Oprah Winfrey
Born	January 29, 1954 (1954-01-29) (age 54) Kosciusko, Mississippi, United States
Residence	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Occupation	Talk show host, media mogul
Salary	$260 million (2007)[1]
Net worth	over US$2. Events 904 - Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed Antipope Christopher. Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) Kosciusko is a city in Attala County, Mississippi, United States. Mississippi ( is a state located in the Deep South of the United States The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. The State of Illinois ( roughly ill-i-NOY is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A talk show ( American) or chat show ( Global) is a Television or Radio program where one person or group of people come together to A media proprietor is a person who controls either through personal ownership or a dominant position in a Public company, a significant part of the Mass media. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been 5 billion ▲ (Sept. 2007)
Website www.oprah.com

Oprah Gail Winfrey (born January 29, 1954), often referred to simply as Oprah, is an American television host, media mogul, and philanthropist. Events 904 - Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed Antipope Christopher. Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A presenter, or host (sometimes hostess, in feminine form is a Person or Organization responsible for running an event A media proprietor is a person who controls either through personal ownership or a dominant position in a Public company, a significant part of the Mass media. Philanthropy is the act of donating money goods services time and/or effort to support a socially beneficial cause with a defined objective and with no financial or material Her internationally-syndicated talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, has earned her multiple Emmy Awards and is the highest-rated talk show in the history of television. In Broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast Radio shows and Television shows to multiple individual stations without going through A talk show ( American) or chat show ( Global) is a Television or Radio program where one person or group of people come together to The Oprah Winfrey Show is a United States syndicated Talk show, hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey, and is the highest-rated ^[2] She is also an influential book critic, an Academy Award-nominated actress, and a magazine publisher. "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. An actor, actress, player or thespian (see terminology) is a person who Acts in a Dramatic production and who works She has been ranked the richest African American of the 20th century,^[3] the most philanthropic African American of all time,^[4] and the world's only black billionaire for three straight years. African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa This article refers to actual or incipient billionaires (as measured by U ^{[5][6][7][8][9]} She is also, according to some assessments, the most influential woman in the world. The Time 100 The Most Important People of the Century is a compilation of the 20th century's most influential politicians artists innovators scientists and cultural icons ^[10][11][12]

Born in rural Mississippi to a poor unwed teenaged mother, and later raised in an inner city Milwaukee neighborhood, Winfrey was raped at the age of nine, and at fourteen, gave birth to a son who died in infancy. Mississippi ( is a state located in the Deep South of the United States The inner city is the central area of a major city or metropolis ^[13] Sent to live with the man she calls her father, a barber in Tennessee, Winfrey landed a job in radio while still in high school and began co-anchoring the local evening news at the age of 19. Tennessee ( is a state located in the Southern United States. ^[14] Her emotional ad-lib delivery eventually got her transferred to the daytime talk show arena, and after boosting a third-rated local Chicago talk show to first place,^[6] she launched her own production company and became internationally syndicated. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. In Broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast Radio shows and Television shows to multiple individual stations without going through

Credited with creating a more intimate confessional form of media communication,^[15] she is thought to have popularized and revolutionized^{[16][17][18][19]} the tabloid talk show genre pioneered by Phil Donahue,^[18] which a Yale study claimed broke 20th century taboos and allowed gays, transsexuals, and transgender people to enter the mainstream. Tabloid talk shows are a genre of American television talk-shows that achieved peak viewership during the late 20th century Phillip John "Phil" Donahue (born December 21, 1935 in Cleveland Ohio) is an American media personality and Writer, best known as ^[20] By the mid 1990s she had reinvented her show with a focus on literature, self-improvement, and spirituality. Though criticized for unleashing confession culture^[19] and promoting controversial self-help fads, she is generally admired for overcoming adversity to become a benefactor to others. ^[21]

Contents 1 Early life 2 Career and success 2.1 Television 2.2 Film 2.3 Books and magazines 2.4 Online 2.5 Radio 2.6 Future projects 3 Personal life 3.1 Homes 3.2 Family 3.2.1 Relatives 3.3 Romantic history 3.4 Close Friends 3.5 Health 4 Wealth 5 Influence 5.1 Rankings as world's most influential woman 5.2 Media counterculture 5.3 Communication style 5.4 Oprah's Book Club 5.5 Spiritual icon 5.6 Fan base 5.7 Philanthropy 5.7.1 South Africa 5.8 Political advocacy 6 Criticisms and controversies 7 Footnotes 8 See also 9 External links

Early life

Oprah Winfrey (originally Orpah after the Biblical character in the Book of Ruth), was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi, to unmarried parents. Orpah is a woman mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. She was from Moab and was the daughter-in-law of Naomi and wife of Mahlon. Kosciusko is a city in Attala County, Mississippi, United States. She later explained that her conception was due to a single sexual encounter that her two teenaged parents had; they quickly broke up not long after. (see Jill Nelson, "The Man Who Saved Oprah Winfrey," Washington Post, 14 December 1986; p. The Washington Post is the largest and most circulated Newspaper in Washington D W30) There are conflicting reports as to how her name became “Oprah. ” According to a 1991 interview with the Academy of Achievement, Winfrey claimed that her family and friends' inability to pronounce “Orpah” caused them to put the “P” before the “R” in every place else other than the birth certificate. ^[22] However, there is the account that the midwife transposed letters while filling out the newborn's birth certificate. Midwifery is a Health care profession where providers give Prenatal care to expecting Mothers attend the birth of the Infant ^[23] Her parents were unmarried teenagers. ^[24] Her mother, Vernita Lee, was a housemaid, and her father, Vernon Winfrey, was a coal miner and later worked as a barber before becoming a city councilman. Winfrey's father was in the Armed Forces when she was born. After her birth, Winfrey's mother traveled north and Winfrey spent her first six years living in rural poverty with her grandmother, Hattie Mae Lee who was so poor that Winfrey often wore dresses made of potato sacks, causing the local children to make fun of her. Poverty (also called penury) is deprivation of common necessities that determine the quality of life including food clothing shelter and safe Drinking water, and (Paul Harris. "The Observer Profile: Oprah Winfrey. " The Observer (London, UK), 20 November 2005, p. 27) On the other hand, it was her grandmother who taught her to read before the age of three and took her to the local church, where she was nicknamed "The Preacher" for her ability to recite Bible verses. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin When Winfrey was a child, her grandmother would take a switch and would hit her with it when she didn't do chores or if she misbehaved in any way. A switch is a flexible rod typically used for corporal punishment of the Birching type called switching after it especially when ^[25]

At age six, Winfrey moved to an inner-city neighborhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her mother, who was less supportive and encouraging than her grandmother had been, due in large part to the long hours Vernita Lee worked as a maid. (Jill Nelson. "The Man Who Saved Oprah Winfrey. " Washington Post, 14 December 1986, p. W30) Winfrey has stated that she was molested by her cousin, uncle, and a family friend, starting when she was nine years old (Lee Winfrey, "Praise from All Corners for New Talk Show Host," Syracuse Herald Journal, 9 September 1986, p. Child sexual abuse is a form of Child abuse in which a child is abused for the sexual gratification of an adult or older adolescent 44), something she first revealed to her viewers on a 1986 episode of her TV show, when sexual abuse was being discussed. (Thomas Morgan. "Troubled Girl's Evolution into an Oscar Nominee. " New York Times, 4 March 1986, p. C17)

Despite her dysfunctional home life, Winfrey skipped two of her earliest grades, became the teacher's pet, and by the time she was 13 received a scholarship to attend Nicolet High School in the Milwaukee suburb of Glendale, Wisconsin. Nicolet High School is a public Secondary school located in Glendale Wisconsin. Glendale is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. Although Winfrey was very popular, she could not afford to go out on the town as frequently as her better-off classmates. Like many teenagers at the end of the 1960s, Winfrey rebelled, ran away from home and ran to the streets^[26]. When she was 14, she became pregnant, but the baby died shortly after birth. ^[23]Also at that age, her frustrated mother sent her to live with her father in Nashville, Tennessee. Vernon was strict, but encouraging and made her education a priority. Winfrey became an honors student, was voted Most Popular Girl, joined her high school speech team at East Nashville High School, and placed second in the nation in dramatic interpretation. She won an oratory contest, which secured her a full scholarship to Tennessee State University, a historically black institution, where she studied communication. Tennessee State University (TSU is a comprehensive urban coeducational Land-grant university founded in 1912 Historically black colleges and universities ( HBCUs) are institutions of Higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention At age 18, Winfrey won the Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant. The Miss Black America pageant is a competition for young African American women in areas such as speech talent style and poise &mdash essentially the black version She also attracted the attention of the local black radio station, WVOL, which hired her to do the news part-time. WVOL (1470 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Urban Oldies format (Lee Winfrey, "Praise from All Corners for New Talk Show Host," Syracuse Herald Journal, 9 September 1986, p. 44) She worked there during her senior year of high school, and again while in her first two years of college.

