Oprah Winfrey - The Story of an Entrepreneur

Oprah – Serving The People Contd...

Oprah was chosen to host the interfaith prayer service held at New York City's Yankee Stadium on September 23, 2001, to mourn the victims of the September 11 terrorists' attacks on the WTC. Rudy Giuliani, Mayor of New York City, believed that Oprah was the only national personality who had the ability to host such a profoundly religious service that involved people from different faiths.

Oprah lived up to his expectations; her service both comforted and inspired mourners. (Refer Exhibit III for a picture of Oprah at the prayer service and a few other glimpses into her life). She said that 'loved ones turned to angels after death and are always near to the people's hearts.'

Oprah reminded the people that hope, prayer and love never die and asked them to use every moment of their lives to create a deeper meaning to their lives and to find out what really matters.

According to an article published in April 2002, Oprah had become an icon of 'church-free spirituality' and a spiritual guru to her over 22 million devoted viewers.

Her influence was such that the Wall Street Journal even credited Oprah with introducing a new technique of interpersonal communication, 'Oprahfication' (i.e. 'public confession as a form of therapy').¹⁰ This technique became so popular that a magazine even used Oprah as a verb: "I did not want to tell her, but she Oprah'd it out of me."

Reportedly, this technique also became popular with politicians, who began holding 'Oprah-Style' town meetings to understand their constituents.

The Other Side of Oprah?

Not surprisingly, Oprah had many critics. Over the years, many of her personal as well as business related policies had been criticized. Though employees at Harpo agreed that the pay and benefits offered by the company were exceptional compared to industry standards, some criticized the strict rules and regulations enforced.

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10] www.christianitytoday.com, April 1, 2002.

Case Details

Case Code : LDEN006
Themes: Corporate Social Responsibility/Woman Entrepreneurs
Case Length : 14 Pages
Period : 1957-2000
Organization : Infosys
Pub Date : 2002
Teaching Note : Not Available
Countries : Japan
Industry : Media and Entertainment

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