 Rhode Island children. They had figured out that college students who slept more than nine hours a night had a gr...
Roebuck, B. (2008, January). Homelessness, Victimization and Crime: Knowledge and Actionable Recommendations. Canada: University of Ottawa.
A “mean girl” in high school once said, “raise your hand if you have ever been personally victimized by sleep deprivation,” or something to that effect. Lack of sleep among teenagers is becoming a serious problem in today’s world. Stanford Medicine News Center states that in a 2006 National Sleep Foundation poll, more than eighty-seven percent of high school students in the United States get less than the required eight to ten hours of sleep per night (Richter). That is a ridiculous amount of students who are willing to put themselves at risk for a number of different negative consequences just to get a few hours in the day back. Why are students so quick to deprive themselves of sleep, and what is going to happen if they continue to do so?
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
As a teen has to deal with school less sleep seem to be a good thing but sleep can affect mood, school,, and can lead to sadness and or depression. In school twenty-five percent of
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
Carlyle Smith, a professor of psychology at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario suggested yet another adverse effect of sleep deprivation. Students who studied hard all week and then stayed up all night partying on the weekend lost as much as 30% of what they had learned during the week.
Despite all of her troubles, Oprah is now very successful. Although when she was young Oprah was faced with many difficult problems, she stuck to her school-work and pursued her love of teaching (Fry, web). One thing that Oprah is known for is her love of reading, teaching, and learning. This passion has helped her move forward and help others that are less fortunate than herself (Fry, web). These troubling things that Oprah was faced with turned her i...