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O: The Oprah Magazine |
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Introduction
Talk about Oprah Winfrey’s magazine started early, perhaps
appropriate for a magazine featuring an award winning talk
show host. As early as 26 August 1999 the New York Times
began enticing future readers with announcements of the
major players at a then-unnamed magazine flaunting the Oprah
Winfrey brand. Media watchers from Advertising Age to
Mediaweek heralded the coming of O, The Oprah Magazine in
the months prior to the magazine hitting newsstands in May/June
2000 (Granatstein, 2000; Kerwin, 2000; Kuczynski, 2000,
January 3 and April 3).
And when the debut issue finally arrived in mid-April 2000,
newsstands struggled to keep the magazine in stock. Within
weeks the magazine sold 1.6 million copies, a figure
including a second press run (O’Leary, 2001; Gonser, 2001).
Within six months O, The Oprah Magazine was a monthly in a
rapid upgrade from the original bi-monthly launch planned by
partner Hearst Magazines (Gonser, 2001; Kuczynski, 2000,
January 3). In the same time period O, The Oprah Magazine
outsold proven titles In Style, Self, Glamour and Vogue as
well as sister Hearst magazines Good Housekeeping, Harper’s
Bazaar and Victoria (O’ Leary, 2001) and weathered its first
lawsuit (Liptak, 2001). And magazine publisher Gruner and
Jahr USA, looking to cash in on O, The Oprah Magazine’s
success, gave McCall’s readers Rosie. Gruner and Jahr pinned
hopes to the appeal of daytime talk show host/actress Rosie
O’Donnell to sell magazines in the same way talk show host/actress
Oprah Winfrey did.
Could Gruner and Jahr be faulted for imitation? The formula
at O, The Oprah Magazine appeared to be a winner. The
formula combined essential elements of two established and
proven magazine genres -- the celebrity magazine of
Hollywood in its heyday (Honey, 1972) and the women’s
service magazine, a viable commodity since Ladies’ Home
Journal arrived in the late 1800s (Damon-Moore, 1994). As a
celebrity publication O, The Oprah Magazine centered upon
talk show host Oprah Winfrey, perhaps the most recognized
celebrity of the late twentieth century. And she populated
her new publication with her equally celebrated friends from
Katie Couric to Camille Cosby, Jay Leno to Venus and Serena
Williams, Maya Angelou to Nelson Mandela, Rudy Giuliani to
Bette Midler, Elie Weisel to Martha Stewart and Jane Fonda.
Moreover, O, The Oprah Magazine served readers in the
tradition of women’s service magazines with helpful
information on topics ranging from organizing a pile of
vacation snapshots and the importance of well-shaped
eyebrows to dealing with breast cancer and the loss of a
spouse.
Termed a “personal-growth guide for the next century” (Kuczynski,
2000, p. C11), one of a crop of “women’s lifestyle magazines
in the holistic genre” (Granatstein, 2001, October 22, p.
38), and “a workbook wherein you can apply what you learn” (Shulevitz,
2000, p. 76) among other descriptions, O, The Oprah Magazine
blossomed in a harsh magazine climate. Established titles
such as Industry Standard, Brill’s Content, Mademoiselle and
Working Woman shuttered their doors about the same time O,
The Oprah Magazine first appeared (Poniewozik, 2002). An
online column from Wooden Horse Publishing predicted O, The
Oprah Magazine would match Playboy magazine in copies sold
per issue, a figured calculated in August 2001 at 3.2
million. Magazines Rosie and Talk also built on the cache of
celebrity but faltered and faded before O, The Oprah
Magazine celebrated its third anniversary. In other words,
O, The Oprah Magazine did something right.
This qualitative study of O, The Oprah Magazine located
three elements the author found key to the success of the
publication in the magazine’s first three years of
publication. The author designated these elements as
service, celebrity and boutique. In this study, content of
the magazine is reviewed with regard to the listed elements.
Reader letters also are examined to gauge audience reaction
to the magazine. This study attempts to assess what was
presented in the first three years of O, The Oprah Magazine,
what readers thought of that content and how that content
reflected the hybrid nature of O, The Oprah Magazine as
fusion of the women’s service and celebrity magazine genres.
The author asserts that O, The Oprah Magazine combined the
elements of service, celebrity and boutique in a highly
successful way. The formula itself is not unique. Examples
of the formula fill book racks, newsstands, library shelves,
and mailboxes every month. However, advertising revenues,
industry awards and buzz, and reader interest indicated that
O, The Oprah Magazine, employed the formula more effectively
than most.
Literature Review
In its first three years O, the Oprah Magazine was a hybrid,
publication accessorized with several special touches that
set the magazine apart. In this hybrid elements of the
women’s service and celebrity magazines were altered just
enough to get noticed as novel without running the risk of
alienating its target audience -- women accustomed to
reading women’s magazines. To borrow from science, O, The
Oprah Magazine successfully joined the DNA of the woman’s
service magazine with the Hollywood or celebrity magazine of
the mid-20th century. O, The Oprah Magazine was not a clone,
however. The magazine displayed selected ingredients that
distinguished it from textbook examples of the women’s
service or celebrity magazine.
O, The Oprah Magazine took as its starting point the
tradition of the women’s service magazine. This magazine
genre was rooted in the 19th century. The timeline of
notable women’s magazines in the United States frequently
starts with Godey’s Lady’s Book a publication of antebellum
sensibilities at its peak in the 1860s (Zuckerman, 1998). O,
The Oprah Magazine, however, drew the bulk of its genetic
material from the women’s service magazines, the pillars of
publication that scholars McCracken (1993), Damon-Moore
(1994), Deeken (2002), and others distinguished as the Seven
Sisters. This esteemed group included Ladies’ Home Journal,
Good Housekeeping, McCall’s, Woman’s Home Companion,
Delineator, and Pictorial Review. Different in focus than
fashion magazines that rarely strayed from the display of
the latest clothing styles, the women’s service magazine
sought to teach readers to cook, clean, and meet the
challenges of everyday life. The women’s service magazine
dispensed valuable life lessons to help readers and their
families live at their best. In her study of women’s
magazines during the Cold War, Walker (2000) noted women
service magazines “sought to address nearly every aspect of
women’s lives” (p. 53). Moreover, such concerns were
addressed within the covers of the compact and easily
accessible format of the magazine (Damon-Moore 1994).
Readers of Good Housekeeping expected to find articles on
cooking, along with household tips and fashion news (Zuckerman,
1998). Readers of McCall’s and Delineator found similar
content plus clothing patterns from the companies that owned
the publications. The owners of the magazines were pattern
makers McCall’s and Butterick, respectively (Zuckerman,
1998). And readers of Ladies’ Home Journal pored over house
plans that they were encouraged to share with their
contractor (Walker, 2000). Women’s lives were thoroughly
examined and explicated in women’s service magazines. The
dedication to service continued as women and their
environment changed. For example, Cosmopolitan magazine was
redesigned in the 1960s to meet the needs of the young
single woman moving through a newly sexual society (Zuckerman,
1998). Redbook retooled to become more relevant to readers
in the late twentieth century. Early in the twenty-first
century McCall’s attempted to update its mission by morphing
into the new magazine Rosie in an effort to become current
in a world where the stay-at-home mom was displaced by the
“superwoman” with a career, family and active social life.
