MISGUIDED MAGAZINE SPRING 2020

SPRING 2020
ENTREPRENUERS
OPRAH WINFREY
Oprah Winfrey is an entrepreneur, successful media
executive, cable television network owner, television
host, actress, producer and philanthropist. In 1976 while
living in Baltimore, Maryland, she hosted the TV chat
show People Are Talking. The show became a hit and
Winfrey stayed with it for eight years, after which she
was recruited by a Chicago TV station to host her own
morning show, A.M. Chicago. Her major competitor in
the time slot was Phil Donahue. Within several months,
Winfrey’s open, warm-hearted personal style had won
her 100,000 more viewers than Donahue and had taken
her show from last place to first in the ratings. The show
earned several Emmy Awards. Winfrey formed her own
television production company, Harpo Productions,
Inc., in 1986, and a film production company, Harpo
Films, in 1990. Winfrey broke new ground in 1996 by
starting an on-air book club. She announced selections
two to four weeks in advance and then discussed the
book on her show with a select group of people. In 1998
Winfrey expanded her media entertainment empire
when she co-founded Oxygen Media, which launched
a cable television network for women. She brokered a
partnership with Discovery Communications in 2008,
through which the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN)
replaced the Discovery Health Channel in January 2011.
Winfrey engaged in numerous philanthropic activities,
including the creation of Oprah’s Angel Network, which
sponsors charitable initiatives worldwide. In 2007 she
opened a $40 million school for disadvantaged girls
in South Africa. According to Forbes magazine, Oprah
was the richest African American of the 20th century
and at the time was the world’s only Black billionaire
for three years running. Life magazine hailed her as the
most influential woman of her generation.
Sources: biography.com/people/oprah-winfrey-9534419?page=1
and britannica.com/biography/Oprah-Winfrey
58 | MISGUIDED MAGAZINE