That Oprah Winfrey chose a career in media did not surprise her grandmother, who once said that ever since Winfrey could talk, she was on stage. As a child she played games interviewing her corncob doll and the crows on the fence of her family's property. Winfrey later acknowledged her grandmother's influence, saying it was Hattie Mae who had encouraged her to speak in public and "gave me a positive sense of myself. " (Mel Novit. "Oprah: Talk Show Dynamo Treats the Audience Like a Friend. " Syracuse Post-Standard, 14 September 1986, p. A9)

Working in local media, she was both the youngest news anchor and the first black female news anchor at Nashville's WLAC-TV. WTVF, also known as "NewsChannel 5", is the CBS television network affiliate in Nashville Tennessee. She moved to Baltimore's WJZ-TV in 1976 to co-anchor the six o'clock news. This article is about the television station in Baltimore Maryland She was then recruited to join Richard Sher as co-host of WJZ's local talk show People Are Talking, which premiered on August 14, 1978. A talk show ( American) or chat show ( Global) is a Television or Radio program where one person or group of people come together to Events 1183 - Taira no Munemori and the Taira clan take the young Emperor Antoku and the three sacred treasures Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar) She also hosted the local version of Dialing for Dollars there as well. Dialing for Dollars was a franchised format local Television program in the United States and Canada, popular in the 1950s 1960s ^[27]

Career and success

Television

In 1983, Winfrey relocated to Chicago to host WLS-TV's low-rated half-hour morning talk-show, AM Chicago. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. WLS-TV, channel 7 is a Television station in Chicago, Illinois. The first episode aired on January 2, 1984. Events 366 - The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers invading the Roman Empire. Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) Within months after Winfrey took over, the show went from last place in the ratings to overtaking Donahue as the highest rated talk show in Chicago. The Phil Donahue Show, also known as Donahue, was the first Tabloid talk show. It was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show, expanded to a full hour, and broadcast nationally beginning September 8, 1986. The Oprah Winfrey Show is a United States syndicated Talk show, hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey, and is the highest-rated Events 70 - Roman forces under Titus sack Jerusalem. 1264 - The Statute of Kalisz Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) ^[28] On her 20th anniversary show, Oprah revealed that movie critic Roger Ebert was the one who persuaded her to sign a syndication deal with King World. Roger Joseph Ebert (iːbɝt born June 18, 1942) is an American film critic and Screenwriter. King World Productions Inc (also known as King World Entertainment or simply King World) was a syndicator of television programming in the United States Ebert predicted that she would generate 40 times as much revenue as his television show, At the Movies. ^[29] Already having surpassed Donahue in the local market, Winfrey's syndicated show quickly doubled his national audience, displacing Donahue as the number one day-time talk show in America. The Phil Donahue Show, also known as Donahue, was the first Tabloid talk show. Their much publicized contest was the subject of enormous scrutiny.

Time magazine wrote, "Few people would have bet on Oprah Winfrey's swift rise to host of the most popular talk show on TV. In a field dominated by white males, she is a black female of ample bulk. As interviewers go, she is no match for, say, Phil Donahue. . . What she lacks in journalistic toughness, she makes up for in plainspoken curiosity, robust humor and, above all empathy. Guests with sad stories to tell are apt to rouse a tear in Oprah's eye. . . They, in turn, often find themselves revealing things they would not imagine telling anyone, much less a national TV audience. It is the talk show as a group therapy session. "

TV columnist Howard Rosenberg said, "She's a roundhouse, a full course meal, big, brassy, loud, aggressive, hyper, laughable, lovable, soulful, tender, low-down, earthy and hungry. Howard Rosenberg is a retired TV critic for the Los Angeles Times. And she may know the way to Phil Donahue's jugular. "

Newsday's Les Payne observed, "Oprah Winfrey is sharper than Donahue, wittier, more genuine, and far better attuned to her audience, if not the world. Newsday is a daily Tabloid -size Pulitzer Prize winning Newspaper that primarily serves Long Island and the New York City "

Martha Bayles of The Wall Street Journal wrote, "It's a relief to see a gab-monger with a fond but realistic assessment of her own cultural and religious roots. "

In the mid-1990s, Winfrey adopted a less tabloid-oriented format, doing shows about heart disease in women, geopolitics with Lisa Ling, spirituality and meditation, and gift-giving and home decorating shows. Lisa Ling ( (born August 30, 1973, in Sacramento California) is an American Journalist, best known for her role as a co-host of She often interviews celebrities on issues that directly involve them in some way, such as cancer, charity work, or substance abuse. In addition, she interviews ordinary people who have done extraordinary things or been involved in important current issues.

In 1993, Winfrey hosted a rare prime-time interview with Michael Jackson which became the fourth most watched event in American television history as well as the most watched interview ever, with an audience of one hundred million. Michael Joseph Jackson (born August 29 1958 is an American musician entertainer and businessman Perhaps Winfrey's most famous recent show was the first episode of the nineteenth season of The Oprah Winfrey Show in the autumn of 2004. During the show each member of the audience received a new G6 sedan; the 276 cars were donated by Pontiac as part of a publicity stunt. The Pontiac G6 is a Mid-size car produced under the Pontiac brand of American automaker General Motors. Pontiac is a Brand of Automobiles produced by General Motors that has been sold in the United States, Canada and Mexico A publicity stunt is an event designed to attract the public 's attention to the promoters or their causes The show received so much media attention that even the taxes on the cars became controversial.

During a lawsuit against Winfrey (see Influence), she hired Dr. Phil McGraw's company Courtroom Sciences, Inc. Phillip Calvin McGraw (born September 1, 1950) best known as Dr to help her analyze and read the jury. Dr. Phil made such an impression on Winfrey that she invited him to appear on her show. He accepted the invitation and was a resounding success. McGraw appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show for several years before launching his own show, Dr. Phil, in 2002, which was created by Winfrey's production company, Harpo Productions in partnership with Paramount which produced the show. Dr Phil is an American Talk show hosted by Phil McGraw. After McGraw's success with his segment on The Oprah Winfrey Show Harpo Productions is an incorporated US-based Multimedia production company founded by Media mogul Oprah Winfrey

Winfrey recently made a deal to extend her show until the 2010–2011 season, by which time it will have been on the air for twenty-five years. She plans to host 140 episodes per season, until her final season, when it will return to its current number, 130. ^[2]

The 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Concert was hosted by Oprah and Tom Cruise. Each year on the date of death of Alfred Nobel, December 10th the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony takes place in The City Hall of Oslo, Norway. Thomas Cruise Mapother IV ( born July 3 1962 better known by his screen name Tom Cruise, is an American Actor and Film producer There were musical performances by Cyndi Lauper, Andrea Bocelli, Joss Stone, Chris Botti, Diana Krall, Tony Bennett and others. Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper (born June 22 1953 is an American Grammy - and Emmy award winning Singer-songwriter and Andrea Bocelli, Grande Ufficiale Ordine al merito della Repubblica Italiana OMRI (born 22 September 1958 is an Italian Operatic pop Tenor Joss Stone (born Jocelyn Eve Stoker on 11 April 1987 is an English soul and R&B Singer-songwriter and actress. Christopher Stephen Botti or Chris Botti '' (born October 12, 1962) is an American Trumpeter and Composer. Diana Jean Krall, OC, OBC (born November 16, 1964) is a Canadian Jazz Pianist and Singer. Tony Bennett (born Anthony Dominick Benedetto; August 3 1926) is an American Singer of popular music, standards The concert was broadcasted in the United States on December 23, 2004, by E!. Events 962 - Byzantine-Arab Wars: Under the future Emperor Nicephorus Phocas, Byzantine troops stormed the city "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " E! Entertainment Television (or simply E!) is an American Cable television and Direct broadcast satellite network

As well as hosting and appearing on television shows, Winfrey co-founded the women's cable television network Oxygen. History The privately held company Oxygen Media was founded in 1998 by Geraldine Laybourne, talk show host Oprah Winfrey and producers Marcy She is also the president of Harpo Productions (Oprah spelled backwards). Harpo Productions is an incorporated US-based Multimedia production company founded by Media mogul Oprah Winfrey

Film

In 1985, Winfrey co-starred in Steven Spielberg's epic film adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Color Purple. Steven Allan Spielberg, KBE (Hon (born December 18 1946 is an American Film director, Screenwriter and producer. The Color Purple is a 1985 Drama film directed by Steven Spielberg. Alice Malsenior Walker (born February 9 1944 is an American Author, self-declared Feminist and Womanist - the latter a term she herself The Pulitzer Prize, ˈpʊlɨtsɚ PULL-it-sər is an American award regarded as the highest national honor in Newspaper journalism, The Color Purple is an acclaimed 1982 Epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker. She earned immediate acclaim as Sofia, the distraught housewife. The following year Winfrey was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, but she lost to Anjelica Huston. "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. Best Supporting Actor or Best Supporting Actress is an accolade given by a group of Film or Theatre professionals in recognition of the work Anjelica Huston (born July 8, 1951) is an Academy Award - and Golden Globe Award -winning American actress and former The Color Purple has now been made into a Broadway musical and opened late 2005, with Winfrey credited as a producer. The Color Purple is an acclaimed 1982 Epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker.