Interestingly, Rosie was sent to McCall’s subscribers
without solicitation. The magazine literally and
figuratively replaced the former member of the Seven Sisters
sorority in rmailboxes (Carr, 2002).
Notably the advent of women’s magazines, particularly the
women’s service title Ladies’ Home Journal, set the model
for mass circulation media (Damon-Moore 1994; Folkerts &
Teeter, 1994). Damon-Moore (1994) distinguished Ladies’ Home
Journal as among the first advertising driven publications
and among the most successful national advertising vehicles
in history. O, The Oprah Magazine continued this impressive
national advertising tradition right away, displaying 166
pages of advertisements in its 318-page debut issue (Shulevitz,
2000). In its first six issues, the magazine featured 905 ad
pages (O’Leary, 2001). Women’s services magazines set out to
educate women about what to buy through use of enticing
advertisements and fostered a gendered consumer in the
process (Damon-Moore, 1994). Complimentary copy also helped
women learn which name brand products to buy and how to use
them (Steinem, 1990). Advertisements featured in early
issues of O, the Oprah Magazine helped readers choose
perfume and beauty products through glossy advertisements
from Aveda and Lancôme, among others, and advised on the
best olive oil (Carapelli) and best financial services
company (Prudential) to use. In the February 2003 issue, a
feature story paid homage to the importance of shapely
eyebrows and offered readers how-to advice, a list of
products, tips from experts, a gallery of before and after
mug shots of magazine staffers who underwent eyebrow pruning,
and a time line of eyebrow fashion from ancient Egypt to the
present (174-179). The necessity of proper attention to
eyebrows was made very clear to the reader as a woman and as
a consumer.
Readers of early issues of O, The Oprah Magazine also found
the celebrity magazine in the structure of the magazine.
Born in the heyday of Hollywood and resuscitated most
recently in such publications as In Style, the celebrity
magazine initially gave readers glimpses into the lives of
the movie stars and later into the lives of political
figures and television personalities (Honey, 1972). Such
people made perfect magazine fodder because they “represent
the incarnation of the American dream, which promised to all
untold luxury and wealth” (Honey, 1972, p. 70). That which
fascinated readers was less about the presentation of the
American dream and more about getting the scoop on
celebrities, including information on their lives at home,
their relationships with family, friends and fans, and,
especially their failures. Articles frequently featured
celebrities who led seemingly charmed lives but were
“unhappy, bored and dissatisfied” (Honey, p. 61). Such
articles implied that the reader was capable of teaching the
movie star or politician’s wife a thing or two about finding
fulfillment at the home. Publications such as Photoplay,
Screen, Motion Picture, and Movie Mirror along with
celebrity features in photography driven magazines such as
Life and Look, made famous people intimate friends. In the
twenty-first century, the celebrity magazine lived on in a
variety of publications. For example, In Style was filled
with celebrity style, makeup, shopping and home decorating
stories, advice, and tips. TV Guide, a pop culture icon
itself, featured celebrity news and cover art to rival the
likes of the movie magazines of Hollywood’s heyday. The
diminutive magazine cashed in on the lure of celebrity by
issuing the same edition of the magazine between different
celebrity-spangled covers. For example, TV Guide released a
collectible covers to coincide with the series finale of The
X-Files in May 2002. Television series Sex and the City got
a similar send-up when the end of the series was announced
in June 2003. TV Guide published a pair of covers when cable
television channel Music Television named pop star Janet
Jackson the first MTV Icon in March 2001. Meanwhile Condé
Nast’s Vanity Fair set high the cover celebrity saturation
point with issues such as the April 2003 issue displaying a
group photograph of Hollywood leading men Brad Pitt, Tom
Cruise, Harrison Ford, Tom Hanks, and Jack Nicholson and a
star-studded cover on the annual music issue.
In O, The Oprah Magazine, celebrity came in a variety of
forms. In each issue readers got a detailed multi-page
celebrity interview, lists and accompanying essays by media
figures about their favorite books, and discussions of
epiphanies about life-altering events in the celebrity’s
life. And there was Oprah Winfrey herself and all of the
celebrity power she brought to her namesake publication. She
appeared on the cover of every issue within the time span
reviewed for this study. Inside the magazine, she ranked her
favorite things in the monthly “O List” and was often the
subject of feature stories on topics from her weight loss
battles to the extravagant parties she threw for her
celebrated friends.
Arguably, O, the Oprah Magazine also benefited from a
general rise in the importance of television and movie
personalities as magazine content at the turn of the
twentieth century. Interest in, or perhaps tolerance for,
one-dimensional supermodels as cover subjects faded in the
mid-nineties. Actors and other media personalities offered
better value for the magazine cover buck, so to speak. For
example, the bonus of a story about the celebrity pictured
on the cover often pushed newsstand sales. Moreover, movie
and television celebrities often charged less, behaved
better, and were eager for the publicity that came with
appearing on a magazine cover (Kuczynski, 1999).
Oprah Winfrey was part of the celebrity-centered switch. She
boasted a track record as a celebrity cover subject who sold
magazines prior to getting her own magazine. For example,
her cover appearance on In Style in November 1998 marked the
best-selling issue of the magazine to that point. Her
appearances on Vogue in October 1998 and Good Housekeeping
in December 1998 resulted in top selling issues of that year
for those magazines (Kuczynski, 2000, January 3). In sum,
the aura of celebrity in general, and Oprah Winfrey in
particular, attracted readers.
However, celebrity mystique did not guarantee success for
some of the peer publications of O, The Oprah Magazine.
Rosie, the magazine built around daytime talk show host,
actress and former stand-up comic Rosie O’Donnell, faltered
and failed after the nature of O’Donnell’s celebrity changed
from “Queen of Nice” to outspoken activist (Tauber, 2002;
Carr, 2002). Talk, a magazine founded on the power of
celebrity of its well-known editor and the personalities it
covered, also fell from grace. The magazine folded in three
years despite backing from film and celebrity mill Miramax (Fabrikant
& Kuczynski, 2001; Grossberger, 2002; Kuczynski & Fabrikant,
2002). Ultimately, O, The Oprah Magazine was a hybrid more
along the lines of Men’s Health, a niche magazine that
updated its image by stirring in the spirit of women’s
fashion magazines such as a focus on appearance and tips
about attracting and keeping the attention of the opposite
sex to capture readers. In the process Men’s Health prompted
other men’s magazines to do the same, including established
titles Esquire and GQ (Featherstone, 1998). Talk wedded
itself to the importance of celebrity as an overall concept.
O, The Oprah Magazine invested in the importance of Oprah
Winfrey.
