Oprah is finished. Her twenty-five year reign as “Queen of the Talk Shows” has evaporated. Her political and financial spheres of influence have declined. Her Midas touch is completely devalued; up-and-coming entrepreneurs no longer vie for her approval. She simply misunderstood and mistimed her exit from the mainstream Media arena. It is not even a year since she left ABC, and her world audience has forgotten her.
The powers that be unceremoniously dethroned her. They instead feverishly fight to install a new Queen – or King. Ironically, the line-up of competitors includes some of Oprah’s protégés. The “White Dudes Show Down,” as I have renamed it, is jostling on all the major Networks (CBS, NBC, ABC and FOX) for the 3:00 P.M slot vacated by Oprah.
Rightly or wrongly, some factions of the political power elite in America believe that Oprah over-stepped her bounds. They hold the opinion that Oprah greatly influenced her followers to vote overwhelmingly Democrat in the 2008 election, thereby solidifying the win for the first African-American President. With her departure from mainstream television, Oprah’s influence is null and void well before the 2012 election.
Oprah further miscalculated when she assumed that her brand alone would ensure the successful launch her TV Network, “OWN.” While it flounders with thin programming that fails to capture her audience’s imagination, some celebrate OWN’s impending downfall. For the majority who shared and experienced her growth for the last quarter of a century, we eagerly anticipate her electrifying “come back.” Oprah still, and forever, reigns supreme.
The powers that be unceremoniously dethroned her. They instead feverishly fight to install a new Queen – or King. Ironically, the line-up of competitors includes some of Oprah’s protégés. The “White Dudes Show Down,” as I have renamed it, is jostling on all the major Networks (CBS, NBC, ABC and FOX) for the 3:00 P.M slot vacated by Oprah.
Rightly or wrongly, some factions of the political power elite in America believe that Oprah over-stepped her bounds. They hold the opinion that Oprah greatly influenced her followers to vote overwhelmingly Democrat in the 2008 election, thereby solidifying the win for the first African-American President. With her departure from mainstream television, Oprah’s influence is null and void well before the 2012 election.
Oprah further miscalculated when she assumed that her brand alone would ensure the successful launch her TV Network, “OWN.” While it flounders with thin programming that fails to capture her audience’s imagination, some celebrate OWN’s impending downfall. For the majority who shared and experienced her growth for the last quarter of a century, we eagerly anticipate her electrifying “come back.” Oprah still, and forever, reigns supreme.
© 2012
When I wrote this piece roughly six months ago, I had no idea where I was going with it. Ironically, the following link highlights an article in which Oprah Winfrey explains the lack-luster performance of her Network. I feel that it compliments my observation extremely well. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/winfrey-dedicated-own-despite-rocky-134947263.html
ReplyDelete