In October 1998, Winfrey produced and starred in the film Beloved, based upon Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name. Beloved, originally Toni Morrison 's eponymous Pulitzer-Prize -winning 1987 novel was released as a motion picture in 1998 Toni Morrison (born Chloe Anthony Wofford on February 18 1931 is a Nobel Prize -winning American author editor and professor The Pulitzer Prize, ˈpʊlɨtsɚ PULL-it-sər is an American award regarded as the highest national honor in Newspaper journalism, Beloved is a 1987 Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison. To prepare for her role as Sethe, the protagonist and former slave, Winfrey experienced a 24-hour simulation of the experience of slavery, which included being tied up and blindfolded and left alone in the woods. As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another Despite major advertising, including two episodes of her talk show dedicated solely to the film, and moderate to good critical reviews, Beloved opened to poor box-office results, losing approximately $30 million. The Oprah Winfrey Show is a United States syndicated Talk show, hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey, and is the highest-rated Working with delicate subjects, Winfrey managed to keep the cast motivated and inspired. "Here we were working on this project with the heavy underbelly of political and social realism, and she managed to lighten things up", said costar Thandie Newton. Thandiwe Adjewa "Thandie" Newton (born 6 November 1972) is a BAFTA - and SAG Award -winning English actress. "I've worked with a lot of good actors, and I know Oprah hasn't made many films. I was stunned. She's a very strong technical actress and it's because she's so smart. She's acute. She's got a mind like a razor blade. "^[30]

In 2005, Harpo Productions released another film adaptation of a famous American novel, Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937). Harpo Productions is an incorporated US-based Multimedia production company founded by Media mogul Oprah Winfrey Zora Neale Hurston ( January 7, 1891 &ndash January 28, 1960) was an American folklorist and author during the time See also the television film of the same name Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005 television. The made-for-television film Their Eyes Were Watching God was based upon a teleplay by Suzan-Lori Parks, and starred Halle Berry in the lead female role. Their Eyes Were Watching God is a 2005 Television movie based upon Zora Neale Hurston 's 1937 novel of the same name Suzan-Lori Parks (born 1964 is an award-winning American Playwright and Screenwriter. Halle Maria Berry (ˈhæli ˈbɛri born August 14 1966 is an Academy Award - Emmy Award - and Golden Globe -winning American actress former

She has voiced for Charlotte's Web, the 2006 film as Gussie the goose. Charlotte's Web is a Live-action / Computer-animated Feature film, based on the popular book of the same name by E Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.

Winfrey is also the voice of Judge Bumbleden in Bee Movie released in November 2007. Bee Movie is a 2007 Golden Globe -nominated CGI-animated Film starring Jerry Seinfeld, Renée Zellweger,

Books and magazines

Winfrey publishes two magazines: O, The Oprah Magazine and O at Home. O The Oprah Magazine, sometimes simply abbreviated to O, is a monthly magazine for women founded by Oprah Winfrey and Hearst She has co-authored five books; at the announcement of her future weight loss book (to be co-authored with her personal trainer Bob Greene), it was said that her undisclosed advance fee had broken the record for the world's highest book advance fee, previously held by former U. S. President Bill Clinton for his autobiography My Life. William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III, August 19 1946 served as the forty-second President of the United States My Life is a 2004 Autobiography written by former President of the United States Bill Clinton, who left office on January 20 ^[31] In 2002 Fortune called O, the Oprah Magazine the most successful start-up ever in the industry. Fortune is a Global Business Magazine published by Time Inc's Fortune|Money Group ^[32]

Online

Oprah.com is a website created by Winfrey's company to provide resources and interactive content relating to her shows, magazines, book club, and public charity. A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages

Oprah. com averages more than 70 million page views and more than six million users per month, and receives approximately 20,000 e-mails each week. ^[33]

Winfrey initiated “Oprah’s Child Predator Watch List,” through her show and website, to help track down accused child molesters. Within the first 48 hours, two of the featured men were captured. ^[34][35]

Radio

On February 9, 2006 it was announced that Winfrey signed a three-year, $55 million contract with XM Satellite Radio to establish a new radio channel. Events 474 - Zeno crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The channel, Oprah & Friends, features popular contributors to The Oprah Winfrey Show and O, The Oprah Magazine including Nate Berkus, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Bob Greene, Dr. Robin Smith and Marianne Williamson. Oprah and Friends is a talk radio channel programmed by Harpo Productions ' newly formed radio division and is signed exclusively for XM Satellite Radio. Nate Berkus (born September 17, 1971) is an American Interior designer and decorator and a survivor of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami Mehmet Oz (born June 11, 1960) is a cardiothoracic surgeon and an award-winning Author. A psychologist, Author, Seminary Professor (at Palmer Seminary) and frequent contributor to Oprah Winfrey 's media Marianne Williamson (born July 8, 1952) is a spiritual activist author lecturer and founder of The Peace Alliance, a grass roots campaign supporting legislation Oprah & Friends began broadcasting at 11:00 AM ET, September 25, 2006, from a new studio at Winfrey's Chicago headquarters. The Eastern Time Zone ( ET) of the Western Hemisphere falls mostly along the east coast of North America and the west coast of South America Events 303 - On a voyage preaching the Gospel, Saint Fermin of Pamplona is beheaded in Amiens, France Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The channel broadcasts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on XM Radio Channel 156. Winfrey's contract requires her to be on the air 30 minutes a week, 39 weeks a year. The 30-minute weekly show will feature Winfrey with friend Gayle King. Gayle King (born December 28, 1954) is editor-at-large for O The Oprah Magazine and is the best friend of Oprah Winfrey Winfrey's audience is extremely loyal and XM hopes that the "Oprah Effect" can have the same effect on XM subscription sales that she does on the New York Times Best Seller list, thanks to her book club. The New York Times Best Seller List is widely considered to be the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States.

Future projects

In late 2006 Winfrey’s Harpo production and ABC revealed plans to bring two new reality TV shows to the air. One of the series is tentatively titled Oprah Winfrey's The Big Give, and presents 10 people with large sums of money and resources and they must compete to find "the most powerful, sensational, emotional and dramatic ways to give to others. " The second show, tentatively titled Your Money or Your Life, will unleash an "expert action team" every week to aid a family in overcoming a crisis through a "total money and life makeover. "^[36]

On January 15, 2008 Winfrey and Discovery Communications announced plans to transition the current channel Discovery Health Channel into a new network called OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network. OWN will debut at an unspecified time in 2009. It will be available in more than 70 million homes because of the current position of Discovery Health Channel. This was a non-cash deal with Winfrey turning control of her website Oprah. com to Discovery Communications. ^[37]

Personal life

Homes

Winfrey currently lives on “The Promised Land”, her 42-acre (170,000 m²) estate with ocean and mountain views in Montecito, California, outside of Santa Barbara. Montecito is a Census-designated place (CDP in Santa Barbara County California. Santa Barbara is a city in Santa Barbara County California, United States. Winfrey also owns a house in Lavallette, New Jersey, an apartment in Chicago, an estate on Fisher Island off the coast of Miami, a ski house in Telluride, Colorado, and property on the island of Maui, Hawaii. Lavallette is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Fisher Island, or Fishers Island, may refer to Antarctica Fisher Island (Antarctica Australia The Town of Telluride is a Home Rule Municipality that is the County seat and the most populous town of San Miguel County in the southwestern The Island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at 727 She also owns a home on the island of Antigua. Antigua (ænˈtiːgə an-TEE-gah) is an Island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region the main Winfrey's show is based in Chicago, so she spends time there, specifically in the neighborhood of Streeterville, but she otherwise resides in California. Neighborhoods Cabrini-Green See also Cabrini-Green Cabrini-Green was a notorious Public housing project Her Hawaii property was featured on the cover of O at Home and on her TV show. Winfrey also owns a home in the exclusive town of Avalon, New Jersey.