Oprah, Queen of All Media
In October 1998 Time magazine stated what fans and media
watchers knew when the newsweekly’s cover story crowned talk
show host Oprah Winfrey “Queen of All Media” (Farley, 1998,
p. 82). Her long-running talk show aired nationwide and was
broadcast. Her influence through her on-air book club was
legendary. She acted in big budget Hollywood movies The
Color Purple (1985), and Beloved (1998) and produced
television movies Tuesdays with Morrie (1999) and The
Wedding (1998). She was a magazine cover girl who appeared
on Vogue and Good Housekeeping. She expanded into cable
television through the women’s centered cable network Oxygen
Media and entered cyberspace with Oprah.com (Sellers, 2002;
“Oprah’s going glossy,”1999). Her cookbooks and weight loss
manuals dotted bookstore shelves. And undergraduate students
analyzed her business acumen and her place in popular
culture (“Business course,” 2001).
Occasionally her Midas touch faltered, however. Beef
producers, photographers, and at least one other magazine
publisher sued her (Ledbetter, 1998; “Oprah Winfrey lawsuit,”
2000; Liptak, 2001). Beloved was a box office disappointment.
Author Jonathan Franzen confessed ambivalence to selection
as one of her book club favorites and was un-invited from
appearing on Winfrey’s talk show (Giles, 2001; Kirkpatrick,
2001). However, such blows apparently left Winfrey unscathed.
She remained “one of the most influential voices in pop
culture” (“Oprah’s going glossy,” 1999).
When Oprah Winfrey decided to go into the magazine business,
her royal title came in handy. First, she was a known
property. Her years in the media and her public persona
carried an impressive clout. For example, the joint
agreement between Hearst Magazines and Winfrey’s Harpo, Inc.
required Hearst to bankroll the magazine (Gonser, 2001).
Also, by contract, Winfrey’s appearance on the cover of her
own magazine did not keep her from appearing on the covers
of other magazines (Kuczynski, 2000, January 3). Oprah
Winfrey also had ready-made material for her magazines in
the content from her daily talk show. For example, featured
interviews with celebrities occasionally served double duty
on her talk show and in the magazine. Winfrey conducted a
group interview with Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and
Julianne Moore, stars of the Miramax release The Hours for
the magazine (January 2003) and for her talk show. “Oprah”
talk show regulars financial expert Suze Orman, Winfrey’s
personal trainer Bob Greene, and analyst Dr. Phil McGraw
wrote columns for O, The Oprah Magazine. Interestingly O,
The Oprah Magazine did more than attract the 33 million
daily viewers Winfrey’s talk show commanded. The magazine
appealed to a more affluent reader. The typical reader was a
professional woman in her 30s and 40s with disposable income
(O’Leary, 2001).
In press before the magazine’s launch, commentators
speculated that a magazine featuring Oprah Winfrey was a
guaranteed success. Lori O’Rourke, an advertising executive
with Liz Claiborne, said of the magazine, “we really did not
have any concerns because the magazine is about Oprah,” (Granatstein,
2000, p. 75). Roberta Garfinkle, an advertising executive,
said of the magazine, “My theory is that you could put out a
magazine, call it Oprah, put her picture on the cover, and
have blank pages inside and it would still sell,” (Kuczynski,
2000, p. C11).
Winfrey’s power as a media personality meant certain
accommodations were required to keep her happy and in the
magazine game. Concessions were made in the running of the
magazine. Winfrey’s longtime friend Gayle King presided over
the New York offices of O, The Oprah Magazine. King’s task
was to make sure the magazine remained true to Winfrey’s
mission (Kuczynski, 2000, April 3). Winfrey herself kept
tabs on the magazine through telephone and email. And there
was the magazine itself. Cigarette and weight loss
advertisements were banned from the debut issue in keeping
with Winfrey’s vision for the magazine as a reader-centered
publication (Granatstein, 2000).
Perhaps the most revolutionary aspect of the magazine
concerned the table of contents. The content list was moved
to page two in an atypical concession in magazine publishing.
Luxury cosmetic companies, fashion designers and other high-end
advertisers long reigned over the opening pages of women’s
magazines and often loaded such pages with images of
extravagance and excess. Winfrey rejected that idea. She
felt that readers shouldn’t have to search for information
about what was in the magazine (Sellars, 2002). The table of
contents in O, The Oprah Magazine moved to page two.
Arguably, no one other than Oprah Winfrey had clout enough
to demand and get such a change and break with established
magazine industry tradition.
Making Money at O, The Oprah Magazine
In July 2000 Advertising Age outlined the odds of the
successful launch of a new magazine. About half of new
magazines folded within the first year (Fine, 2000). And
launches were expensive, very expensive (Kim, 2001). For
example, Lucky magazine budgeted $8 to $10 million just for
an innovative advertising campaign to announce its debut in
2001 (Elliot, 2001). Cosmopolitan Group shelled out $15 to
$20 million to put out its new title CosmoGirl in 2000 (Fine,
2000). Meanwhile, magazine industry watchers placed the
price tag between $50 and $100 million to remake the monthly
magazine Us into Us Weekly (Fine, 2000). ReadyMade magazine
creator Shoshana Berger compared the risk of starting a
magazine to that of an opening a restaurant (Lindsay &
Gonser, 2001). Berger, who used money from friends and
family and multiple credit cards to get her fledging
magazine flying in 2001, was quoted, “It’s naïve to think
you can just launch a magazine today” (p. 15).
Hearst Magazines, a unit of media bastion Hearst Corporation,
reportedly struck a complex fifty-fifty partnership deal
with Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Inc. to bring O, The Oprah
Magazine to newsstands and mailboxes (Fabrikant & Kuczynski,
2001; Fine, 2001). Both companies are privately held and
therefore exact figures are hard to come by. However,
industry and news accounts offered glimpses into the
arrangement. Hearst reportedly provided funding (Rose,
2000). Harpo provided Winfrey and her huge fan base of talk
show viewers as future buyers. Winfrey’s appearance as a
magazine cover girl also sold magazines ranging from
stalwart Good Housekeeping to hip In Style. However, the
deal was not without risks for the conservative Hearst, a
company described as “a dowdy, penny-pinching publisher of
recipes for tuna casseroles” (Fabrikant & Kuczynski, 2001).
For example, one of the risks rested in Harpo Inc.’s deal
with Oxygen Media, which kept Hearst from a potentially
lucrative link of O, The Oprah Magazine to its own internet
and cable interests (Rose, 2000). Moreover, Winfrey lacked
magazine publishing experience (Kuczynski, 2000, October 2).
And at the time O, The Oprah Magazine arrived, Tina Brown’s
Talk magazine was draining Hearst coffers (Holt, 2003; Lowry,
2002). The chance of success and profit for a new magazine
were slim.
Hearst, however, spent money to make money. The company
adopted a common television strategy to mount “Oprah Upfront.”
Advertisers were given a two day window to make their best
offers for space in the magazine. The strategy reportedly
herded 600 pages of advertisements and $20 million in
commitments (Kerwin, 2000). In its first six issues the
magazine had 905 pages of advertisements and close to $51
million in revenues (Wilson, 2001). Most magazines strive
for one thousand advertising pages in a year. The Oprah
Winfrey fan base was being put to good use as well. After
four issues O, The Oprah Magazine claimed more than a
million subscribers (Kuczynski, 2000, October 2). Newsstand
sales were brisk, too (Wilson, 2001). The year of its debut,
Advertising Age named O, The Oprah Magazine both its
Magazine of the Year and Launch of the Year (Fine, 2001).
