Oprah Winfrey: Powerhouse Outlier

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...

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...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.

"The History of Oprah's Angel Network". Harpo Productions. http://www.oprah.com/entity/angelnetwork. Retrieved April 14, 2011.

Kelley, Kitty. Oprah: A Biography. New York: Crown Publishers, 2010. Print.