Family

Winfrey and her partner Stedman Graham have been together since 1986. Stedman Graham (born March 6, 1951 in Whitesboro New Jersey) is an American Educator, Author, Businessman and They were engaged to be married in November 1992, but the ceremony never took place. ^[38] Winfrey believes that the reason she never had children was because her students at South Africa’s Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls were meant to be her daughters:

“

I never had children, never even thought I would have children. The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls - South Africa is a girls-only Boarding school that officially opened in January 2007 at Henley-on-Klip in Meyerton, Now I have 152 daughters; expecting 75 more next year. That is some type of gestation period![39]…I said to the mothers, the family members, the aunts, the grannies — because most of these girls have lost their families, their parents — I said to them, “Your daughters are now my daughters and I promise you I'm going to take care of your daughters. I promise you. [40]

”

“When I watched Oprah with those girls,” observed best friend Gayle King, “I kept thinking she was meant to be a mother, and it would happen one way or another. ”^[41] Newsweek described a student named Thelasa Msumbi hugging Winfrey extra tight, then whispering “We are your daughters now. ”^[41] Winfrey, who will teach a class at the school via satellite, plans to spend much of her retirement in a house she is building on the campus where she plans to use the same dishes, sheets, and curtains that the students do. “I want to be near my girls and be in a position to see how they're doing,” said Winfrey. ^[41]

Relatives

As revealed on a 2004 episode of her television show, Oprah had a half-brother who was gay and had died of AIDS. ^[42]

In the February 2006 issue of her magazine, O, Winfrey said she felt "betrayed" by her family member, who revealed to the National Enquirer that Winfrey gave birth as a teen to a baby who died in the hospital weeks later. The National Enquirer (also commonly known as the Enquirer) is an American supermarket tabloid now published by American ^[43]

Oprah visited Graceland in 2006 while on her cross-country trip with Gayle King. Graceland is the name of the 138 acre estate and large white-columned mansion that once belonged to Elvis Presley, located at 3734 Elvis Presley Boulevard in Memphis Gayle King (born December 28, 1954) is editor-at-large for O The Oprah Magazine and is the best friend of Oprah Winfrey While having dinner with Lisa Marie Presley and her husband Michael Lockwood, Oprah told Lisa Marie that her grandmother's last name was also Presley. Lisa Marie Presley (born February 1 1968 is an American Singer-songwriter. This article is about Michael Lockwood the Musician. For the wrestler see Mike Lockwood. ^[44]

Winfrey had her DNA tested for the 2006 PBS program African American Lives. The Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) is a Non-profit Public broadcasting Television service with 354 member TV stations in the African American Lives is a PBS television miniseries hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr The genetic test determined that her maternal line originated among the Kpelle ethnic group, in the area that today is Liberia. Genetics (from Ancient Greek grc-Latn genetikos, “genitive” and that from grc-Latn genesis, “origin” a discipline of Biology, is The Kpelle are the largest ethnic group of the West African nation of Liberia, and are important also in southeastern Guinea (where they are also known as Guerze Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire Her genetic make up was determined to be 89% Sub-Saharan African. Sub-Saharan Africa is a geographical term used to describe the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara, or those African countries She is part Native American (about 8% according to the test) and East Asian (about 3% according to the test). Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States

Romantic history

Winfrey once dated movie critic Roger Ebert, whom she credits with advising her to take her show into syndication. Roger Joseph Ebert (iːbɝt born June 18, 1942) is an American film critic and Screenwriter. The relationship of Winfrey and Graham has been documented through the years with numerous romantic tabloid articles often accompanied by color spreads of the couple at home and on lavish vacations. Prior to meeting Graham, Winfrey's love life was a lot less stable. A self-described promiscuous teen who was a victim of sexual abuse, Winfrey gave birth at the age of 14, to a boy who died shortly after. ^[13] In 1997 a former boyfriend named Randoph Cook tried to sue Winfrey for $20 million for allegedly blocking a tell-all book where he claimed they lived together for several months in 1985 and did drugs. ^[45][46][47] Cook’s claims mark the second time reports surfaced about Winfrey’s involvement in a drug related love affair. In 1995 Winfrey herself confessed to drug use. “And I've often said over the years…in my attempts to come out and say it, I've said many times I did things in my 20s that I was ashamed of, I did things I felt guilty about, but that is my life's great big secret that's always been held over my head,” she explained on her show. “I always felt that the drug itself is not the problem but that I was addicted to the man. ” She added: “I can't think of anything I wouldn't have done for that man. ”^[48]

Winfrey's early love life was not always so tumultuous. Her high school sweetheart Anthony Otey recalled an innocent courtship that began in Winfrey's senior year of high school, from which he saved hundreds of love notes; Winfrey conducted herself with dignity and as a model student. ^[49] The two spoke of getting married, but Otey claimed to have always secretly known that Winfrey was destined for a far greater life than he could ever provide. ^[50] On Valentine's day of her senior year, Otey's fears came true when Winfrey took Otey aside and told him they needed to talk. “I knew right then that I was going to lose the girl I loved,” Otey recalled. “She told me she was breaking up with me because she didn't have time for a relationship. We both sat there and cried. It broke my heart. ”^[51]Years later, Otey was stunned to discover details from Winfrey's promiscuous and rebellious past at the end of the 1960s, and the fact that she had given birth to a baby several years before they met. ^[50]

In 1971, several months after breaking up with Otey, Winfrey met William “Bubba” Taylor at Tennessee State University. According to CBS journalist George Mair, Taylor was Winfrey's “first intense, to die for love affair”. Winfrey helped get Taylor a job at WVOL, and according to Mair, “did everything to keep him, including literally begging him on her knees to stay with her. ”^[52] Taylor however was unwilling to leave Nashville with Winfrey when she moved to Baltimore to work at WJZ-TV in June 1976. “We really did care for each other,” Winfrey would later recall. “We shared a deep love. A love I will never forget. ”^[53]

When WJZ-TV management criticized Winfrey for crying on the air while reporting tragedies and were unhappy with her physical appearance (especially when her hair fell out as the result of a bad perm), Winfrey turned to reporter Lloyd Kramer for comfort. “Lloyd was just the best,” Winfrey would later recall. “That man loved me even when I was bald! He was wonderful. He stuck with me through the whole demoralizing experience. That man was the most fun romance I ever had. ”^[54]

According to Mair, when Kramer moved to NBC in New York Winfrey became involved with a man who friends had warned her to avoid. Winfrey would later recall:

“

I'd had a relationship with a man for four years. I wasn't living with him. I'd never lived with anyone—and I thought I was worthless without him. The more he rejected me, the more I wanted him. I felt depleted, powerless. At the end I was down on the floor on my knees groveling and pleading with him. [55]

”

According to Mair's reporting “the major problem with this intense love affair arose from her lover's being married, with no plans to leave his wife”. Winfrey became so depressed that on September 8, 1981, she wrote a suicide note to best friend Gayle King instructing King to water her plants. Events 70 - Roman forces under Titus sack Jerusalem. 1264 - The Statute of Kalisz Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 ^[55] “That suicide note had been much overplayed” Winfrey told Ms. magazine's Joan Barthel. “I couldn't kill myself. I would be afraid the minute I did it; something really good would happen and I'd miss it. ”^[56]

According to Winfrey, such emotional ups and downs gradually led to a weight problem:

“

The reason I gained so much weight in the first place and the reason I had such a sorry history of abusive relationships with men was I just needed approval so much. I needed everyone to like me, because I didn't like myself much. So I'd end up with these cruel self-absorbed guys who'd tell me how selfish I was, and I'd say “Oh thank you, you're so right” and be grateful to them. Because I had no sense that I deserved anything else. Which is also why I gained so much weight later on. It was the perfect way of cushioning myself against the world's disapproval. [56]

”

Close Friends

Winfrey's best friend since their early twenties is Gayle King. Gayle King (born December 28, 1954) is editor-at-large for O The Oprah Magazine and is the best friend of Oprah Winfrey King was formerly the host on The Gayle King Show, and is currently an editor of O, the Oprah Magazine. Since 1997, when Winfrey played the therapist on an episode of the sitcom Ellen in which Ellen DeGeneres came out of the closet, Winfrey and King have been the target of persistent rumours that they were gay. Ellen Lee DeGeneres (born January 26 1958 is an eleven time Emmy Award -winning American stand-up comedian, Television host and actress “I understand why people think we're gay,” Winfrey says in the August 2006 issue of O magazine. “There isn't a definition in our culture for this kind of bond between women. So I get why people have to label it—how can you be this close without it being sexual?”^[57] “I've told nearly everything there is to tell. All my stuff is out there. People think I'd be so ashamed of being gay that I wouldn't admit it? Oh, please. ”^[57] Another of Winfrey's best friends is Maria Shriver. Maria Owings Shriver ( born November 6 1955 is an award-winning American journalist a prolific author and First Lady of California. ^[58]

In 1989, Winfrey was personally touched by the 1980s AIDS crisis so frequently discussed on her show when her long time aide, Billy Rizzo, became afflicted by the disease. Rizzo was the only man among the four-person production team who Winfrey relied on in her early years in Chicago long before she had a large staff. “I love Billy like a brother,” she said at the time. “He's a wonderful, funny, talented guy, and it's just heartbreaking to see him so ill”. Winfrey visited him daily during his last days.

