Comments on Living Oprah: First Chicago loses the Olympics, now Oprah

What a tough choice...missing Oprah more or missin...

2009-12-02T08:33:10.529-06:00

What a tough choice...missing Oprah more or missing the show more? I think I'll miss the show more. When Oprah turned 50, she started talking more about retiring and I began worrying about when that day would come. She's been my gym buddy for about 10 years and working out won't be the same without her to entertain me. She gives me plenty of things to ponder and discuss at dinner with friends and family at night. I hope she keeps up the book club and magazine. I enjoy them both so much.

As sad as I am for myself, I am happy for her. I feel like she has been busier than a person should be and should take some time to enjoy life. (Really enjoy it and not just for a weekend.) I hope she travels and continues to make the world a better place by educating people about the challenges that so many others have faced. I don't know where some charities would be today if she hadn't featured them on her show.

I will miss Oprah but I will also miss this blog because I'm not sure how often we'll all be able to talk when she's off the air. LO and the ladies here gave me something to look forward to and gave my showing watching even more purpose. I wanted to watch--for myself and to talk about it with all of you. I like our community of discussion (even though we don't always agree) and feel lucky to have been a part of it.

her show just havient been the same.

2009-11-25T10:10:05.532-06:00

her show just havient been the same.

I hear that Oprah was just.... moving? Probably t...

2009-11-21T11:57:46.991-06:00

I hear that Oprah was just.... moving? Probably to her own network?

I wish her the very best and now it's time for her...

2009-11-21T11:29:12.611-06:00

I wish her the very best and now it's time for her to have somewhat of a "personal life." I will miss the show, but more I will miss Oprah herself. I enjoyed seeing her smiling face everyday, looking directly into the camera back at me, just as if she was looking and talking only to me. She is a wonderful "humanitarian" while still be human and subject to mistakes, misgivings, misuidance.
Her shows are so varied these past couple of years, which is a great idea. I remember after 9/11, her shows were so very serious, you were depressed and needed boxes of kleenex everyday. Now she has mixed in some very light and entertaining shows to go along with addressing the serious issues - which she is very good at. I agree she is surrounded by great producers/staff - people with like minds, hearts, wanting to deliver the best to the audience. The thought struck me - what about their jobs - I'm sure she will take very good care of them always.
Well, Oprah, God bless you always -have a great life and thank you so very much!

No,I will not miss the show and her loony self hel...

2009-11-21T09:52:08.692-06:00

No,I will not miss the show and her loony self help theories. I am ELATED at the prospect of never having another a-hole Oprah fan( not you, you are a peach)come in demanding whatever kool-aid she is currently pedaling.

But I do think she will have some other venue, and sadly it is not the end.

No,I will not miss the show and her loony self hel...

2009-11-21T09:52:00.429-06:00

I saw the show too, well the last 15 minutes of it...

2009-11-21T09:37:21.375-06:00

I saw the show too, well the last 15 minutes of it because the news reports online were that she was going to make the announcement at the end of the show.

Unless the audience lives under a box, I'm not sure how they didn't know. It was all over the news in Chicago on Thursday night that she was quitting, when she was quitting, and when she was making the announcement. How could they not know?

Will I miss Oprah? I'm not sure. Like you, I was a teenager when she started and growing up in Chicago, I remember her on AM Chicago. I think she often does good shows that at the very least make people think, but I also think she can be incredibly condescending to her guests, and it's interesting to me that she was much tougher on James Frey (A Million Little Pieces author that turned out to be fiction, not 100% true) than she was on Sarah Palin's version of events (which everyone in the McCain campaign says is fiction). I actually lost some respect for Oprah with that.

I also think she's a bit out of touch. Yes, she struggles with her weight like millions of women, myself included, but I've yet to meet a woman who has a personal chef and personal trainer on her staff. Wait, I don't know women with staffs.

I'm not sure anyone will ever truly be able to replace Oprah and I don't really think that's either good or bad.

Yesterday, after I read your post, I wondered if y...

2009-11-21T07:39:20.161-06:00

Yesterday, after I read your post, I wondered if your project played any role at all, no matter how small, in Oprah's decision? What do you think?

It's a sign of how deeply Oprah is now in the DNA of our brains that we are using abbreviations like RYS and LYBL, and we all know what that means!

