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Source currently unknown... but I know: Alicia Sheldon & Renee Hamilton, February 2, 2000 |
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A True Inspiration
“Oprah has survived a very troublesome adolescence by being sexually abused
by some male friends of her mother’s in Mississippi where she was born.
She then moved to Tennessee to live with her father. She continued
to go to school there and began her broadcasting career at a radio station
in Nashville Tennessee while still in high school” (biography.com).
“She then became the youngest person and the first African American woman
to anchor the news at one of Nashville’s main television networks.
From there she moved to Baltimore to co-anchor the 6 o’clock news then
moved on to co-host the news channel’s local talk show. Seven years
later she moved to Chicago to host a morning talk show entitled Am Chicago.
It soon became the number one talk show one month after Oprah started
hosting. In less than a year the show expanded to an hour and was
renamed the Oprah Winfrey Show” (Oprah.com)
“Oprah eventually gained ownership of the show from ABC and now controls
it under her own production company called Harpo Productions (Oprah spelled
backwards). Oprah is one of only three women to own her own production
studio. Through Harpo Productions Oprah has a long term agreement
with ABC to produce made-for-TV movies and also with Walt Disney Motion
Pictures to produce feature films for them. The Oprah Winfrey show
is now syndicated and is seen by 22 million viewers a week in the United
States as well as in 113 countries around the world. It is the highest
rated talk show in television history and has been in the number one spot
for 14 consecutive seasons. Oprah has received seven Emmy Awards
for Outstanding Talk Show Host and The Oprah Winfrey show has received
a total of 37 Emmy’s. Oprah’s success has also led her to star in
Steven Speilberg’s movie, The Color Purple, in which she won an Academy
Award for Best Supporting Actress. Oprah once said that Barbara
Walters was her idol when she first started hosting her talk show and
that she would try to talk and act like Barbara by not making any mistakes
at all and trying to be perfect. Then one day she made a mistake
while giving a story and after laughing at herself she realized that she
was not Barbara Walters and that she was her own person and she needed
to be comfortable with that. Oprah now encourages other people to
be comfortable with themselves also” (Oprah.com).
Oprah’s powerful position as being a talk show host has also influenced
her to create many different programs to help the viewers around the world
try to become better people and to influence them to give to others.
“In 1999 an all women media company called Oxygen Media debuted with Oprah
as its co-founder. The cable network and Internet company is dedicated
to serving woman only” (Oprah.com) Some other programs Oprah has
founded are Oprah’s Book Club and Oprah’s Angel Network.
“In September of 1996 Oprah started Oprah’s Book Club which was designed
to get the country excited about reading. Oprah chooses a different
book each month and introduces the book at the end of one of her shows.
She chooses only fiction books since she features so many nonfiction books
on the show and every book featured has become a best seller but she does
not make money off of the books. The book club is nonexclusive so
all people have to do to become members is to read. At the end of
each month Oprah holds “dinner discussions” to talk about the book.
Oprah held one dinner discussion in the library of her house but in ended
up to be to much trouble after dragging in all the cameras and lighting
equipment so now she holds the discussions in a look alike library on
the set of her show. Guests are invited to the show to participate
in these discussions based on feedback such as emails and letters that
let Oprah know what an impact the book had on their lives” (Oprah.com)
“Oprah also launched a program in September of 1997 called Oprah’s Angel
Network. This is a program in which people all over the world can
send in spare change to help buy clothing and other necessities for people
in need. The spare change has added up to a huge sum of money, which
was used for building 200 Habitat for Humanity Homes and 3.5 million dollars,
was used to created college scholarships for students in need. The
people that have given great amounts of “spare change” or have done something
incredible to help someone else out will be recognized as an “Angel.”
These people also have a chance to win the “Use Your Life Award” which
is $100,000 that is presented to someone every Monday that has used their
life in some way to better the life of someone else” (Oprah.com).
Angels can also be nominated by going online at oprah.com or oxygen.com.
On these websites you can get to know Oprah a little better as well as
check out different issues of her magazine, look at previous Book Club
books, find yummy recipes and read inspirational quotes from Oprah herself!
“Oprah is not only recognized as a media figure but Congress also recognizes
her for being a dedicated activist for children’s rights. She proposed
the “Oprah Bill” which is a bill that is a nationwide database of convicted
child abusers. Oprah proposed the bill to Congress and got it approved
and signed by President Clinton” (Oprah.com)
“Oprah also joins her fiancée Stedman Graham at a graduate school of management
at Northwestern University to help teach “Dynamics of Leadership.”
She serves as a professor along with Stedman to help students with their
leadership, organizational and management skills” (Oprah.com)
“Oprah launched her biggest project yet in April of 2000. She introduced,
O: The Oprah Magazine, to the public. It is a monthly magazine that
serves as a personal growth guide for its readers. It features useful
motivational tools that women need to feel more comfortable and confident
about themselves” (O: The Oprah Magazine). It also features new
fashions, low-fat recipes, financial advice, inspirational quotes and
a mission calendar which is a month long guide to create comfort in your
life. Every month Oprah recognizes a phenomenal woman such as Maya
Angelou and Dr. Jerri Nielsen who performed breast surgery on herself
to remove her cancer in the midst of a deadly snowstorm at the South Pole.
These phenomenal women show us that we all can survive through difficult
times in our lives if we just believe in ourselves.
Oprah has a tremendous way of helping people deal with and solve problems.
She provides people with hope and happiness and with words of wisdom.
Whether it is by encouraging others to read through her book club, or
encouraging people to look inside themselves and give back to the world
through spare change, Oprah is a role model and an inspiration to others
to be comfortable with themselves and to reach inside themselves and give
back to the world. Works
Cited ·
“Oprah
Winfrey Biography.” The Press Room paragraphs 1-7, 11-16.
Sept. 2000.
http://oprah.com/about/press/about_press_bio.html ·
Oprah
Winfrey and Gayle King. “O
Contents.” O: The Oprah Magazine Feb. 2001: 2-3 ·
“Oprah
Winfrey Biography.” Related Results 1-3, 5-6. year 2000.
· http://biography.com/cgi-bin/biomain.cgi.html · “Relationships/Dr. Phil.” Oprah.com. 26 Apr. 2001. 1. date accessed. http://oprah.com/phil/aboutphil/phil_about_main.html |
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