Health

On October 16, 2007, Winfrey revealed that she was diagnosed with a thyroid disorder that made her gain 20 pounds. Events 456 - Magister militum Ricimer defeats the Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the western Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. "At the end of May, I was so exhausted I couldn't figure out what was going on in my life. I ended up going to Africa and spent a month with my beautiful daughters there, was still feeling really tired, really tired, going around from doctor to doctor trying to figure out what was wrong and finally figured out that I had literally sort of blew out my thyroid " Winfrey said on her show. She also discusses more about her story in the October 2007 issue of the Oprah Magazine. Recently Winfrey decided to become a vegan for three weeks. ^[6]

Wealth

Born in rural poverty, then raised by a mother on welfare in a poor urban neighborhood, Winfrey became a millionaire at age 32 when her talk show went national. Because of the amount of revenue the show generated, Winfrey was in a position to negotiate ownership of the show and start her own production company. By 1994 the show's ratings were still thriving and Winfrey negotiated a contract that earned her nine figures a year. Considered the richest woman in entertainment by the early 1990s, at age 41 Winfrey's wealth crossed another milestone when with a net worth of $340 million, she replaced Bill Cosby as the only African American on the Forbes 400. William Henry Cosby Jr (born July 12 1937 is an American Comedian, Actor, Author, Television producer and Activist. The Forbes 400 or 400 Richest People (first published in 1982) is a list published by Forbes Magazine of the Wealthiest 400 Americans Although blacks are 12% of the U. S. population, Winfrey has remained the only black person wealthy enough to rank among America's 400 richest people nearly every year since 1995. (Black Entertainment Television founder Bob Johnson briefly joined her on the list from 2001-2003 before his ex-wife reportedly acquired part of his fortune, though he returned in 2006. Robert L Johnson (born April 8, 1946) is an American businessman and the founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET and is its former )^[59]

With a 2000 net-worth of $800 million, Winfrey is believed to have been the richest African American of the 20th century. For the film entitled Net Worth see Net Worth (film. In business net worth (sometimes called net assets) is the total Assets To celebrate her status as a historical figure, Professor Juliet E. K. Walker of the University of Illinois created the course "History 298: Oprah Winfrey, the Tycoon. This article is about the flagship campus For other uses and locations of University of Illinois, see University of Illinois (disambiguation The University of "^[60]

Forbes' international rich list has listed Winfrey as the world's only black billionaire in 2004, 2005, and 2006 and as the first black woman billionaire in world history. ^[7][61] According to Forbes, Winfrey is worth over $2. 5 billion, as of September, 2007^[62] and has overtaken former Ebay CEO Meg Whitman as the richest self-made woman in America. eBay Inc is an American Internet company that manages eBaycom an Online auction and shopping Website in which people and businesses buy and Margaret Cushing "Meg" Whitman (born August 4, 1956) was President and Chief Executive Officer of EBay from March 1998 to March 2008 when ^[63]

In July 2007 TV Guide reported that Winfrey was the highest paid TV entertainer in the United States during the past year. TV Guide is the name of a North American weekly magazine about television programming She earned an estimated $260 million during the year. This amount was more than 5 times what had been earned by the person in second place - music executive Simon Cowell, who had earned $45 million. } Simon Phillip Cowell (born October 7 1959 is an English artist-and-repertoire ("A&R" executive and Television personality / producer [7].

Influence

Rankings as world's most influential woman

Winfrey was called "arguably the world's most powerful woman" by CNN and Time. Cable News Network, usually referred to by its Initialism CNN, is a major English language Television network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner com^[64], "arguably the most influential woman in the world" by the American Spectator^[65], "one of the 100 people who most influenced the 20^th Century" and "one of the most influential people" of 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 by Time. The American Spectator is a conservative US monthly Magazine covering news and politics edited by R Time (trademarked in capitals as TIME) is a weekly American Newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and Winfrey is the only person in the world to have made all five lists. The Time 100 is an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world as assembled by Time.

At the end of the 20th century Life listed Winfrey as both the most influential woman and the most influential black person of her generation, and in a cover story profile the magazine called her "America's most powerful woman". ^[66] Ladies Home Journal also ranked Winfrey number one in their list of the most powerful women in America and senator Barack Obama has said she "may be the most influential woman in the country". ^[67] In 1998 Winfrey became the first woman and first Black to top Entertainment Weekly's list of the 101 most powerful people in the entertainment industry. Entertainment Weekly (sometimes abbreviated as EW) is a Magazine published by Time Inc ^[68]In 2003 Winfrey edged out both Superman and Elvis Presley to be named the greatest pop culture icon of all time by VH1. Superman is a fictional Comic book Superhero widely considered to be one of the most recognized of such characters and an American Cultural icon ^[69] Forbes named her the world's most powerful celebrity in both 2005^[70] and 2007^[71] Columnist Maureen Dowd seems to agree with such assessments:

“

She is the top alpha female in this country. Maureen Dowd (born January 14, 1952) is a Washington DC -based Columnist for The New York Times. She has more credibility than the president. Other successful women, such as Hillary Clinton and Martha Stewart, had to be publicly slapped down before they could move forward. Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton (born October 26 1947 is the junior United States Senator from Martha Stewart (born Martha Helen Kostyra; August 3, 1941) is an American Business magnate, Television host, author Even Condi has had to play the protegé with Bush. Condoleezza Rice (born November 14 1954 is the 66th United States None of this happened to Oprah — she is a straight ahead success story. [72]

”

Vanity Fair wrote:

“

Oprah Winfrey arguably has more influence on the culture than any university president, politician, or religious leader, except perhaps the Pope. Vanity Fair is an American magazine of Culture, Fashion, and Politics published by Condé Nast Publications. [73]

”

Bill O'Reilly said:

“

I mean this is a woman that came from nothing to rise up to be the most powerful woman, I think, in the world. William James O'Reilly Jr (born September 10 1949 is an American television / radio host, Author, Syndicated columnist, and I think Oprah Winfrey is the most powerful woman in the world, not just in America. That's — anybody who goes on her program immediately benefits through the roof. I mean, she has a loyal following; she has credibility; she has talent; and she's done it on her own to become fabulously wealthy and fabulously powerful. [74]

”

Biographer Kitty Kelley states that she has always been “fascinated” by Winfrey:

“

As a woman, she has wielded an unprecedented amount of influence over the American culture and psyche,…There has been no other person in the 20th century whose convictions and values have impacted the American public in such a significant way. Kitty Kelley (born April 4, 1942) is an American Investigative journalist and author of several best-selling unauthorized biographies of celebrities [75]… I see her as probably the most powerful woman in our society. I think Oprah has influenced every medium that she's touched. [76]

”