What an amazing human being she is! She truly lives the adage "When you see a worthy man, emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, examine yourself." If we made a list of all the wealthy and powerful celebrities who truly care if they are living their spiritual values, it would be a very short list, and Oprah would be at the top. Chicago will be poorer for the loss of her show here, and her periodic presence.

I don't really think we had a realistic shot at the Olympics, and it seems the Daley regime is coming apart at the seams since the bid was lost. Chicago faces some of the highest unemployment and foreclosure rates in the country. There is a sort of net loss of good fortune accumulating here, and I hope it won't be long before it turns around. She brought a lot of tourism to Chicago and I think we're going to feel it when she's gone. I do hope they turn Harpo Studios here into a museum or something, because what she has accomplished there is truly remarkable.

Funny thing, I just saw you on "The Oprah Effect" ...

2009-11-21T00:08:07.901-06:00

Funny thing, I just saw you on "The Oprah Effect" and thought you were doing was pretty interesting. I am a huge Oprah fan and like you have grown up with her. She's like everyone's best friend. I have every single issue of "O" magazine ever published. But, I do believe that maybe its time for Oprah to move on. There was a time when I thought we could aspire for the same things. When random acts of kindness would be enough. My feeding someone's parking meter, can not compare with her changing the free world with a single word or gesture. I think she is now so beyond us all, its like she presides in her own stratasphere. With so much power, influence and money what could she possibly have in common with someone as common as me.
Love you Oprah, and no one will miss you more.

I'm not sure I'll miss Oprah, because I'm not sure...

2009-11-21T00:07:33.420-06:00

I'm not sure I'll miss Oprah, because I'm not sure she's really going away. She'll have her OWN network, and her magazine isn't folding. I suppose her website will continue as well. Then again, I watch her show only occasionally, so I've never felt like she's my afternoon friend who I visit with on my T.V. To me it's just another show that's been around for a long time and has finished its run.

Today the audience was peppered with relatives of ...

2009-11-20T23:53:53.110-06:00

Today the audience was peppered with relatives of Oprah's guests. I recognized Ray Romano's mom (they had shown a photo of her during his interview) and other familiar faces who greeted and grasped Oprah on her way out of the studio at the end. This episode was reserved for staffers and close friends or business colleagues I suspect. I don't think there were a lot of common folk present and they all knew what they were there for. That could account for the subdued response.

"First Chicago Loses the Olympics, now Oprah" Gre...

2009-11-20T20:50:15.314-06:00

"First Chicago Loses the Olympics, now Oprah"

Great title for today's blog. Thank you.

I hope she will keep her book club in some form. ...

2009-11-20T20:48:31.820-06:00

I hope she will keep her book club in some form. I have read so many wonderful books, including 'Say You're One of Them', that I would not have read without Oprah recommending them. There is something fun about reading a book that everyone is reading. I know book snobs hate to have everyone reading their books, but I love it.

MemeGirl- OMG! Remember your Spirit! Those reall...

2009-11-20T19:41:27.450-06:00

MemeGirl- OMG! Remember your Spirit! Those really were great years although I always chuckled at how it seemed like people were unable to summon spirituality without a candle flickering somewhere or without looking out to a gentle breeze in the scenic outdoors.
The Graditude Journal years pretty good too. I think this was before RYS. Journaling is so not for me, but I appreciate the idea.
Anyone else remember when daytime talk was Oprah, Sally Jessie, Geraldo, and Jenny Jones? It took awhile before Oprah rose above them all.

Yes, I will definitely miss Oprah and her show. ...

2009-11-20T17:29:17.883-06:00

Yes, I will definitely miss Oprah and her show.

The Oprah Show has airs here in Alberta, Canada at 5pm Mon-Fri on channel 2. Always. I can't even imagine what that channel will put in Oprah's time slot.

I will miss Oprah because although I didn't always agree with her, I could usually take something away from each show that would make me think. Most important to me is that Oprah taught me it is ok to be spiritual without being religious.

Her show has already changed. There are comments about the degree of fluff presented on the show instead of hard-hitting topics. Also, people have commented on her apparent distance in interviewing her guests. It's possible that with her own awareness that she's ending her show, she's not fully there mentally. Like when you give your two weeks notice at your job and although your body shows up for work, your brain has moved on, you know?

