No More Oprah? Say it Isn't So

According to the Examiner.com and just about every other news source, On Friday 11/20/09, Oprah Winfrey will announce her decision to end her talk show in September 2011. It almost sounds like "Oprah will not seek re-election". But not to worry, she will be starting the Oprah Winfrey Network "OWN" and I'll bet it will be the most successful cable channel in history. She'll still have a chance to reelect Obama, so all should go well for her.

Oprah is an icon, a talk show legend, a humanitarian, and a force to be reckoned with. Remember when she dissed meat and was sued by the beef companies? One word out of her mouth and beef sales went downhill. From them she only became more powerful to the point where she elected our president. Who believes Obama had a chance without Oprah? Not me. There will never be anyone like Oprah and no one will ever be able to fill that hour slot, poor ABC.

I think what draws people to Oprah is her emotional accessibility. Yes, she is one of the most powerful women in the world, but she still can't control her appetite-just like the rest of the country. We love to see someone human on TV, even if we know they are no where near our lowly existence. Oprah has always been open about her life and honest about her feelings. That's one reason for her popularity, her integrity. She never comes across as phony or condescending, well maybe a little during the Obama campaign, but on the whole she represents an honest, open minded, generous person. Hopefully she will bring the same persona to her new network so we won't feel bereft.

The pending announcement of the termination of the Oprah show reminds me of Johnny Carson abandoning after almost 30 years. The two personalities couldn't be more different but the sense of loss is the same. I feel it and I'm not an Oprah addict, I only watch her show when I have the time or if Law and Order isn't on. Yet it's somehow comforting to flip the channels and see her there, true to form, every weekday. If there's a hot topic I'll try to catch the show, otherwise I watch late night reruns. Years ago I watched her show everyday, then I got bored by her pseudo spiritual "laws of attraction" shows. This dalliance into weird spirituality seems a common affliction of the famous and insanely rich. Fortunately, Oprah moved on to more interesting and relevant topics with an occasional light fun show about home decorating or fashion. She has never been boring and that alone sets her apart from every other talk show host.

We have until September 2011 to enjoy Oprah and I'm guessing we can count on some amazing shows. No doubt she wants to leave in style and will have us all moving with her to her "OWN" channel.