Winfrey's influence reaches far beyond pop-culture and into unrelated industries where many believe she has the power to cause enormous market swings and radical price changes with a single comment. During a show about mad cow disease with Howard Lyman (aired on April 16, 1996), Winfrey exclaimed, "It has just stopped me cold from eating another burger!" Texas cattlemen sued her and Lyman in early 1998 for "false defamation of perishable food" and "business disparagement", claiming that Winfrey's remarks subsequently sent cattle prices tumbling, costing beef producers some USD$12 million. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy ( BSE) commonly known as Mad-Cow Disease ( MCD) is a fatal Neurodegenerative disease in Cattle Howard F Lyman was born in Great Falls Montana, on September 17, 1938. Events 1178 BC - A Solar eclipse may have marked the return of Odysseus, legendary King of Ithaca, to his kingdom Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) In law a lawsuit is a civil action brought before a Court in which the party commencing the action the Plaintiff, seeks a legal or equitable remedy The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been On February 26, after a trial spanning over two months in an Amarillo, Texas court in the thick of cattle country, a jury found Winfrey and Lyman were not liable for damages. Events 747 BC - Epoch (origin of Ptolemy 's Nabonassar Era 364 - Valentinian I is proclaimed Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. (After the trial, she received a postcard from Roseanne Barr reading, “Congratulations, you beat the meat!”) In June 2005 the first case of mad cow disease in a cow native to the United States was detected in Texas. Roseanne Cherrie Barr, aka Roseanne Barr, aka Roseanne Arnold, aka Roseanne Thomas, aka Roseanne (born November 3 1952 is an Emmy Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy ( BSE) commonly known as Mad-Cow Disease ( MCD) is a fatal Neurodegenerative disease in Cattle The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The USDA concluded that it was most likely infected in Texas prior to 1997. ^[77]

In 2005 Winfrey was named the greatest woman in American history as part of a public poll as part of The Greatest American. The Greatest American was a four-part television series hosted by Matt Lauer in which millions of Americans nominated and elected who they thought was the greatest person She was ranked #9 overall on the list of greatest Americans.

Winfrey's reach extends far beyond the shores of the U. S. , where 49 million U. S. viewers see her talk show weekly. The show airs in 117 countries around the world “from Australia to Zimbabwe. ”^[78]

Media counterculture

While Phil Donahue has been credited with pioneering the tabloid talk show genre, what has been described as the warmth, intimacy and personal confession^[18] Winfrey brought to the format is believed to have both popularized and revolutionized it. Phillip John "Phil" Donahue (born December 21, 1935 in Cleveland Ohio) is an American media personality and Writer, best known as Tabloid talk shows are a genre of American television talk-shows that achieved peak viewership during the late 20th century ^[17][18][19] In the scholarly text Freaks Talk Back,^[20] Yale sociology professor Joshua Gamson credits the tabloid talk show genre with providing much needed high impact media visibility for gays, bisexuals, transsexuals, and transgender people and doing more to make them mainstream and socially acceptable than any other development of the 20th century. In the English language, gay is an Adjective that in modern usage refers to Homosexuality. Bisexuality refers to sexual behavior with or attraction to people of both sexes or to a bisexual orientation Transsexualism is a condition in which a person identifies with a physical Sex different from the one with which they were born Transgender (trænzˈdʒɛndɚ from ( Latin) derivatives In the book's editorial review Michael Bronski wrote "In the recent past, lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgendered people had almost no presence on television. With the invention and propagation of tabloid talk shows such as Jerry Springer, Jenny Jones, Oprah, and Geraldo, people outside the sexual mainstream now appear in living rooms across America almost every day of the week. The Jerry Springer Show is a television Tabloid talk show hosted by Jerry Springer, a former politician broadcast in the United States and other The Jenny Jones Show was an American syndicated daytime Tabloid talk show that was hosted by comedian/actress/singer Jenny Jones. "^[79]

An example of one such show by Winfrey occurred in the 1980s where for the entire hour, members of the studio audience stood up one by one, gave their name and announced that they were gay. Also in the 1980s Winfrey took her show to West Virginia to confront a town gripped by AIDS paranoia because a gay man living in the town had HIV. Winfrey interviewed the man who had become a social outcast, the town's mayor who drained a swimming pool in which the man had gone swimming, and debated with the town's hostile residents. "But I hear this is a God fearing town," Winfrey scolded the homophobic studio audience; "where's all that Christian love and understanding?" During a show on gay marriage in the 1990s, a woman in Winfrey's audience stood up to complain that gays were constantly flaunting their sex lives and she announced that she was tired of it. "You know what I'm tired of", replied Winfrey, "heterosexual males raping and sodomizing young girls. That's what I'm tired of. " Her rebuttal inspired a screaming standing ovation from that show's mostly gay studio audience.

Gamson credits the tabloid talk show fad with making alternative sexual orientations and identities more acceptable in mainstream society. Examples include a recent Time magazine article describing early 21st century gays coming out of the closet younger and younger and gay suicide rates plummeting. Gamson also believes that tabloid talk shows caused gays to be embraced on more traditional forms of media. Tabloid talk shows are a genre of American television talk-shows that achieved peak viewership during the late 20th century Examples include sitcoms like Will & Grace, primetime shows like Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and Oscar nominated feature films like Brokeback Mountain. Will & Grace is a popular Emmy Award -winning American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from 1998 to 2006 Queer Eye is an Emmy award-winning American Reality television series that premiered on the Bravo cable television network on July 15 Brokeback Mountain ( 2005) is a romantic - Drama film that depicts the complex romantic and sexual relationship between two men in the

While having changed with the times from her tabloid talk show roots, Winfrey continues to include gay guests by using her show to promote openly gay personalities like her hairdresser Andre Walker, makeup artist Reggie Wells, and decorator Nate Berkus who inspired an outpouring of sympathy from middle America after grieving the loss of his partner in the 2004 tsunami on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Nate Berkus (born September 17, 1971) is an American Interior designer and decorator and a survivor of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea Earthquake that occurred at 005853 UTC on December 26 2004 with an Epicentre off the west coast of Winfrey's "therapeutic" hosting style and the tabloid talk show genre has been credited or blamed for leading the media counterculture of the 1980s and 1990s which some believe broke 20th century taboos, led to America's self-help obsession, and created confession culture. Tabloid talk shows are a genre of American television talk-shows that achieved peak viewership during the late 20th century The Wall Street Journal coined the term "Oprahfication" which means public confession as a form of therapy. ^[80]

In April 1997, Winfrey played the therapist on the sitcom Ellen to whom the character (and the real-life Ellen DeGeneres) said she was a lesbian. Ellen (originally titled These Friends of Mine for season one is a U Ellen Lee DeGeneres (born January 26 1958 is an eleven time Emmy Award -winning American stand-up comedian, Television host and actress In 1998, Mark Steyn in the National Review wrote of Winfrey "Today, no truly epochal moment in the history of the Republic occurs unless it is validated by her presence. Mark Steyn, born in Canada in 1959, is a self-described conservative writer and commentator about politics arts and culture National Review ( NR) is a biweekly Magazine and Web site, founded by the late author William F When Ellen said, 'Yep! I'm gay,' Oprah was by her side, guesting on the sitcom as (what else?) the star's therapist. "

Communication style

By confessing intimate details about her weight problems, tumultuous love life, and sexual abuse, and crying alongside her guests, Time magazine credits Winfrey with creating a new form of media communication known as "rapport talk" as distinguished from the "report talk" of Phil Donahue:

“

Winfrey saw television's power to blend public and private; while it links strangers and conveys information over public airwaves, TV is most often viewed in the privacy of our homes. Like a family member, it sits down to meals with us and talks to us in the lonely afternoons. Grasping this paradox, . . . She makes people care because she cares. That is Winfrey's genius, and will be her legacy, as the changes she has wrought in the talk show continue to permeate our culture and shape our lives.

”

Observers even noted the "Oprahfication" of politics by noting "Oprah-style debates" and Bill Clinton's empathetic speaking style. William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III, August 19 1946 served as the forty-second President of the United States Columnist Maureen Dowd commented on the symbolism of Bill Clinton seeking an "Oprah-style" talk show when he left the presidency:

“

There is a delicious symmetry in Clinton's exploring the idea of a daytime syndicated talk show: the man who brought Oprah-style psychobabble and misty confessions to politics taking the next step and actually transmogrifying into Oprah. Maureen Dowd (born January 14, 1952) is a Washington DC -based Columnist for The New York Times. [81]

”

Newsweek stated:

“

Every time a politician lets his lip quiver or a cable anchor "emotes" on TV, they nod to the cult of confession that Oprah helped create. Newsweek is an American weekly Newsmagazine published in New York City. [82]

”

Winfrey's intimate confessions about her weight (which peaked at 108 kg (238 lb), also paved the way for other plus sized women in media such as Roseanne Barr, Rosie O'Donnell and Star Jones. Roseanne Cherrie Barr, aka Roseanne Barr, aka Roseanne Arnold, aka Roseanne Thomas, aka Roseanne (born November 3 1952 is an Emmy Roseann "Rosie" O'Donnell Star Jones (born March 24, 1962) is an American Lawyer and television personality, best known for her role as a co-host of the The November 1988 Ms. magazine observed that "in a society where fat is taboo, she made it in a medium that worships thin and celebrates a bland, white-bread prettiness of body and personality. Ms is an American feminist magazine co-founded by American feminist and activist Gloria Steinem and founding . . But Winfrey made fat sexy, elegant — damned near gorgeous - with her drop-dead wardrobe, easy body language, and cheerful sensuality. "