In sum, in its debut year the magazine defied odds by
lasting the year and making money. Critics and fans ranked
the magazine as among movers and shakers in the industry (Kuczynksi,
2000, October 2; Granatstein, 2001, January 1).
However, such a high level of achievement was not
sustainable and performance slacked off for a time and
fluctuated. Advertising pages in the May 2001 issues fell
about five percent from the number of advertising pages in
the May/June 2000 debut issue (Granatstein, 2001, April 23).
Newsstands sales fell below a million for a time but rallied
by 2003 (Fine, 2003; Madore, 2004). Subscriptions also
tumbled. In 2002 subscriptions reportedly fell eleven
percent from the 2.5 million of 2001 (Holt, 2003). However,
the business relationship between Hearst and Harpo remained
steady within the time period of this study. In April 2002
Hearst and Harpo Inc. launched a South African edition of O,
The Oprah Magazine (Lowry, 2002).
Given the nature of Hearst and Harpo Inc. as privately held
companies, details about the profits of O, The Oprah
Magazine remain unknown and therefore predictions about the
profitability of the magazine remain tricky. Based on the
noted newsstand and subscription sales, profits should be
strong, especially for the time period studied here. The
million dollar advertisement revenues and the impressive
number of advertisements in the magazine also imply profits.
However, the cost of business can take a toll unseen by
general audiences. For example, Elliot (2003) listed factors
such as an uncertain economic climate and competition from
television as impacting advertising in magazines. Events
specific to Hearst and Harpo also may impact profits at O,
The Oprah Magazine. For example, Winfrey’s unpublished
salary as founder and editorial director may impact overall
cost for Hearst and Harpo. Moreover, O, The Oprah Magazine
is one of many properties of Hearst Magazines and The Hearst
Corporation and therefore profits for any one title or
property may not be easily labeled. For example, within the
time period studied here money made on O, The Oprah Magazine
may have shored up the faltering Talk also owned by Hearst.
However, from the outside, O, The Oprah Magazine is
financially healthy and appeared to be equally healthy in
its first three years.
O, The Oprah Magazine
In the days before O, The Oprah Magazine, arrived on
newsstand shelves, critics groped to describe it. Some
called the magazine a lifestyle magazine, categorizing it
with Martha Stewart Living and RealSimple (Granatstein,
2001). Others referred to the 9x10 and 3/4- inch book as “a
personal growth guide” (Kuczynski, 2000, April 3). Others
saw it as a workbook for the soul (Shulevitz, 2000). This
qualitative review, encompassing thirty-four issues from
May/June 2000 to April 2003, argues that in the first three
years of publication, O, The Oprah Magazine was a hybrid of
two known magazine genres, women’s service and celebrity.
Moreover, the mixing of the genres, plus a handful of
carefully calculated features, brought about the magazine’s
success. Arguably in its first three years O, The Oprah
Magazine was not brand new. Instead, O, The Oprah Magazine
fused known elements into a viable magazine product. O, The
Oprah (Service) Magazine
In her examination of the venerated women’s service magazine
Ladies’ Home Journal (1994) scholar Helen Damon-Moore noted
that the staying power of women’s service magazines rested
in the ability of these publications to serve as both
general interest and special interest magazines at the same
time. Central themes, often expressed as departments,
included housekeeping, relationships, cooking, and parenting
to encompass all aspects of women’s lives.
In the thirty-four issues examined here O, The Oprah
Magazine, similarly addressed the needs of its readers. In
the mission statement for the magazine presented under the
banner “Become More of Who You Are” Oprah Winfrey wrote to
her readers, “My hope is that this magazine will help you
lead a more productive life, one in which you feel a sense
of vitality, cooperation, harmony, balance and reverence
within yourself and in all your encounters” (p. 57). In
other words, Winfrey planned to help her readers achieve new
personhood in every life aspect. This goal reflected what
Damon-Moore (1994) called “an abiding faith in the
possibility of improvement” (p. 48).
Traditional ideas of service -- including improving the home
environment and the home menu -- materialized in the first
issue in May/June 2000. For example, the magazine promised
“5 Fabulous Things to do with Fresh Strawberries” (p. 236)
along with the secrets to “Art Smith’s sweet-potato salad”
(p. 194). The joys of decorating with “warm shades of white”
were explored (p. 198) and the mysteries of flower arranging
were discussed (294). The July/August 2000 issue yielded
menus for perfect patio and picnic meals (204) and tips on
organizing dresser drawers (24). Early readers of O, The
Oprah Magazine gained recipes for culinary delights from
Caesar salad worthy of the Four Seasons (September 2000,
211-212) to decadent desserts such as tiramisu (November
2000) and 12-layer chocolate cake (December 2000). Meanwhile,
health topics from managing back pain (September 2000) to
self-diagnosis of low-grade depression (October 2000) and
borderline alcoholism (December 2000) were tackled.
Relationships also were addressed in articles such as “He
cheated: He lied. Now what?” (p. 122) That article was
closely followed by one titled “The Second Time Around: A
young widow thought she’d never remarry until a stranger on
a Harley changed her mind” (p. 268).
Monthly elements of service also cropped up in the advice of
experts on topics from finance to personal fitness.
Financial expert Suze Orman answered letters from readers
and offered tips on saving, keeping tabs on personal credit
card debt and the importance of wills in her monthly column
“Financial Freedom.” Dr. Phil tackled relationship questions
in the monthly “Tell It Like It Is.” Meanwhile, Winfrey’s
personal trainer Bob Greene contributed weight loss and
fitness advice in the occasional guests spot (January 2003).
O, The Oprah Magazine also offered help with parenting (Funderberg,
2002; Morgenstern, 2002; Smith, 2001; and Housden, 2002);
career choices and performance (Cortina, 2000; Lague, 2001;
Lichtenberg, 2001); and tips for everything from better
dressing to posing for photographs (Kogan, 2001). The
January 2003 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine provided a
microcosm of the overall service mission of the magazine. A
special section promised “A month-by-month plan to shape up
your body, your mind, and your life” (130-154) and featured
articles on topics ranging from alternative medicine to
being assertive in a doctor’s office. The same issue also
offered readers “The cure for chaos” on pages 67-68. The
article was further billed the article as a “12-month plan
to bring order into your life” (p. 2). The section also held
out achievement of financial health with the help of Suze
Orman through “Twelve Steps to Wealth” (p. 37). Here was a
magazine that did everything.
O, The Oprah Magazine, also served its readers through news
coverage. Readers learned about a murder-suicide involving
teens in Westwood, California (March 2003) as well as
dangerous behavior among sexually active pre-teen and teen-aged
girls. Readers also learned of the latest study on the
dangers of sleep deprivation (November 2002) and
developments in breast cancer research and stroke research (October
2002). The tragedy of September 11 prompted an in-depth
interview by Winfrey of New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. In sum,
even if she did not read her local daily paper or otherwise
keep abreast of world events the reader of O, The Oprah
Magazine kept current through the magazine.
In the first three years of publication O, The Oprah
Magazine, was a special interest magazine with women as a
target audience. At the same time the publication addressed
the general interest needs of its readers. O, The Oprah
Magazine was a women’s service magazine for the twenty-first
century.
