Glamsquad Magazine March 2023

FEATURE
bear the circumstances, Oprah
ran away from home, but
became pregnant and gave
birth prematurely.
“After I gave birth at 14 years
old … when that child died my
father said to me, ‘this is your
second chance. This is your
opportunity to seize this moment
and make something of your
life’,” Oprah said on Oprah’s Life
Class.
Her natural tendency to
perform well in school and
excellent articulation secured
her a part-time news anchor
position at a local radio station.
Three years later, she was
breaking ground for black
women in the South as the first
black anchor at WLAC-TV,
a Tennessee-based news
channel.
In 1984, Oprah hosted her
first episode of AM Chicago,
which evolved over two years
and was renamed The Oprah
Winfrey Show. But what makes
her a force to be reckoned
with, and allows her talk shows
to expand is she refuses to
stay silent. That same year
Oprah started her own media
company, Harpo Inc, which
proves to be one of the most
successful media empires.
The Oprah
Effect
Everything Oprah touches
turns to gold — the “Oprah
Effect”. Through Oprah’s Book
Club — now a partnership
with Apple — and Oprah’s
Favourite Things, she has
boosted sales and triggered
wider conversations about
books, political causes,
movies and fashion. There is
even a documentary called
The Oprah Effect.
The Oprah Effect also
has an adverse effect. The
Texas cattle industry had a
beef with Oprah after a 1996
episode called Dangerous
Food, about the Mad Cow
Disease. Oprah declared that
the disease “stopped [her]
cold from eating another
hamburger”.
The Texas cattle industry,
which featured in the episode,
said meat sales dropped
and filed a lawsuit against
Oprah, claiming more than
$10 million in damages. After
winning the case in 1998,
Oprah credited the ruling as a
win for free speech.
“I will continue to use
my voice,” Oprah said to a
cheering crowd outside the
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