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November 13, 2003
Oprah Rocks!
After Wednesday's taping of the Oprah Winfrey Show in Chicago.
I'm writing from Chicago where friends Mike, Shirley, and Connie and I flew in to be in the audience of the Oprah Winfrey Show. Apparently, it is very hard to get tickets. You either have to know someone who knows someone who works on the show, or you win tickets at a charity auction. We didn't know anyone; Mike and Shirley were beneficiaries of the auction route who generously offered to share their bounty with Connie and me. Oprah has two scheduled tapings per day. We arrived at 7 am for the 9 am taping. The line was already pretty long when we got there. About 300 women and maybe 5 men.
A billionaire with her own media empire, Oprah is the richest, most powerful woman in the world. It was inspiring to see her in action, to see what she does with her wealth and power. She could just as easily buy an island someplace and spend her days with the jetset. But she chooses instead to work on her show and magazine, both of which are all about empowerment. Oprah is living her dream and is committed to helping the rest of the world to live ours as well. Through the power of the media she informs, enlightens, and challenges.
It's interesting the attitudes I find among friends regarding Oprah. Most of my network of Silicon Valley MBA, venture capital types have never seen the show and regard her with the same low esteem with which they would regard any of the plethora of day time talk show hosts whose shows are aimed at the lowest common denominator. I thought as much as well until a couple of years ago I happened to pick up her magazine. I was bowled over. It was exactly the magazine that I would publish if I were to create a magazine with content I care about. Men take notice. Oprah is mostly for women. She focuses on things we care about - relationships, health, empowerment, community, looking and feeling our best. Hey, I would love it if men in this country were more interested in these subjects than in boobs, cars, and video games. But last time I checked, that's not a reality yet. So if Oprah's too chick oriented for you, check out Dr. Phil. He's great, a guy's guy. A little too direct for some people's taste, but for those of us who like straight talk, he works.
Posted by elise on November 13, 2003 to Random
