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...
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...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.
Oprah Winfrey is an outstanding & determined bright woman. Winfrey is a very advocate person. She has encouraged and inspired many people, but when she was growing up it was rough for her, but after her courageous and outstanding work, she is now a billionaire and helps a lot of charities.
Oprah Winfrey achieved great success in her various endeavors, growing from a news reporter in Nashville to the world-famous talk show host she is today. During the 1980s, talk shows were a crucial part of daytime television. Shows were organized based upon their content and varied greatly in subject. The popularity of talk shows led many people to enter this field, leading to a constant struggle for airtime. Oprah’s rise to fame began when she moved from her hometown in Nashville, to college in Baltimore and ultimately to Chicago, where she lives today. She appeared on an early morning television program called A.M. Chicago, which was later retitled The Oprah Winfrey Show which aired its first episode on September 8, 1986. Talk shows like Oprah’s were wildly popular, especially to women, because they focused on entertaining their viewers rather than discussing political problems. The thirty-minute to hour-long programs allowed for people to escape their problems, even if only for a short period of time (Rose). Biographer, Ilene Cooper took on the challenge of writing a biography about the complex and extraordinary life of Oprah Winfrey. In an article on the Kirkus Review website, published in 2010, a critic enjoys how the author of the biography, Up close: Oprah Winfrey, “makes excellent use of many quotes from interviews, Oprah’s own writing and, of course, her television show” (“Oprah Winfrey”). This reviewer appreciates how the biographer uses all of her resources to understand more information about Oprah. Some of Oprah’s greatest contributions to society are her generous donations to several organizations, and the way she encourages individuals to take actions that can not on...
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.
Oprah Winfrey is not only the richest woman in the world, but she is also is known to be one of the most influential black women to ever live in the United States. She is a person “who has become successful and spread it around to those who need it the most” (Oprah 76). She has opened many different foundations to help others, For example, the Oprah Winfrey foundation. As if that already wasn’t enough she made a networking site called Oprah angel, what it does is help raise money for charitable causes around the world. In 2000 Oprah Decided to not only help others with Physical and financial problems, she wanted to go one step further. She published her own magazine called “O” that would give woman advice with how she deals with the same situations that woman do in their everyday lives. One of Oprahs greatest works is a leadership Academy that she established. It is a school in Africa that will prepare students for what awaits them on the other side of those doors. “It is a place where young girls will have the opportunity improve the quality of life for their sisters, and for generations to come” (Owla 12-13).
Oprah Winfrey lived a very rough early life until Vernon Winfrey took her into good hands. She lived in Kosciusko, Missippi for the first 6 years of her life, and then she moved to Milwaukee to live with her mother who was a housemaid. When Oprah lived with her mother she was sexually molested during the daytime when her mother would work the long days. This abuse went on everyday possible for 4 years until she was out on her own at age 14. Oprah had given birth to a baby, which had unexpectedly died during infancy. After the baby had died she moved in with her Father who lived in Tennessee. “Vernon Winfrey was a strict parent, but he gave his daughter the secure home that Oprah needed. He saw to it that she met a curfew, and he required her to read a book and write a book report as well. “As strict s he was,” says Oprah, “ he had some concerns about me making the best of my ...
During her childhood years living with her mother, Oprah had very little money and life was difficult. She wants to help as many children as possible grow up in a sound, safe, and educational environment. Oprah has changed the world with all of her organizations and charity efforts. Oprah Winfrey has helped thousands of children attend school with her scholarships that she has funded. Many of these children would never go to school or continue their college career without her amazing efforts of providing financial support to these children. Oprah also helped build homes for families through her efforts with Habitat for Humanity and her donations after Hurricane Katrina helped families start their lives over again after the mass destruction of the hurricane by providing the financial support to rebuild many communities and neighborhoods(“Oprah Winfrey”). When researching Oprah Winfrey, I now realize why she is such an incredible person. The world is a better place because of Oprah Winfrey. This is another example of a person that has worked very hard to achieve her goals in life. Oprah strived for her dreams of being able to give back to the community and world. Oprah came from nothing, built an empire and became one of the most influential people in the world. While building an empire, Oprah has influenced millions of people achieve a better way of live. Oprah has positively
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.
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
Oprah Winfrey is an African American woman who is known as a U.S. media celebrity. She has done so much to contribute to society as we know it and her legacy will forever live on. Mrs. Winfrey is well known and she uses her platform for positivity and love, which is a huge reason for her success. She is an intelligent leader who worked hard for the spot she has in life and strives to encourage others to be successful also. Mrs. Winfrey has written books, acted and produced films, hosted an infamous television show, and given to charities. Her hard work and dedication has made her one of the most influential women of all time. She strived for greatness and accomplished what she wanted out of life, despite various obstacles that had been in the
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.