Oprah's Book Club

Main article: Oprah's Book Club

In late 1996,^[83] Winfrey introduced a new segment on her television show: Oprah's Book Club. Oprah's Book Club is a book club segment of the American Talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, highlighting books chosen by host Oprah's Book Club is a book club segment of the American Talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, highlighting books chosen by host The segment focused on new books and classics, and often brought obscure novels to popular attention. The book club became such a powerful force that whenever Winfrey introduced a new book as her book-club selection, it instantly became a best-seller (known as the Oprah Effect); for example, when she selected the classic John Steinbeck novel East of Eden, it soared to the top of the book charts. Oprah's Book Club is a book club segment of the American Talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, highlighting books chosen by host John Steinbeck III (February 27 1902—December 20 1968 was one of the best-known and most widely read American writers of the 20th century East of Eden is a Novel by Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck, published in September 1952 Being recognized by Winfrey often means a million additional book sales for an author. ^[84]

In Reading with Oprah: The book club that changed America, Kathleen Rooney describes Winfrey as "a serious American intellectual who pioneered the use of electronic media, specifically television and the Internet, to take reading — a decidedly non-technological and highly individual act — and highlight its social elements and uses in such a way to motivate millions of erstwhile non-readers to pick up books. "

Oprah's Book Club has occasionally chosen books which have proven to be controversial. Most notably, Jonathan Franzen questioned the Club's selection process and credibility,^[85] and there was a live television confrontation over allegations of fabrication regarding James Frey's A Million Little Pieces. James Christopher Frey (born September 12, 1969 in Cleveland Ohio) is an American Writer. A Million Little Pieces is a controversial Memoir by James Frey.

Spiritual icon

In 2002, Christianity Today published an article called "The Church of O" in which they concluded that Winfrey had emerged as an influential spiritual leader. Christianity Today is an Evangelical Christian Periodical based in Carol Stream Illinois. "Since 1994, when she abandoned traditional talk-show fare for more edifying content, and 1998, when she began 'Change Your Life TV', Oprah's most significant role has become that of spiritual leader. To her audience of more than 22 million mostly female viewers, she has become a postmodern priestess—an icon of church-free spirituality. "^[86] The sentiment was seconded by Marcia Z. Nelson in her book The Gospel According to Oprah. ^[87] On the season premier of Winfrey's 13th season Roseanne Barr told Winfrey "you're the African Mother Goddess of us all" inspiring much enthusiasm from the studio audience. Roseanne Cherrie Barr, aka Roseanne Barr, aka Roseanne Arnold, aka Roseanne Thomas, aka Roseanne (born November 3 1952 is an Emmy The animated series Futurama alluded to her spiritual influence by suggesting that, a thousand years from now, a religion known as "Oprahism" exists. Futurama is an Emmy Award -winning animated American sitcom created by Matt Groening, and developed by Groening and

Fan base

The audience for her magazine is considerably more upscale than those who watch her show, earning US$63,000 a year (well above the median for U. S. women). ^[88] Although Winfrey's audience is sometimes spoofed for their fanatical devotion by shows like Saturday Night Live, Winfrey has been very protective of them and gets very offended when they are publicly disparaged. Saturday Night Live ( SNL) is a weekly late-night 90-minute American Sketch comedy / Variety show based in New York City

Although Winfrey's audience is 75% female^[89], some of Winfrey's fans are gay males. For example, one of the stars of the reality TV show The Benefactor was a gay African American man named Kevin who was so obsessed with Winfrey that he would ask "What would Oprah do?" before making any strategic decision. The Benefactor was a six-episode (originally eight episodes U

Winfrey's fan base transcends national borders. The Wall Street Journal reported that MBC 4, an Arab satellite channel, centered its entire programming around reruns of her show because it was drawing record numbers of female viewers in Saudi Arabia. MBC 4 is the first Free-to-air channel in the Middle East aired specifically for American programs. ^[90]

Philanthropy

In 1998, Winfrey began Oprah's Angel Network, a charity aimed at encouraging people around the world to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged others. The Angel Network is a charity which says its goal is to "inspire people and make a difference in the lives of others" Accordingly, Oprah's Angel Network supports charitable projects and provides grants to nonprofit organizations around the world that share this vision. To date, Oprah's Angel Network has raised more than $51,000,000 ($1 million of which was donated by Jon Bon Jovi). Jon Bon Jovi (born John Francis Bongiovi Jr on March 2 1962 is an American Musician, Songwriter and Actor. Winfrey personally covers all administrative costs associated with the charity, so 100% of all funds raised go to charity programs. ^[91]

Although Winfrey's show is known for raising money through her public charity and the cars and gifts she gives away on TV are often donated by corporations in exchange for publicity, behind the scenes Winfrey personally donates more of her own money to charity than any other show-business celebrity in America. In 2005 she became the first black person listed by Business Week as one of America's top 50 most generous philanthropists, having given an estimated $303 million. BusinessWeek is a business Magazine published by McGraw-Hill. ^[92] Winfrey was the 32nd most philanthropic. Philanthropy is the act of donating money goods services time and/or effort to support a socially beneficial cause with a defined objective and with no financial or material

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Oprah asked her viewers to open their hearts—and they did. Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest hurricane, as well as one of the five deadliest in the history of the United States As of September 2006, donations to the Oprah Angel Network Katrina registry total more than $11 million. Homes have been built in four states—Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama—before the one year anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. ^[93] Winfrey also matched her viewers' donations by personally giving $10 million to the cause. ^[94]

Winfrey has also put 250 African-American men through college^[95]

Winfrey was the recipient of the first Bob Hope Humanitarian Award at the 2002 Emmy Awards for services to television and film. The Bob Hope Humanitarian Award was established in 2002 by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in recognition of Bob Hope 's trailblazing

To celebrate two decades on national TV, and to thank her employees for their hard work, Winfrey took her staff and their families (1065 people in total) on vacation to Hawaii in the summer of 2006. ^[96]

South Africa

In 2004, Winfrey and her team filmed an episode of her show entitled Oprah's Christmas Kindness, in which Winfrey, her best friend Gayle King, her partner Stedman Graham, and some crew members travelled to South Africa to bring attention to the plight of young children affected by poverty and AIDS. Gayle King (born December 28, 1954) is editor-at-large for O The Oprah Magazine and is the best friend of Oprah Winfrey Stedman Graham (born March 6, 1951 in Whitesboro New Jersey) is an American Educator, Author, Businessman and The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa During the 21-day whirlwind trip, Winfrey and her crew visited schools and orphanages in poverty-stricken areas, and at different set-up points in the areas distributed Christmas presents to 50,000 children,^[97] with dolls for the girls and soccer balls for the boys. In addition, each child was given a backpack full of school supplies and received two sets of school uniforms for their gender, in addition to two sets of socks, two sets of underwear, and a pair of shoes. Throughout the show, Winfrey appealed to viewers to donate money to Oprah's Angel Network for poor and AIDS-affected children in Africa, and pledged that she personally would oversee where that money was spent. From that show alone, viewers around the world donated over $7,000,000.

