HISTORY’s Moment in Media: Launching…The Oprah Winfrey Show!

Oprahamp8217s life story is extraordinary She was born in Mississippi to a poor unwed mother and abused as a child By the time she became a national TV star she was already an Oscarnominated actress for a supporting role in 1985amp8217s The Color Purple She lost to Anjelica Huston Today she has ended the show but she remains a mogul the chairwoman and CEO of OWN The Oprah Winfrey Network the driving force behind Oprah Daily the digital version of what was O The Oprah Magazine and features like Oprahamp8217s Book Club which has lived on past the end of her show and still capable of conducting major newsmaking interviews like her famous 2021 conversation with Prince Harry and his wife Meghan MarkleAnd she remains a cultural force Last month she headlined a night of the Democratic National ConventionIn 1975 Oprah dropped out of college one credit short of her degree to take a TV job Sheamp8217d later go back to finish and graduate In 1976 she moved to Baltimore to host a TV show called People Are Talking She made it a success and after eight years the producers of a lowrated Chicago talk show AM Chicago recruited her to the Windy City to work her magic thereAnd she did quickly Within a year she brought the show to No 1 in the ratings besting even Phil Donahue her major competitor The show expanded from a halfhour to an hour and renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show Another year later it went national at the urging of the Chicagobased film critic Roger Ebert who over a date with Winfrey sketched out on a napkin just how much money she could make with a nationally syndicated showFor the first show she wanted a celebrity and she tried to recruit Don Johnson then at the peak of his Miami Vice fame As part of her lobbying effort she sent him a pair of trendy and expensive rhinestone sunglasses Years later when he appeared on the first episode of Oprahamp8217s final season he returned the shades and explained that Miami Vice producers wouldnamp8217t let him take time away from busy shooting days Instead Oprah went celebfree on her premiere with a show called amp8220How to Marry the Man of Your Choiceamp8221That set the template for what was to come As welcoming as Oprah was to celebrities remember Tom Cruise on that couch or her visit to Michael Jacksonamp8217s Neverland the highestrated TV interview of all time her show was also a place for regular people and especially for personal growth Oprah talked about romantic troubles and her weight battles She touched on hotbutton social issues with compassion amp8220Our shows are hourlong life lessonsamp8221 she once saidOprah ended the show in 2011 after 25 seasons as the toprated talk show in American history The Oprah Winfrey Show won 47 Daytime Emmy Awards before she stopped submitting the show for consideration in 2000 In 2010 she won the Kennedy Center Honors and in 2018 the Golden Globes presented Oprah with its Cecil B DeMille Award for lifetime achievementThe night before that premiere episode she wrote in her journal and perhaps foresaw the success she would have amp8220I keep wondering how much my life will change if it will change what this all means Why have I been so blessed Maybe going national was to help me realize that I have important work or that this work is importantamp8221For 25 years on syndicated television she did work that was important to millions of people And even after ending The Oprah Winfrey Showshe still doesClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageorgMyersBizNet

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HISTORY’s Moment in Media: Launching…The Oprah Winfrey Show!

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HISTORY’s Moment in Media: Launching…The Oprah Winfrey Show!

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