I did stop to wonder if I would be so focused on my own weight if Oprah hadn't made her struggle so very public. I'm not saying she should have hidden her struggle, I'm just saying that it's possible that my own body image was shaped in part by Oprah. It's possible that at a time in my life (I was 16 when her show came on the air) when I was looking for some reason or validation of why I wasn't popular or even noticed, that I latched on to Oprah's struggle and made it my own. That way I had an excuse to not develop my interpersonal skills or make friends. In my mind I was waiting until I was thinner to get out in the world and socialize. But, if it wasn't Oprah it would have been something/one else I'm sure.

Your questions are so interesting. First, the aud...

2009-11-20T16:16:56.004-06:00

Your questions are so interesting.
First, the audience must have been prepped. I know Oprah's all big on the "I see it with you, I'm seeing this the first time too" conceit but for this announcement I'm certain that she wanted no surprises, no interruption, and so had a few moments with them first. Besides, I heard the news before bed last night (BBC World had it on here) so most of them couldn't have been too stunned.
I will miss the routine, the comfort, the regular hour of the day when I could tune in to something that was a link to so many stages of my life. (I suppose the same could be said for the Simpsons, but their snark makes me wince sometimes where Oprah is totally reliable in her presentation.)
Really, of the two (show or Oprah), I'll miss Oprah more, but in some ways I already do. She has settled in to a new stage of life that is much more removed from my daily life. I am always one to root for an underdog and I remember stories like the day she realized she didn't actually have to choose between two new sets of dishes--she could have both! My mother lived that--the journey from scarcity to plenty (in a much smaller way)--and it is a powerful thing. And to then share that, as she has done in ways great and cheesy (Angel Network, school in S.A., "you get a car!", favorite things) really meant something. Now it feels like it's a little rote for her. Goofily, I appreciate her efforts to mentor other rising showbiz African-Americans. Jamie Foxx is the only one candid enough to talk about this but I love hearing what she tells him, ranging from "get the gum out of your mouth, you are at the OSCARS for crying out loud!" to her answer on where she invests. ("Real estate, because God ain't makin' any more land" to hear Foxx tell it.)
I loved her LYBL seasons. For me, they were the high point of her career. I made a huge effort to catch every show for the Remember Your Spirit moments if nothing else. They were so different from anything else out there in the time of Springermania. And not that Oprah hasn't blindsided people in her day but for years she's made a real effort to be uplifting and even when it missed the mark with me, I have truly appreciated her for the effort.
Honestly? I think I'm going to miss her producers. I loved the shows where she would have her staff and team out there--not necessarily the makeup guy for weight loss, but talking with her staff about favorite shows, or hard shows, or funny events, or things that went wrong. Those women (and they were overwhelmingly women) seemed to feel like they had the job of a lifetime and they had fingers on the pulse of American women in a way Oprah increasingly did not. I have no idea what it was like on their homelives or families or if she walked the walk better than most, but I felt like her producers were heroes. They do the best "background" job on stories of any show out there, production values are sky-high, commitment to quality is immense, and I can only imagine how many hours of prep and tape is needed for each hour of show.
I'm babbling now but thanks for the catharsis! And Susie, thanks for the warning. I'm totally sure I'll cry when I get to watch it here. I sobbed through the last Carson too; I can't imagine this will be any different.

I wish her the best in her adventures and may God ...

2009-11-20T16:14:01.687-06:00

I wish her the best in her adventures and may God Bless...

Since the show was live this morning, I think the ...

2009-11-20T13:30:18.114-06:00

Since the show was live this morning, I think the audience already knew what the announcement would be. There were only a few gasps when she began. I saw them as somber and respectful, mirroring Oprah's demeanor.

Back in 1986 I was in college, so I don't think I watched every day, but Oprah and Phil Donohue (the big talk show cheese at the time) were on my radar. Mom watched Donohue and so did I. I switched to Oprah when everyone else did. I have had a schedule that has allowed me to watch her for most of those 25 years. It helps that she airs twice a day here.

I will miss her, but I also know the nagging urge to move on and that life's stages pass gradually, but they pass and sometimes it is just time for something new. 25 years is a full career by any measure. I bet we'll still see a lot of her because of O magazine and the new network, it just won't be on the same forum.

Oh, and I didn't expect to do this, but when Oprah teared up, so did I! I'm a bit of a weeper, so I should have known...