Oprah: She's Not Every Woman

Image via WikipediaOprah Winfrey signed off her daily syndicated talk show after 25 years Wednesday.  It was part reminiscence and part inspirational lecture with just her on the stage and a studio audience of invited guests.

Through the years, Winfrey has shared the ups and downs of her life (well, most of it):  Her weight problems, her being a victim of child abuse, her favorite things, her famous pals, her philosophy, Gayle King, Stedman Graham, etc.  Whatever she preferred not to share, the tabloids and TMZ were more than happy to fill in the blanks.

Winfrey was the queen of daytime TV--and sometimes she acted like one too, with the way people genuflected in her direction.  She could make stars like Dr. Phil, Rachael Ray, Suze Orman and Dr. Oz.  And she could break them (see: authors Jonathan Franzen and James Frey).  One mention of a product or a book from Oprah could make the difference between obscurity and best-seller status.  She didn't become one of the world's wealthiest people by not knowing what her audience wanted.

Now Winfrey turns her attention to a six-month old cable channel called OWN (the Oprah Winfrey Network), which has struggled out of the gate so far.  At present, OWN is running "Dr. Phil" reruns, a video version of Gayle King's radio show, "Say Yes to the Dress" from sister network TLC, and old movies on weekends.  Apparently, what this network needs is more Oprah.

Most stations ran Oprah's show in the late afternoon, as a lead-in to local news.  Without her, those stations will either add more news or another talk show such as Ellen DeGeneres and Anderson Cooper come September.  Of all the post-Oprah network news broadcasts, ABC will be taking the biggest hit, though NBC's Brian Williams didn't need her help to top the ratings.

But Winfrey's numbers have been slipping in recent years, even though she still beats out every other syndicated talk show.  It's mostly blamed on younger women in the workplace and older women watching.  In fact, the top-rated program in daytime isn't Oprah.  It's "Judge Judy".

Whether you're an admirer or you're sick to death of her, you can't argue that Oprah Winfrey has made a huge impact on our society.  She's given as much money as she's taken in.  She raised awareness of the dark corners of our existence.  She's been an inspiration to millions.  Just because Winfrey isn't doing a daytime talk show any more, that doesn't mean she's going away.  She's merely turning the page.