O, The Oprah (celebrity) Magazine
For many living at the turn of the twentieth century Oprah
Winfrey was the ultimate celebrity. She was recognized
around the world and welcomed into millions of homes each
weekday. Judging by the company she kept in the pages of her
magazine she also was welcomed into the Rolodexes and homes
of celebrated writers, politicians, movie stars and fashion
designers. Winfrey also was revered as a woman of letters
through her on-air book club that uncovered new literary
voices while exposing classics to a wider audience. Her talk
show won numerous awards. Winfrey was recognized for her
philanthropy, including the urban legend of her giving
millions of dollars to close friends and business associates
from her personal fortune. Her appearance in a designer gown
on the cover of her magazine led to floods of orders for the
dress (O’Leary, 2001). Celebrity watchers were and remain
interested in Oprah Winfrey as a celebrity and her celebrity
cachet is put to good use in O, The Oprah Magazine.
In the thirty-four issues studied the hallmark of the
celebrity magazine genre in O, The Oprah Magazine was the
monthly celebrity profile interview. Winfrey conducted these
interviews herself. Profiles included Martha Stewart (September
2000), the Dalai Lama (August 2001), Tom Hanks (September
2001), Jane Fonda (July/August 2000), Nelson Mandela (April
2001); Madeleine Albright (December 2001); Laura Bush (May
2001); Muhammad Ali (June 2001); Venus and Serena Williams (March
2003); Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore (January
2003); and Ralph Lauren (October 2002). The profiles
followed a formula. A first-person introduction by Winfrey
reinforced the importance of the featured celebrity. The
introduction was followed by an extended question and answer
session that showcased Winfrey in the transcripts of her
questions as much as it did the celebrity in the transcripts
of the answers. For example, in her in-depth interview of
Martha Stewart Winfrey asked, “Are you ever in awe of
yourself now?” Stewart replied, “Oh no. I take myself
seriously but not that seriously. And I wouldn’t want to be
in awe of myself, ever, because it’s not right. You have to
be circumspect” (p. 218). Their roles as interviewee and
interviewer were interchangeable. It was almost as if
Winfrey was talking to herself and in a way she is.
Celebrities profiled by Winfrey were A-List personalities of
a status equal to their interviewer. In other words, has-beens,
wanna-bes, and flash-in-the-pans need not expect an audience
with Winfrey. In these interviews Winfrey spoke to her
fellow celebrities as colleagues and appeared in at least
one photograph with her interview subjects. For example, a
photograph of Winfrey and Stewart strolling through
Stewart’s garden accompanied the interview with Stewart.
Winfrey, Moore, Streep, and Kidman formed a Rockette or
cancan kick line in the photograph displayed with Winfrey’s
interview with the movie stars about their Hollywood movie
The Hours (January 2003). The interview texts and
accompanying photographs made explicit to readers that these
people were Winfrey’s friends. Moreover, a privilege was
implied in that Winfrey’s celebrity alone provided
admittance into the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Such
admittance was not accorded to just anyone.
Readers also probed into Winfrey’s own celebrity in features
centered on events in her life including holiday parties at
her home (December 2002) and embarking on a new fitness
regimen (January 2003). Her monthly column “What I Know For
Sure” offered monthly insight into Winfrey’s past and
present. The column closed each issue and offered readers
access to Winfrey’s intimate thoughts on being sued (April
2002) or speaking in front of strangers for the first time (September
2000). Such elements combined to show Winfrey’s celebrated
life as less than perfect. In comparison to Winfrey’s hectic
life, readers’ lives were less stressful and more satisfying
in keeping with the longstanding appeal of the celebrity
magazine (Honey, 1972). The reader’s life was superior in
ordinariness when compared to the extraordinary life
circumstances of Winfrey, who lacked nothing. In other words,
wealth and power did not guarantee happiness but instead
prompted complications and contemplation (Honey, 1972).
In keeping with the tradition of celebrity magazines the
celebrity condition was demystified and dissected in the
pages of O, The Oprah Magazine (Honey, 1972). For example,
readers learned what happened behind the scenes in a photo
shoot for a cover of the magazine (March, 2001) and
witnessed Winfrey working out (January 2003). The underlying
message was that celebrated Oprah Winfrey was not flawless.
O, The Oprah Magazine employed celebrities and their cachet
in other ways. In the thirty-four issues examined,
celebrities recommended their favorite book, or books, in
the monthly segment “Books That Made a Difference.” They
also discussed life-changing events in their lives in the
monthly column “Aha Moment” and spoke to world events. For
example, the article titled “The Day That Shook Our World”
about September 11 was a collection of comments from the
likes of Mike Wallace, Quincy Jones, and syndicated
columnist Liz Smith (September 2002, 126-128).
Interestingly celebrity as defined in the pages of O, The
Oprah Magazine, carried with it a certain intelligence. This
point perhaps was best illustrated in the treatment of
fashion models. Arguably models, especially supermodels, are
women known primarily for being celebrities. In first three
years of O, The Oprah Magazine editorial fashion pages so
often the territory of highly paid models were populated by
ordinary women. Models included office managers, accountants,
and professional dancers. When supermodels appeared they
were singled out as entrepreneurs, writers, or smart
business professionals. For example, fashion model Christy
Turlington, the celebrated face of Calvin Klein and Ann
Taylor clothing campaigns, was featured in the pages of O,
The Oprah Magazine because of her devotion to yoga and the
book she wrote about the exercise discipline (November,
2002). Model Alek Wek was presented for the line of leather
goods she designed to honor her father (March 2002). And
Janice Dickinson was featured for her memoir about her days
as a fashion model in the 1970s and 1980s (October 2002).
Arguably, such portrayals updated the traditional celebrity
magazine theme of the “unhappy, bored, dissatisfied” (Honey,
1972, p. 61) celebrity with everything. These celebrity
models improved their lives through ordinary means such as
yoga, starting a business or writing a book. By including
such articles O, The Oprah Magazine implied that similar
levels of improvement were open to readers.
O, The Oprah (boutique) Magazine
O, The Oprah Magazine successfully crossbred the women’s
service and the celebrity magazine to create a publication
that subscribers, advertisers, and media critics alike
pointed to as something special. Rosie tried to capitalize
on the same formula. Publishers literally added the
celebrity of talk show host Rosie O’Donnell to an existing
women’s service publication. But the project did not command
the success of O, The Oprah Magazine even prior to the very
public legal squabbles between Rosie O’Donnell and publisher
Gruner and Jahr (Carr, 2002). Winfrey offered value-added
extras to her publication that few had the means to
duplicate. For example, her monthly “O List” let readers
imagine sharing something with the talk show host. However,
few readers likely had the wherewithal to afford luxury
items such as $325 cashmere bedroom slippers (March 2001), a
$1,375 cashmere blanket (January 2002), or a $1,430 leather
overnight case (December 2002). In the issues reviewed each
“O List” opened with the declaration “A few things I think
are great – Oprah.”
Another significant extra was the cover of the magazine.
Each cover featured Winfrey in a glossy photograph worthy of
framing. Covers often featured Winfrey in glamorous close-ups
(June 2001; June 2002; September 2001; and December 2001).
