[Opinion] Oprah the Billionaire

A heavy African-American woman came to audition for a TV station in Chicago 20 years ago. She was looking to host a morning TV program called `AM Chicago.` If she got the job, she would compete with the good-looking white male Phil Donahue whose talk show program was enjoying great popularity at that time. Having heard from her ex-boss that she needed to change her hair and even her name, the woman did not have much confidence. “I am black and maybe fat, too. I could not change that,” she was reported to have said.

Director of the broadcasting company Dennis Swanson replied, “I know. You have talent in connecting people. Don`t try to change, just be who you are.”

The woman was none other than Oprah Winfrey, the first black woman named billionaire by Forbes magazine. `AM Chicago` topped viewer ratings in a month and was changed to the `Oprah Winfrey Show` in less than a year. Whenever Oprah recommended a book in her book club corner, they became best-selling books. And a new term called `Oprahization` emerged, meaning those who have great interest in social issues covered by her show. Donahue, who used to be Oprah`s great hero, recently came back to an MSNBC TV show only to be booted out due to poor viewer ratings.

The queen of talk shows, whose program lures some 22 million American viewers and is aired through 104 countries around the world and who owns Harpo Entertainment, a large business comprising a magazine, a cable TV and Internet site, found a message for her life 20 years ago. `You are the one responsible for your life.` There are, of course, critics of `Oprahism,` which note that success or failure depends only on individual effort. By saying opportunities abound and anyone can strike it rich, it justifies the `American dream,` conceals social contradictions and turns a blind eye to institutional discrimination against women and minorities, they point out.

Yet, Oprah herself led a hopeless life. Raised without a father, she was raped by her cousin at 9 and was repeatedly sexually abused by her uncle throughout her teenage years. Having almost given up living a meaningful life, she realized the value of her life at age 36 when she heard a story of an abused woman. Knowing pain and despair, she can be a mother at times and a therapist at others, touching the hearts of viewers and people on the show. Every person who knows his or her limits or feels as if the world were a huge wall might find comfort and hope from Oprah`s story. It is not that everyone can be a billionaire, though.

Kim Sun-deok, Editorial Writer, yuri@donga.com