Group 2: Oprah Winfrey

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Oprah Winfrey is an American media mogul starting her career in the mid-1980s hosting The Oprah Winfrey Show. Which would become one of the highest rated daytime talk shows on American TV. The last episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show aired on May 25th, 2011. Oprah is one of the most recognizable and iconic women in media. She has been dubbed as “The Queen of Media” by Forbes. Oprah created a nurturing environment on her talk show similar to talk therapy.  This occurred so naturally for her because of all the adversity she has gone through, she empathized with guests and captivated the audiences with their stories.

Oprah was born on January 29th, 1954 to an unmarried teenage mother, in rural Mississippi. She lived in poverty with her maternal grandmother, who was so poor that Winfrey often wore dresses made of potato sacks, for which the local children made fun of her. —One of her sisters died of causes related to cocaine addiction at the age of 43. Her other sister was put up for adoption. Her brother died from AIDS-related causes later on.— She was molested by her cousin, uncle, and a family friend, starting when she was nine years old, something she first announced to her viewers on a 1986 episode of her TV show regarding sexual abuse. When Winfrey discussed the alleged abuse with family members at age 24, they refused to accept what she said.— Winfrey once commented that she had chosen not to be a mother because she had not been mothered well. The struggles she had as a child pushed her to do even more righteous as an adult. She has given back to various different communities via Oprah's Angel Network. She was accepted into the NAACP Image Award Hall of Fame, listed as one of the 100 people who changed the world by Life Magazine in 2010, and was named a “ Power of Women Honoree” by Variety Magazine. For her success, influence as a tireless advocate for women’s rights, homosexual, transgender rights, and animal rights.

(The Oprah Winfrey Show)

Oprah Winfrey was at the center of media activism bringing issues regarding LGBTQI+ to her show. One of her most important episodes was when Ellen Degeneres came out. Oprah discussed issues regarding the gender wage gap when Jennifer Lawrence said that she was being paid less than male co-stars. Oprah stated that by Jennifer bringing up this issue she was starting the conversation. Oprah believes that she has seen similar patterns such as with Mothers against Drunk driving and this pattern will occur similarly with the wage gap. She is hopeful that things will change.

Oprah is the CEO (chief executive officer) and CCO (chief creative officer) of the Oprah Winfrey Network. She has her own magazine and website (O Magazine and Oprah.com). All these varying media platforms show us how much content Oprah is really producing, not to mention all the films that she has executive producer credits for. The majority of Oprah’s employees are women. They are creating content for women by women. A TV series on OWN named Queen Sugar addresses the real-life issues that African American families are going through in this political climate.

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Through the reaction of the fans, we see how powerful of a message that is being sent. The show allows for a conversation to begin about these issues.  On Oprah's official website, there is various enlightening and uplifting article that send positive vibes, these articles are also written by a diverse bunch of individuals.

Overall we see that the message that Oprah sends is one that is uplifting encouraging everyone to make positive changes within their lives to make them the best person that they can be. Oprah also uses her platform to give insight into other people's lives via interviews (master class, soul sessions). Which allows for a more diverse and collective environment where everyone is included. Oprah’s presence in media is one that will leave a legacy of loving oneself, nurturing others, and creating a space or room for everyone.