She also appeared engaged in elite sports such as piloting a
convertible sports car (April 2001), romping on the deck of
a nicely appointed sailboat (July/August 2000), and
horseback riding (July 2002). She was pictured in the midst
of ordinary activities such as throwing snowballs (January
2001), painting at an easel (November, 2001), splashing
through a waterfall (August 2002), or opening the door to a
holiday party set at her home (December 2002). Each stylized
shot was as much a keepsake as a cover to a monthly
magazine. In combination with the autographed signature at
the bottom of the monthly opening column written by Winfrey
and titled “Here We Go” the magazine covers helped produce a
very personal and intimate feel to the publication. O, The
Oprah Magazine was packaged as a gift from Oprah Winfrey to
readers.
Boutique details included monthly giveaways of such items as
lipstick, shoes, and handbags. The section “Oprah To Go” was
another embellishment exclusive to O, The Oprah Magazine.
The latter featured clip-and-save postcards and bookmarks of
inspirational quotes to give to friends, stick in a wallet,
or tape to a refrigerator door. The monthly centerfold
“Breathing Space” displayed photos of lush landscapes from
beaches to mountains to meadows. Readers were encouraged to
escape their day-to-day lives through daydreaming about the
scene or using the photo to prompt a moment of personal
meditation. Readers also were asked to contemplate life
lessons in writing and other journal assignments included
throughout the magazine. The interactivity of O, The Oprah
Magazine further contributed to its appeal by drawing the
reader into the magazine through participation. Each
magazine held out the possibility of an intimate exchange
between Oprah Winfrey and the reader while at the same time
offering the reader the dependable quality of a mass
circulation media product. During the period studied
magazine creators raised the newsstand price of the magazine
from $2.95 to $3.50, claiming the higher price better
reflected the quality of the magazine (Gonser, 2001). The
oversized glossy magazine, dripping with the luxury implied
by fame and celebrity while at the same time addressing the
needs of a women’s service magazine audience, was worth the
price.
Readers Write
In its first thirty-four issues O, The Oprah Magazine owed
its success to its mix of elements from the traditional
women’s service and celebrity magazine genres. The formula
was not new but proved highly successful in the hands of
Hearst Magazines, Harpo Inc., and Oprah Winfrey herself. O,
The Oprah Magazine added a collection of special features to
keep readers interested. The result was a publication many
magazine industry watchers celebrated as near a miracle as
the industry witnessed in years. In an interview for the
industry website http//www.iwantmedia.com magazine industry
expert/consultant Samir Husni called the magazine innovative.
His tone rivaled the self-promoting press put out by the
magazine when he hailed O, The Oprah Magazine as “a new kind
of magazine that covers 360 degrees of a women’s life” on
the website http//www.themagazineguys.com/oprah.
Advertisers adored O, The Oprah Magazine as well. Luxury
makeup companies Estée Lauder, Lancôme, and Chanel
advertised between the covers as did high-end car companies
such as Mazda, Nissan, and Subaru. Fashion companies such as
Liz Claiborne also placed advertisements in the pages of O,
The Oprah Magazine (O’Leary, 2001). In its early issues
before gaining a reputation as a top selling magazine O, The
Oprah Magazine displayed ads from designers Ralph Lauren and
Tommy Hilfiger, children’s clothiers Baby Gap and Calvin
Klein Jeans Kids, luxury cosmetics companies Estée Lauder,
Lancôme, and Clinique, technology companies Microsoft and
Hewlitt Packard, lingerie seller Victoria’s Secret, career
focused clothing companies Jones New York and Talbot’s,
luxury car company Cadillac, financial services companies
Prudential, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, and Ætna, and high
end cat food brand Fancy Feast.
However, O, The Oprah Magazine did not owe its success only
to critics and industry watchers. Readers contribute to the
success of any publication and readers of O, The Oprah
Magazine responded by buying the magazine off magazine racks
and subscribing in record numbers. Industry trackers
Advertising Age included the magazine in its top 300 the
year of its debut, ranking it 105th in 2000 and calculating
paid circulation at 2,162,668 in the six issues of 2000. In
2001, the magazine jumped to twenty-eighth. Established
women’s magazine Glamour held the twenty-eighth slot in 2000
when O, The Oprah Magazine debuted. Paid circulation grew by
about 400,000 and reached 2.5 million by 2001, according to
the website for Advertising Age. In other words, readers of
O, The Oprah Magazine bought the magazine and brought it, or
had it delivered, home.
Readers enjoyed what O, The Oprah Magazine offered,
especially the elements of the traditional women’s magazine
and the celebrity magazine. Their pleasure was reflected in
the monthly section “We Hear You.” This research drew upon a
sample of 81 letters to assess readers’ perception of O, The
Oprah Magazine. The letters were published in issues from
July/August 2000 to April 2003. The May/June 2000 issue was
not used in developing the sample because readers’ letters
were not included in the debut issue. Letters in every fifth
issue were examined. The sample included: December 2000, May
2001, October 2001, March 2002, August 2002 and January
2003. Letters were reviewed in the three broad categories of
celebrity, service, or both. Letters not fitting into those
categories were placed in the category of “other.” This last
category accommodated a variety of letters.
For this basic analysis the category of celebrity was
defined by aspiration, admiration, inspiration, or imitation
expressed by the reader for a well-known person featured in
the magazine. For example, in December 2002 reader Janice
Fore wrote, “What especially caught my eye in the October
issue was the interview with Sidney Poitier. I’ve had a
crush on him since I first saw him in the movies. Not only
is he a beautiful man on the outside but he’s every bit as
beautiful inside” (p. 34).
Service was defined through an application or utility
expressed by the reader. In March 2002, reader Nancy Nieter
wrote in to say she was thrilled to find the recipe for
Banana-Bourbon French Toast in an earlier issue after losing
the recipe a decade before. She wrote, “I will tear out the
article and never lose this recipe again” (p. 30).
Some letters fulfilled both categories. The researcher took
this as particularly indicative of the success of O, The
Oprah Magazine as a hybrid of the women’s service and
celebrity genres. In May 2001, reader Dawn Dvorak wrote, “I
loved the March article ‘Blowing Our Cover.’ It was great to
see that Oprah is a down-to-earth person… Thank you for
showing me how easy it is to be happy with the way God
intended me to be – natural. I now feel better about going
without makeup. I love my looks, and by the way, you look
great, too, Oprah” (p. 32). Dvorak admired Oprah Winfrey as
a celebrity who was being photographed for a magazine cover.
Dvorak also planned to take inspiration from the article and
go without makeup.
Readers mentioned celebrity in twenty-one percent of letters
to the magazine while forty-three percent mentioned women’s
service. About five percent were combination letters. Such
figures indicated to this researcher that the hybrid nature
of O, The Oprah Magazine was attractive to and a hit with
readers.