Main article: Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls

Winfrey invested $40 million and much of her time establishing the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls near Johannesburg in South Africa. The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls - South Africa is a girls-only Boarding school that officially opened in January 2007 at Henley-on-Klip in Meyerton, The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls - South Africa is a girls-only Boarding school that officially opened in January 2007 at Henley-on-Klip in Meyerton, Johannesburg ( Pronounced /jō-hān'ĭs-bûrg'/ is the largest city in South Africa. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa The school opened in January, 2007. Nelson Mandela praised Winfrey for overcoming her own disadvantaged youth to become a benefactor for others and for investing in the future of South Africa. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (xolíɬaɬa mandéːla born 18 July 1918 is a former President of South Africa, the first to be elected in fully representative ^[98]

Political advocacy

Winfrey has recently exerted political influence, endorsing presidential candidate Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election. Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17 1964 is an American Lawyer and the wife of Illinois Senator Barack Obama, the Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1041 - Empress Zoe of Byzantium elevates her adoptive son to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire as Michael V This is the first time she has publically made such an endorsement. Winfrey held a fundraiser for Obama on September 8, 2007 at her Santa Barbara, CA estate. Santa Barbara is a city in Santa Barbara County California, United States. ^[99] In December 2007, Winfrey joined Obama for a series of rallies in the early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. ^[100] The Columbia, South Carolina event on December 9, 2007 drew a crowd of nearly 30,000, the largest for any political event of the 2008 presidential election season thus far. Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the US state of South Carolina. Events 536 - Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ^[101]

Criticisms and controversies

Although Winfrey has continually changed the focus of her show since the mid-1990s, her success has been seen as popularizing of the "tabloid talk show" genre, and turning it into a thriving industry that has included Ricki Lake, The Jenny Jones Show, and The Jerry Springer Show. Ricki Lake was a daytime Tabloid talk show hosted by US actress Ricki Lake. The Jenny Jones Show was an American syndicated daytime Tabloid talk show that was hosted by comedian/actress/singer Jenny Jones. The Jerry Springer Show is a television Tabloid talk show hosted by Jerry Springer, a former politician broadcast in the United States and other Sociologist Vicki Abt criticized tabloid talk shows for redefining social norms. In her book Coming After Oprah: Cultural Fallout in the Age of the TV talk show, Abt warned that the media revolution that followed Winfrey's success was blurring the lines between "normal" and "deviant" behavior. ^[102][103]

Leading up to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Winfrey's show received criticism for allegedly having an anti-war bias. The 2003 invasion of Iraq, from March 20 to May 1 2003 was spearheaded by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. Ben Shapiro of Townhall.com wrote:

“

Oprah Winfrey is the most powerful woman in America. Ben Shapiro (born 1984 in Burbank California) is an Orthodox Jew and conservative political columnist and author Townhallcom is a web-based publication primarily dedicated to conservative United States politics. She decides what makes the New York Times best-seller lists. Her touchy-feely style sucks in audiences at the rate of 14 million viewers per day. But Oprah is far more than a cultural force — she's a dangerous political force as well, a woman with unpredictable and mercurial attitudes toward the major issues of the day. [104]

”

In 2006, Winfrey recalled such controversies:

“

I once did a show titled Is War the Only Answer? In the history of my career, I've never received more hate mail-like 'Go back to Africa' hate mail. I was accused of being un-American for even raising the question. [105]

”

However antiwar activist Michael Moore came to Winfrey’s defense, praising her for showing antiwar footage no other media would show^[106] and begging her to run for president. Michael Francis Moore (born April 23 1954 is an Academy Award -winning American filmmaker author and liberal Political commentator. ^[107] A February 2003 series Winfrey did, in which she showed clips from people all over the world asking America not to go to war, was interrupted in several east coast markets by network broadcasts of a press conference in which President George W. Bush, joined by Colin Powell, summarized the case for war. George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States. Colin Luther Powell, KCB (Honorary MSC, (born April 5, 1937) is a retired General in the United States Army. ^[108]

In June 2005, Winfrey was denied access to the Hermès company's flagship store in Paris, France. Hermès International SA, or simply Hermès ( IPA: French, American English, typical British English) is a French Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Winfrey arrived fifteen minutes after the store's formal closing time, though the store was still very active and high end stores routinely extend hours for VIP customers. Winfrey believed she would have been allowed in the store if she were a white celebrity. “I know the difference between a store that is closed and a store that is closed to me,” explained Winfrey. In September 2005, Hermès USA CEO Robert Chavez was a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show and apologized for a rude employee.

On December 1, 2005, Winfrey appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman to promote the new Broadway musical The Color Purple,^[109] of which she was a producer, joining the host for the first time in 16 years. The Late Show with David Letterman is an Emmy Award -winning American late-night Talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS The Color Purple is an acclaimed 1982 Epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker. David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American late-night Talk show host and Comedian and the host since 1993 The episode was hailed by some as the “television event of the decade” and helped Letterman attract his largest audience in more than 11 years: 13. 45 million viewers. ^[110] Although a much-rumored feud was said to have been the cause of the rift, both Winfrey and Letterman balked at such talk. “I want you to know, it's really over, whatever you thought was happening,” said Winfrey. On September 10, 2007, David Letterman made his first appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show", as its season premiere was filmed in New York City. David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American late-night Talk show host and Comedian and the host since 1993 ^[111]

In 2006, rappers Ludacris, 50 Cent and Ice Cube criticized Winfrey for what they perceived as an anti-hip hop bias. O'Shea Jackson (born June 15 1969 better known by his Stage name Ice Cube, is an American Actor, Screenwriter, producer, and Hip hop music, also referred to as rap music, is a Music genre typically consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rap which is accompanied with In an interview with GQ magazine, Ludacris said that Winfrey gave him a "hard time" about his lyrics, and edited comments he made during an appearance on her show with the cast of the film Crash. GQ (originally Gentlemen's Quarterly) is a monthly men's Magazine focusing upon Fashion, style and culture for men through articles Crash is a 2005 Drama film directed by Paul Haggis. It premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2004 and was released He also claimed that he wasn't initially invited on the show with the rest of the cast. Winfrey responded by saying that she's opposed to rap lyrics that "marginalize women", but enjoys some artists, including Kanye West, who appeared on her show. Kanye Omari West (ˈkɑnjɛj born June 8 1977 is a ten-time Grammy Award -winning American Rapper, Record producer and Singer. She said she spoke with Ludacris backstage after his appearance to explain her position, and said she understood that his music was for entertainment purposes, but that some of his listeners might take it literally. ^[112]

Winfrey has also been criticized for not being "tough" enough in questioning celebrity or politician guests on her show that she appears to like. ^[113] Lisa de Moraes, a media columnist for The Washington Post, stated, "Oprah doesn't do follow-up questions unless you're an author who's embarrassed her by fabricating portions of a supposed memoir she's plugged for her book club. "^[114]

In early 2007, Winfrey was criticized for building a $40 million school complex for girls in South Africa. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa The school will have an initial enrollment of 152 but will gradually accommodate 450,^[115] and features such amenities as a beauty salon and yoga studio. Yoga ( Sanskrit: योग, IAST: yóga, joːgə refers to traditional physical and mental disciplines originating in India, to the ^[116] It has been argued that the money would be better utilized to educate a larger number of children in either North America or South Africa; however, Winfrey insists that beautiful surroundings will inspire greatness in the future leaders of Africa. ^[117]

Recently, Winfrey has been accused by magician and skeptic James Randi of being deliberately deceptive and uncritical in how she handles paranormal claims on her show. James Randi (born August 7 1928 (stage name The Amazing Randi) is a stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of Paranormal ^[118]

In 2007, Winfrey began to endorse the controversial self-help program The Secret. The Secret, a film produced by Prime Time Productions, consists of a series of interviews and dramatizations related to " The Law of Attraction " The Secret claims that people can change their lives through positive thoughts, which will then cause vibrations that result in good things happening to them. Critics argue that this idea is pseudoscience and psychologically damaging, as it trivializes important decisions and promotes a quick-fix material culture, and suggest Winfrey's promotion of it is irresponsible given her influence. ^[119]

Footnotes

See also

• Lists of billionaires
• Harpo Productions
• Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball
• Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls
• The Oprah Winfrey Show
• Media works of Oprah Winfrey

External links

• Oprah's official website
• Charity Navigator's rating of Oprah's Angel Network
• Oprah Winfrey at the Internet Movie Database
• Oprah on Youtube
• Oprah Winfrey at People.com
• Oprah Winfrey's Official Myspace Page
• Oprah Winfrey's Date Safe Project
• Oprah Winfrey's Inspirational Graduation Speech, Howard University 2007

Persondata
NAME	Winfrey, Oprah
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Winfrey , Oprah Gail
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Talk show host
DATE OF BIRTH	29 January 1954
PLACE OF BIRTH	Kosciusko, Mississippi, United States
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH

Harpo Productions is an incorporated US-based Multimedia production company founded by Media mogul Oprah Winfrey Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball was a three-day celebration honoring twenty-five African American women in the fields of art entertainment and civil rights The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls - South Africa is a girls-only Boarding school that officially opened in January 2007 at Henley-on-Klip in Meyerton, The Oprah Winfrey Show is a United States syndicated Talk show, hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey, and is the highest-rated This article documents the professional media works of Oprah Winfrey. YouTube is a video sharing website where users can upload view and share Video clips YouTube was created in February 2005 by three former PayPal employees People (full name People Weekly) is a weekly American Magazine of Celebrity and human interest stories, published A talk show ( American) or chat show ( Global) is a Television or Radio program where one person or group of people come together to Events 904 - Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed Antipope Christopher. Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) Kosciusko is a city in Attala County, Mississippi, United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

---

© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic