Article on Oprah

Oprah Winfrey, the first African-American television correspondent in Nashville, Tennessee, was born into poverty and struggle and lived a childhood of abuse and neglect. Everyday, Winfrey had obstacles to conquer, similar to how everyday “from the time the Joshua tree was a tiny sapling, it had been so beaten down by the whipping wind that, rather than trying to grow skyward, it had grown in the direction that the wind pushed it” (21) because of it’s rooting. Winfrey's capacity to remain humble all through each and every crack and crevice of her life show how much of a hard-worker and how determined she is to grow and prosper, which earned her the title of being one of the richest women in the world with a net worth of three billion dollars. This compares to the Joshua tree’s toils of how it stayed alive and prospered for many years which, in the end, symbolizes perseverance and diligence to accomplish peace and balance in one’s

“The best of humanity's recorded history is a creative balance between horrors endured and victories achieved, and so it was during the Harlem Renaissance.” A quote stated by Aberjhani in his novel Journey through the Power of the Rainbow: Quotations from a Life Made out of Poetry channels the significance and impact of the Harlem Renaissance as a movement that gave African Americans their first opportunity to express themselves. With the continuous, yet advanced expansion of African American impact on society in this new era, indeed we are in the midst of a new Black American Renaissance. As a renowned business woman, talk show host, actress, producer and more, Oprah Winfrey has influenced this new renaissance with her contributions of literature, performing arts, media entrepreneurship, taboo topics, and discussions on race relations as well as philanthropy.

The Oprah Winfrey Show is highly influential, especially to women because it allows them a forum to talk about numerous topics that are relevant of example, abuse, molestation and teenage pregnancy on a high rate and others. Winfrey has interviewed political and public figures during the past twenty years. In earlier times during the show, rather than offering a simple publicity platform, a celebrity would often be featured after a period of intense media scrutiny. She often interviews celebrities on issues that directly involved them in some way, such as cancer or charity work.

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

Oprah Winfrey is a very successful woman. She started her life in a small home that had absolutely no electricity or running water. She came from nothing which made her work so much harder and gave her motivation to be the woman she is today. Oprah never really thought about what she wanted to do with her life until she entered a beauty pageant at the age of 17. She was asked what she aspired to be when she grew up and knew that she wanted to be different than all the other girls she was competing against. They wanted to be nurses and teachers, she wanted to be a TV journalist and it just so happens that journalism is the career path she followed as an adult. Oprah fits Maslow’s criteria of self-actualization because she is a selfless person who over the course of life has gained wisdom and insight through all the experiences she has faced both good and bad , allowing her to reach an ideal level of self-wellness.

Following her brief career on the MSNBC, she took a step forward in her career, as she began to guest appear on the numerous TV and radio talk shows, such as “American Morning”, “Real Time With Bill Maher”, “The Michael Medved Show” and others. She slowly build her career as a controversial personality, which benefited to her popularity, but as well to her net worth, due to the increased media attention.

She displays Oprah as the generous and admirable person that she is. She stresses that Oprah strives to make anything she likes known to everyone else. Lofton writes, “She is a pitchwoman of her own consumption; her consumption is her commodity” (Lofton 21). Another strength is that Lofton really shows how Oprah plays a huge religious role. Oprah offers regular rituals that show people the reality of life, give people some direction, give people hope for redeeming themselves, and offers them an outreach program. Lofton does a good job of tying in how Oprah incorporates religion to social and economic aspects. She states, “Winfrey, the talk show preacher, is a ‘story dramatizer’ with her confessional prodding, with her attempts to ‘heal the guest and the greater society whose ‘problem’ he or she supposedly represents’” (Lofton 117). By referring to Oprah as the talk show preacher, it further shows the reader the impact that Oprah can have religiously. Another highlight of the book is how Lofton places Oprah within the group of traditional African-American preachers as well as with the group of strong women evangelists. This helps the reader view Oprah as more than just a TV celebrity, but also as an extension of a cultural tradition that we are unfamiliar

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

It is pretty obviously that Oprah has a lot of influence on the audience’s thinking and behavior. Such as the cattle price fell to a 10 year low within a week of the show where she swears to not eat hamburger for the rest of her life, resulting in over $12 million loss in USA cattle production.

She talked about eight stars that are very well known today that its hard to believe that Oprah is to thank for their success. Most of these people were on her show and start to come on more frequently because the audience loved their segments. Some of the stars are Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz, Rachel Ray, and Lyanla Vanzant. This article was from ABC News. ABC News has been a very reliable source for years and the information is valid. This source was helpful to find how the Oprah Winfrey show has helped other people become known to the world. It was great for a sub point for my second main point that is about her show as a

Greene’s first major breakthrough into the popular view was her contributions to Essence magazine, whose target audience was African-American women between the ages of eighteen and forty-nine years old. Greene used this platform along with other contributors and editors to provide a platform to empower the magazine’s targeted demographic. One of the many articles she authored is an interview with June Jordan and Angela Davis. Later on, Greene worked as an executive editor for seven years from 1983-1990. fifteen years after Greene’s departure from essence the

Retired TV show host, Oprah Winfrey, in her fervent eulogy for Rosa Parks, addresses the importance of Rosa Park’s decision to refuse to give up her seat. Winfrey’s purpose is to show how Park’s choice has had a positive impact on society. She uses imagery, repetition and pathos to help the readers better understand the reasons for Ms. Winfrey’s admiration of Mrs. Parks. Ms. Winfrey begins her eulogy by using imagery to show how “big” Mrs. Park’s action made her seem. Ms. Winfrey describes her childhood perception of Mrs. Parks.

Oprah Winfrey grew up in a world of adversity, despite her early accomplishments as a gifted child. She began her career in 1976, when she moved to Baltimore to join WJZ-TV News. (Oprah Winfrey Biography, 2011) Her empathetic personality made her many friends, and she was invited to Chicago in 1984 to begin hosting a half-hour morning program. Within a year, she had turned the AM Chicago radio show into the most important radio show in town, and was soon expanded to a full one-hour format. During this time, Oprah struggled with the stereotype that as a black woman she would always be an assistant anchor on the news, or simply a well-spoken host of a talk show. This could not have been further from the truth, as Oprah was able to create her own format for excellence in all forms of media, not simply talk or television. The show was renamed the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1985, and kept that name for twenty-five years until she retired the show in 2010.

This essay will compare and contrast Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres based on their lives before fame, their talk shows, and their impact on society.

In today’s day and age one of the most influential women and people is Oprah Winfrey. Oprah has had a big impact on today’s society and played a huge role in advancing it. Oprah Winfrey is a talk show host, producer, actress and philanthropist who are widely respected around the world. By becoming one of the biggest names in talk show history Oprah has paved the way for others and became one of the more popular women in talk show history. Her willingness to help others and to be sure others are guided in positive light shows how much passion she has to see the greater good in others. Oprah’s biggest role comes from helping to pursue the advancement of young women and girls. Oprah has taken the time to see to it that young women are out of poverty and opening up a brand new school for underprivileged females to see to it that they have the same opportunity that children in America and other parts of the world have. Being that African- Americans, let alone women were not seen as marketable, Oprah helped to change this dynamic early in her career by using her platform in communication to open doors for other people. Winfrey’s work over a number of years is the single most evident reason why she has been able to be successful in the field of mass communication. Oprah is one of the most influential women of our time because of how well she is able to contribute to the human rights of women and advancing them in today’s society.