In sum, readers most often wrote to comment on how O, The
Oprah Magazine fulfilled its hybrid mission as a celebrity
or women’s service publication. Readers also wrote in for
other reasons. Some readers expressed general praise for the
magazine’s layout and colors. Others criticized photographs
used with articles and the lack of full-figured women
featured in the fashion sections. Other readers offered
their reading rituals with magazine. Readers used letters to
give advice to fellow readers. Others thanked specific
writers, magazine staffers and, sometimes, Oprah herself
while still others presented testimonials on how articles
impact their lives or sparked specific emotional reactions
such as tears or anger. About thirty-six percent of letter
writers addressed items outside the celebrity and women’s
service genres.
Notably, O, The Oprah Magazine attracted a reader different
than the audience of devoted viewers of Oprah Winfrey’s
weekday talk show. Regular viewers were anticipated to pick
up the magazine out of established fan loyalty to Winfrey.
However, in general magazine subscribers showed
characteristics different than that of viewers. According to
industry trackers The Magazine Guys, the typical O, The
Oprah Magazine reader was about 42 years old and a college
graduate. She was married with children and owned a home
valued at about $166,000. Viewers were less likely to have
college degrees or own such valuable homes. Interestingly,
about twelve percent of readers of O, The Oprah Magazine
were men like letter writer W. Blaise Dismer of Georgia who
wrote, “I bought my first issue of O today and I must say I
found it refreshing, original and nurturing. And I’m a guy!”
(p. 40). Other readers considered unexpected when compared
to viewers of Winfrey’s talk show included Karen DeChant, a
24-year old cancer survivor who responded to a book review,
and Melinda Cronin, 17, who responded to an article about
teenaged girls and sex. As noted by critics O, The Oprah
Magazine attracted readers beyond the expected fan base of
Oprah Winfrey’s weekday talk show. Magazine readers were
better educated, wealthier and older than regular viewers of
the Oprah talk show.
Discussion and conclusions
From the debut issue in May/June 2000 O, The Oprah Magazine
was a highly successful hybrid. Drawing upon elements from
the women’s service and the celebrity magazine genres, the
magazine was so appealing that it set a startup record
without precedent. The hybrid continued to thrive in its
first three years of publication. The magazine held its own
against established competitors such as Hearst sister
publication Good Housekeeping and newer titles such as In
Style while at the same time outlasting blatant imitators
such as Rosie.
O, The Oprah Magazine successfully combined the wide appeal
the women’s service magazine epitomized by publications such
as Ladies’ Homes Journal (Damon-Moore, 1994) and the implied
luxury of the celebrity magazine where the extravagant was
the everyday and the extraordinary was made to appear
ordinary if not somehow lacking the security of ordinary
life (Honey, 1972). Interestingly, like a fellow successful
hybrid Men’s Health from publisher Rodale Press, O, The
Oprah Magazine effectively appealed to a particular niche
while at the same time attracting a broader spectrum of
readers. O, The Oprah Magazine attracted professional women
in their 30s and 40s as its niche while drawing in teens,
twenty-somethings and men. The magazine also pulled in
members of the “Oprah” talk show audience along with
magazine fans who picked up a copy of O, The Oprah Magazine
at their local grocery, drug or discount department store,
chain bookstore or local newsstand. O, The Oprah Magazine
was different enough to be novel. However, it was not novel
enough to be strange to readers. In its first three years O,
The Oprah Magazine was friendly and confident like its
namesake Oprah Winfrey.
In its thirty four issues O, The Oprah Magazine outpaced
similar publications. It thrived while established titles
such as Mademoiselle, Walking, Mode, Talk, and Teen Magazine
folded (Davis, 2002). Arguably, its influence rippled onto
newsstands, particularly in the escalation of celebrity. For
example, Harper’s Bazaar bedecked the June 2003 issue with
the three lead actresses of the Hollywood movie Charlie’s
Angels: Full Throttle. Vanity Fair packed its July 2003
cover and issue with teen celebrities en masse, including
Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Mandy Moore, Hilary Duff, and
Amanda Bynes. Even the venerable Time magazine got into the
act and featured the cast of the movie Matrix Reloaded on 12
May 2003.
Meanwhile, pristine specimens of the celebrity and service
genres continued to thrive. Women’s service magazines Good
Housekeeping, Family Circle, Ladies’ Home Journal, and
Women’s Day still spoke to readers. The magazines placed
sixth, seventh, eighth and tenth respectively in the top 300
magazines of 2002 as ranked by AdAge.com. And celebrity
focused magazines such as People Weekly, Us Weekly, and In
Style continued to tantalize and titillate readers with
tales of Hollywood scandals, celebrity love affairs and
stories of what celebrities like to wear, eat and do for fun.
Arguably, a counter argument surfaced to O, The Oprah
Magazine, and the strict service and celebrity magazines
targeted at women from which O, The Oprah Magazine took
inspiration. Interestingly, these counter arguments found
their footing about the same time O, The Oprah Magazine made
headlines. For example, lifestyle title RealSimple was often
mentioned with O, The Oprah Magazine as examples of
successful new magazines. RealSimple eschewed celebrities
and encouraged readers to take fewer cues from the Joneses
and live simply and with their own personal style.
RealSimple shared this sensibility with the likes of
magazines Budget Living and ReadyMade, a do-it-yourself
guide for the young and trendy. Lucky, a magazine about
shopping, also avoided celebrity, at least at first. Likened
to a catalog, the magazine offered street and email
addresses and contact information about featured products to
help readers get hold of the perfect purse, skirt, shoes, or
pair of jeans. Anonymous models appeared on the cover until
summer 2003 when the magazine succumbed to the draw of
celebrity and featured actress/singer Mandy Moore (Carr,
2003).
O, The Oprah Magazine is a multi-faceted publication
warranting study. This qualitative study attempted to look
only at the magazine as a hybrid of two established magazine
genres with a smattering of special attractions to keep
readers interested. Other facets worth future study include
the spiritual quality of the magazine often mentioned by
critics and manifested in content through such articles such
as Oprah Winfrey’s in-depth interview with the Dalai Lama (August
2001). Reader letters also illustrated the sense of the
spiritual in the magazine. For example, in letters best
described as testimonials readers wrote of taking action and
engaging in life outside the home through charities or
ministering to friends and family. The fashion spreads in O,
The Oprah Magazine also may warrant study in part because of
the reputation of the magazine as a publication that speaks
to women from different races, ethnicities, and of varying
physical types and sizes.
Other future points of study include the business plan from
conceptualization to execution of O, The Oprah Magazine. It
is anticipated that such a study of the plan will provide
insight into the success of the magazine. This researcher
also anticipates such a study clueing future magazine
creators into how to duplicate the success of O, The Oprah
Magazine and potentially revive the magazine industry, an
industry often evaluated as in a prolonged slump (Davis,
2002). Future study must also include the mechanical aspects
of the magazine such as layout, photography, color choices,
and size in effort to tap into the recipe of success of O,
The Oprah Magazine.
In the first three years and thirty-four issues of O, The
Oprah Magazine success was rooted in the overall appeal of
the magazine as part women’s service magazine and part
celebrity magazine with a handful of boutique features to
attract readers. The formula was not new. It was, however,
highly successful in the hands of magazine industry stalwart
Hearst Magazines and celebrity brand company Harpo
Incorporated. Advertisers and readers flocked to the
magazine early on. Industry watchers noticed, awarding the
O, The Oprah Magazine several high honors in its debut years.
