Oprah Winfrey – The Story of an Entrepreneur
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OPRAH – THE ENTREPRENUER contd...Trust and
control over the project were major factors in Oprah's decision making
process. Hearst succeeded in winning Oprah's assent for ‘O', despite
competition from AOL Time Warner and Conde Nast by winning Oprah's trust.
Hearst promised her that the magazine would reflect her values and would
work towards translating her message into the written word. To ensure this,
Hearst entrusted Oprah with the total editorial control of the magazine.
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It was the same story with Oprah's investment
decisions. Geraldine Laybourne, the co-founder of Oxygen, won Oprah's
trust by telling her that she was planning a cable network aimed at
providing intent and service to women. The idea appealed to Oprah (in
fact she had something similar in her mind) and on an impulse, she
invested $20 million in the project and also transferred certain rights
to ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show library. In return, she received a 25% stake
in Oxygen Media.[9] |
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OPRAH – SERVING THE PEOPLE
Since Oprah had been a victim of child abuse, she constantly raised the
issue in her show and made constant efforts to protect children from such
abuse. In 1991, she demanded that the government pass a new law (The
National Child Protection Act) against child abuse. Oprah even testified
before the Senate Judiciary Committee of the US to help them establish a
database of convicted child abusers in the US. In December 1993, Oprah's
efforts were rewarded when the ‘Oprah Bill'(The National Child Protection
Act) was made a law.
On principle, Oprah donated at least 10% of her annual earnings to charity
during her adult life. Reportedly, most of these donations were made
anonymously. However, in the 1990s, Oprah made such donations openly. She
reportedly donated millions of dollars to institutes of higher education (Spelman
College, Morehouse College and Tennessee State University) and established
scholarships, which helped hundreds of students.
In September 1997, Oprah launched ‘Oprah's Angel Network'to encourage
people to extend their help to those in need. Oprah asked her audience to
help the ‘less fortunate'by donating their spare change to the Angel
Network. By 2000, Angel Network received more than $3.5 million in spare
change, which was used to give scholarships to poor students and fund
humanity homes. In April 2000, Angel Network announced the ‘Use Your Life
Award'for people who ‘made others lives better.'The award which, carried a
cash prize of $100,000, was given every Monday on ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show.'
More...
THE OTHER SIDE OF OPRAH?
THE SHOW GOES ON
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
EXHIBIT I AWARDS WON BY OPRAH
EXHIBIT II FAVORITE TV PERSONALITIES – RANKS
ADDITIONAL READINGS & REFERENCES
[9] In March 2002, it was
reported that Oprah regretted her decision to impart certain rights to ‘The
Oprah Winfrey Show'library to Oxygen Media. She felt that by doing so, she
had traded her soul. To undo this mistake, Oprah acquired her rights back
and in return she accepted to do a special program on Oxygen Media, “Oprah
After the Show'.
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