Oprah Winfrey born in a Mississippi small city in 1954 and grown in Nashville, Tennessee, she started her job in broadcasting when she was 17 of age at WVOL radio station.
By 19, Oprah was hosted the news at WTFV-TV, she was first African-American lady and the youngest person yet to do so. She shifted to Baltimore in 1976, and co-hosted WJZ-TV's Six O'Clock News. Soon Oprah made the move to anchoring talk shows, with the local People Are Talking.
The Oprah Winfrey Show:
In 1984, Oprah re-shifted to Chicago to anchoring the show AM Chicago. In just 1 month, it had exceeded Donahue as the no.1 local talk show, and then it was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show. After a year, it entered countrywide syndication and become the highest-rated talk show in TV history. The show remained the 1 talk show for eighteen seasons, has won many of Emmys, also she seen by an projected 30 million audience a week in the United States and is aired globally in 111 nations.
Entertainment Businesswoman:
Not happy to work for somebody else, in 1988, Oprah started her own production house, Harpo Studios. Since after, it has turn into Harpo, Inc., that employs nearly 250 full-time staff in film and television production, online media and magazine publishing. Oprah is also co-founder of Oxygen Media that controls the Oxygen Network, a cable network for women succeeding more than 54 million audiences.
The Businesswoman:
Even if she's a billionaire with a long list of awards and business accomplishments, she's denied the invitations to work with the corporate boards of Ralph Lauren, Intel, and AT&T. But by most people thinks that, in the entertainment industry, Oprah Winfrey is the most powerful woman.
Oprah's fabulous appeal comes from the truth that, although positive aspects of her life are very personal, as Patricia Sellers mentioned that, Oprah's life is the soul of her brand, and her enthusiasm to open up regarding it on daytime television helped win the continuing trust of her viewers. Oprah has retained strict control of the products, turning away numerous requests for her to lend her name to a broad range of brands. Everything with her name on it is placed by her firm under her straight supervision. Also the deals with Oxygen Network, ABC, and Hearst Magazines are mainly distribution deals -- Oprah retains complete control. She has 90 percent of Harpo's stock.
Oprah does, though, have a behind-the-scenes top-notch partner asserting the day-to-day running of the company.
Finally, though, it's not all about the capital. From her charitable efforts to the educational and inspirational nature of her shows to Oprah’s book club to her Live Your Best Life show, it's obvious that Oprah is all on two things: living a best life for yourself and creating a difference in the globe. She looks to have mastered both.