Fellow magazine publishers also noticed and at least one
publisher launched an imitating publication. However, only
time will tell of the lasting impact of O, The Oprah
Magazine.
prah Winfrey has already left an indelible
mark on the face of television. From her humble beginnings
in rural Mississippi, Oprah's legacy has established her as
one of the most important figures in popular culture. Her
contributions can be felt beyond the world of television and
into areas such as publishing, music, film, philanthropy,
education, health and fitness, and social awareness. As
producer and host of "The Oprah Winfrey Show," Oprah
enlightens, entertains and empowers millions of viewers
around the world.
Oprah has been honored with the most prestigious awards in
broadcasting, including the George Foster Peabody Individual
Achievement Award (1996), the IRTS Gold Medal Award (1996)
and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences'
Lifetime Achievement Award (1998). In January 2001 Oprah was
dubbed Newsweek's "Woman of the Century." In November 1999,
Oprah received one of the publishing industry's top honors,
the National Book Foundation's 50th Anniversary Gold Medal,
for her influential contribution to reading and books. In
June 1998, she was named one of the 100 most influential
people of the 20th Century by Time Magazine. In 1997, Oprah
was named Newsweek's most important person in books and
media and TV Guide's "Television Performer of the Year." She
has also received seven Emmy Awards for Outstanding Talk
Show Host and nine Emmy Awards for Outstanding Talk Show.
Oprah is the chairman of Harpo, Inc., Harpo Productions, Inc.,
Harpo Films, Inc., Harpo Video, Inc. and Harpo Studios, Inc.
Oprah began her broadcasting career at WVOL radio in
Nashville while still in high school. At the age of 19, she
became the youngest person and the first African-American
woman to anchor the news at Nashville's WTVF-TV. She then
moved to Baltimore's WJZ-TV to co-anchor the six o'clock
news and moved on to become co-host of their local talk show,
People Are Talking.
In 1984, Oprah moved to Chicago to host WLS-TV's morning
talk show, AM Chicago, which became the number one talk show
just one month after she began. In less than a year, the
show expanded to one hour and was renamed The Oprah Winfrey
Show. In 1986, The Oprah Winfrey Show entered national
syndication and has remained the number one talk show for
fifteen consecutive seasons**, receiving 34 Emmy Awards.
Oprah produces and hosts The Oprah Winfrey Show through
Harpo Productions. It is seen by 26 million viewers a week
in the United States*, broadcast in 106 countries and is the
highest-rated talk show in television history.
In September 1996, Oprah began Oprah's Book Club, an on-air
reading club designed to get the country excited about
reading. Each of the books selected for Oprah's Book Club to
date has become an instant bestseller. In September 1997,
Oprah launched Oprah's Angel Network, a campaign encouraging
people to open their hearts a little wider and help those in
need. Since its launch, Oprah's Angel Network has collected
over $3.5 million in spare change to create college
scholarships for students in need and has funded nearly 200
Habitat for Humanity homes. In April 2000, Oprah's Angel
Network began the Use Your Life Award, and now gives
$100,000 every Monday on The Oprah Winfrey Show to people
who are using their lives to improve the lives of others.
Oprah made her acting debut in 1985 as "Sofia" in Steven
Spielberg's The Color Purple, and received both an Academy
Award nomination and a Golden Globe nomination for her
efforts. In 1998, Oprah starred as "Sethe" in the critically
acclaimed Beloved based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel
by Toni Morrison. Oprah has been lauded for her performances
in the ABC made-for-television movies The Women of Brewster
Place, There Are No Children Here and Before Women Had Wings
with Ellen Barkin.
Through Harpo Films, Oprah has a long-term deal with the ABC
Television Network to produce Oprah Winfrey Presents
telefilms. Projects under the Oprah Winfrey Presents banner
include: Amy and Isabelle, based on the best-selling novel
by Elizabeth Strout and starring Academy Award-nominee
Elisabeth Shue; the award-winning Tuesdays With Morrie,
based on the best-selling novel by Mitch Albom and starring
Academy Award-winner Jack Lemmon and Emmy Award-winner Hank
Azaria; David and Lisa, starring Academy Award-winner Sidney
Poitier; the mini-series The Wedding, based on Dorothy
West's novel; and Before Women Had Wings, adapted from a
novel by Connie May Fowler. In September 2000, Tuesdays With
Morrie received four Emmy Awards — Outstanding Made for
Television Movie, Lead Actor (Jack Lemmon), Supporting actor
(Hank Azaria), and Single-Camera Picture Editing (Carol
Littleton). The movie has also received awards from the
Screen Actors Guild (Jack Lemmon), Producers Guild of
America (Oprah Winfrey and Kate Forte), and Directors Guild
of America (Mick Jackson). Both Before Women Had Wings and
The Wedding were among the highest-rated, critically
acclaimed television movie broadcasts of the 1997-1998
season.
In addition, Oprah also has an exclusive agreement to
produce feature films for the Walt Disney Motion Pictures
Group. The first of these films was Touchstone Pictures'
Beloved in which she also starred.
In April 2000, Oprah, along with Hearst Magazines,
introduced O, The Oprah Magazine, a monthly magazine that is
the personal-growth guide for the new century. Oprah's
magazine is credited as being the most successful magazine
launch in recent history. O, The Oprah Magazine gives
confident, smart women the tools they need to explore and
reach for their dreams, to express their individual style,
and to make choices that will lead to happier and more
fulfilled lives. O, The Oprah Magazine is another medium
through which Oprah can connect with her viewers and provide
possibilities for transforming their lives.
In November 1998, Oprah announced the formation of a company,
Oxygen Media LLC, which includes Harpo Group LLC, GBL LLC —
controlled by Geraldine Laybourne and CWM LLC — Carsey-Werner-Mandabach.
Oxygen Media includes a women's cable network which launched
on February 2, 2000, and is integrated with Oxygen's online
properties for women. Oprah's first production for Oxygen
was Oprah Goes Online, a 12-part "course" giving a step-by-step
look at all things online. Oprah was joined by her friend
Gayle King, and millions of women viewing across the country,
to experience first hand the way the Web will change women's
lives.
In September 1999, Oprah joined Stedman Graham as an adjunct
professor at The J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management
at Northwestern University to co-teach "Dynamics of
Leadership." The course curriculum, developed by professors
Winfrey and Graham, shares insights into how students can
cultivate their own leadership skills and develop an
approach to management, leadership and organizational issues
suited to their individual circumstances. "Dynamics of
Leadership" was offered at Kellogg again in the fall of
2000.
Oprah's commitments extend to her initiation of the National
Child Protection Act in 1991; she testified before the U.S.
Senate Judiciary Committee to establish a national database
of convicted child abusers and on December 20, 1993,
President Clinton signed the national "Oprah Bill" into law.
She has established scholarships for hundreds of students,
and has donated millions of dollars to higher education
institutions, such as Morehouse College, Spelman College and
Tennessee State University. Oprah also serves as the
National Spokesperson for A Better Chance, an organization
that provides students, predominantly from inner city school
districts, the chance to attend many of the nation's finest
schools. |
