Oprah back to ‘newsmaking’ mode again

OPRAH Winfrey is a master at getting the most publicity mileage for her projects. AP file photo

Don’t look now, but the once-quiet Oprah Winfrey is suddenly all over the media these days—a big shift in terms of visibility that we attribute to her belated realization that even certified global icons like her could eventually be forgotten if she stopped constantly making her presence felt—and reminding everyone of her stellar existence!

Time was when Oprah opted to appear less frequently on-cam so she could focus more on making her TV network a big success. Little did she realize, however, that her sudden “shyness” would be counterproductive, because the show hosts she put in her place weren’t popular or charismatic enough to attract viewers in sufficient numbers.

Quickly learning her lesson, Oprah is now back to doing “explosive” and thus ratings-boosting interviews, like her exclusive, heart-to-heart chat fest with Lindsay Lohan, which was viewed by millions of viewers.

To make that interview even more eventful and revelatory, Oprah added her own candid confession to Lohan’s, dramatically admitting that, like Lindsay, she also had an addiction—to food! Given her obvious girth these days, that unexpected revelation gave the special a serio-comic touch that was—well, pure Oprah!

All over TV

In any case, it looks like Oprah is really bent on remaining in the public eye from here on in. Aside from her TV special, she has been all over the place on TV, promoting her film, “The Butler,” in which she plays the wife of a man who’s served many US presidents over the past four decades—from Eisenhower to Obama.

A past master at getting the most publicity mileage out of those ritual plug fests, Oprah did more than her share to interest the viewing public in the acclaimed film—so, she could pat herself on the back when the movie finally started its theater run last August by ending up as the hit of the week, grossing an impressive $25 million at the box office!

To drum up interest in the film, Oprah even dug deep into her bag of old “tricks”: When she guested on Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show, she picked a young woman out of the studio audience—and gave her a car!

Naturally, the instant car owner was thrilled, and the entire viewing nation talked about Oprah’s unexpected act of generosity—which recalled her amazing TV coup some years ago, when she gave one car to each member of her show’s audience!

Nobody has matched that fantastic feat since, and it’s likely that Oprah’s hyper-generous act will remain in the record books forever—but, trust Oprah to ride the crest of its “remembered” goodwill again on Kimmel’s show to plug her film—and all it took was “just” the price of one car!

Elsewhere on the tube, Oprah has also been a newsworthy celebrity once more, due to her recent run-in with a hoity-toity boutique sales clerk who refused to attend to her, for one perplexing reason or other. Some say it was because Oprah didn’t look like she could afford the pricey merchandise in question, while others, including Oprah herself, perceived a racist undertone to the sorry proceedings.

Finally, now that Barack Obama has become the first African-American president of the United States, it’s time for “kingmaker” Oprah to start focusing her considerable energies and clout on the incipient bid of Hillary Clinton to become the nation’s first female head of state.

Some insider reports have it that, when Obama ran, Oprah had to make the difficult choice of backing him rather than Hillary, because she felt that the black issue was even more seminally important than the female advocacy, which was also close to her heart of hearts. Well, the time may have come for that next, big step, if Ms Clinton does decide to run, and Oprah and other key “actualizers” back her up—all the way!